Full Terms & Conditions
- Acceptance of Rules: It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the entrant agrees to abide by these rules. Please read the following and complete the tick-box consent at the bottom of this page.
- Eligibility: As the entrant, you must (a) have received blood, or had a loved one receive blood, that was donated voluntarily; (b) have donated blood voluntarily; or (c) have supported the giving or receiving of voluntary blood as part of your job, charitable work, or volunteering at the time of the story. This competition is open to children and adults. Children under the age of 18 will need permission of a parent or guardian. You can enter as a group, but the lead entrant must meet the eligibility criteria and will be the one to receive the prize money.
- Specific Exclusions: No one employed by National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) or Global Blood Fund (GBF) will be eligible to participate in the competition. This includes immediate family members of employees and those living in their households or in the households of their family members. Similarly, judges, their family members, and those living in their households or in the households of their family members will also be ineligible.
- Competition Period: Entries will be accepted online starting 1st March 2026 and ending midnight, 31st May 2026. Entries date-stamped before or after this window will be deemed ineligible. Winners will be announced on 14th June, World Blood Donor Day.
- Submissions: The competition is open for entries of stories told through creative content suitable for social media sharing, including short video clips, stories, animations, poetry recitals, music videos, songs, audio stories, podcasts, and interviews. This list is not exhaustive, and more than one medium can be used. Up to 5 files of up to 20MB per entry may be submitted. Maximum recommended lengths are 3 minutes for video or audio and 2,000 words for stories, speeches, poems, and song lyrics. Images should be captioned to a maximum of 500 words, and more succinct content will generally be preferred. The narrative must be your own work (use of AI is strongly discouraged), based on real events (not fiction), and should have some association with the geographic area served by NBSZ. Entrants are encouraged to be creative and innovative. Content may be in English or any language or dialect spoken in Zimbabwe, but content not in English must include English subtitles so it can be properly judged and shared nationally and internationally.
- How to Enter: The competition is entered by submitting an entry using the competition site: https://zimbabwe.bloodstory.org/. The entry must fulfil all competition requirements to be eligible to win a prize. Entries that are incomplete or do not adhere to the rules or specifications may be disqualified at the sole discretion of NBSZ and GBF. You may submit more than one entry. People under the age of 18 may submit entries with permission from a parent or guardian, who must be available to bring the child to collect any prize money if the child wins.
- How to Win: Winners will be selected by a panel of judges with varied backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives, and the judges’ decisions will be final. Winners will be notified by email and announced on World Blood Donor Day (14 June). NBSZ and GBF reserve the right not to award one or more prizes where, by agreement of the judges, none of the submissions received meet a subjective threshold of “publishable quality.”
- Prizes: Prizes are $500 for 1st prize, $300 for 2nd prize, and $200 for 3rd prize. Judges may also award an undetermined number of $100 special commendation prizes to recognise submissions deserving special attention or bringing exceptional value to the competition. Winning is not guaranteed and depends on the number of eligible entries received. Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for NBSZ and GBF to use the winner’s name, likeness, and entry for advertising and trade without further compensation unless prohibited by law. Winners may receive prizes in US dollars (cash) or Zimbabwean dollars (cash or bank transfer of the USD equivalent) converted at the prevailing exchange rate on 31st May 2026. Winners may be asked to collect prizes in person, and any associated costs will be reimbursed.
- Notification: Winners will be notified by e-mail in the week ending Friday, 5th June 2026 and may be asked to collect prizes and participate in promotion between 5th and 14th June. NBSZ and GBF take no liability for a winner’s failure to receive notices due to spam filters, security settings, or incorrect contact information. If a winner cannot be reached after reasonable efforts within five (5) days, is found ineligible, cannot participate in promotion on the stated dates, or does not comply with the Competition Rules, the winner may be disqualified and an alternate winner selected.
- Rights Granted by You: By entering, you understand that NBSZ and GBF, anyone acting on their behalf, or their licensees, successors, and assigns, may, where permitted by law and without further notice or compensation, print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use your entry worldwide in any media, in perpetuity. This includes the entry, winner’s name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image, statements about the competition, and biographical information for news, publicity, advertising, public relations, and promotional purposes. Entries may be published publicly before or after judging or reviewed privately by judges. If fraudulent methods are used, or the rules are circumvented (for example, if the entry is not original, not based on real events, or produced through disproportionate use of AI), submissions may be removed from eligibility at the sole discretion of NBSZ and GBF.
- Rights to Work: By entering the competition, you represent and warrant that your entry is your original work, does not include third-party work without permission, and does not infringe on the rights of any third party or entity. You confirm that you have obtained all rights, licences, permissions, and consents necessary to submit the entry and to grant the rights outlined in these rules.