The city of Mumbai is currently at the peak of the monsoon season that significantly impacts the lives of its residents. While these rains are vital for replenishing water sources and sustaining agriculture, they also pose several challenges for the city’s infrastructure and residents. Water logging, traffic jams, health risks and infrastructure problems, the list is endless. These problems resurface year after year.

We at Citizen Matters Mumbai, believe that the citizens best know the problems they encounter in their vicinity. Hence they are able to offer the most practical and workable solutions to these problems. We have always had a dedicated space for citizen journalism. Here we encourage citizens themselves to write about the issues of their communities or how they have been actively engaging in bringing positive change in their communities by different means.

This time, in collaboration with ADDA, the pioneering app for apartment/society management, we are thrilled to launch the Mumbai Monsoon Masterminds Contest. We invite all residents of Mumbai to share their stories of the Mumbai rains, and the solutions the city needs. Write or create a reel about the difficulties you have faced or observed in your neighbourhoods during monsoon, and possible solutions to them.

The competition aims to foster a culture of innovation by encouraging participants to propose practical and viable solutions.

Read more: Contest: Young citizens imagine themselves as Mayor of Mumbai

These are a few questions you could consider while writing/shooting-

• What measures has the government taken and how effective have they been?
• What are some innovative and citizen-driven solutions that have been successful in addressing monsoon challenges?
• How can the community and individuals contribute to building a more resilient city during the monsoon season?
• What are the long-term implications of unaddressed monsoon problems on infrastructure, environment, and public health?
• What can be learned from other cities or regions that face similar monsoon challenges, and how can those insights be applied to your vicinity and Mumbai as a whole?
• What role does technology play in finding solutions to monsoon-related challenges?
• How can a collaborative effort between the government, citizens, and various stakeholders create a more resilient and sustainable city during the monsoon season in Mumbai?

Contest details

Rules for the competition

• The competition is free (no registration or entry fee) and open to all residents of Mumbai (no age bar).
• The last day of submission is Sunday, 27th August, 2023 at 11:59 pm
• The essay and reel submitted must contain an actionable solution for Mumbai’s monsoon problems
• Only one submission per individual, per category is allowed
• Citizen Matters maintains the right to select the winner
• Entries containing any form of offensive, inappropriate, or harmful content will be disqualified at our discretion.
• The winners will be selected based on creativity, originality, and problem solving.
• Winners will be announced on 7th September. The decision of the judges is final and cannot be contested.
• The winners will be informed through the email mentioned in the form at the time of registration.
• Prizes are non-transferable.

Terms & Conditions

• Citizen Matters maintains the right to publish the article or photos on their website and in their reports and newsletters, along with the name, photograph and bio of the participants. The copyright of the article, however, remains with the publisher.
• This competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram.
• Submission of an entry implies a tacit pledge of the fact that it is entirely the original work of the contestant and has not been submitted anywhere else.

Guidelines for Essay/Article

• Submissions can be structured as essays or articles.
• Submissions have to be in English. These must be at least 600 words, and not more than 800 words.
• Submissions must include a minimum of two photos clicked by the participant along with a caption. More than two photos is acceptable.
• All submissions must be original content, else they will be disqualified from the competition.
• No plagiarism or use of AI tools is permitted. And the articles will be checked for the same.
• Entries will be judged for language, style and presentation, informativeness, imagination and thoughtfulness

Guidelines for Instagram Reel

• The competition is open to participants residing in Mumbai (age no bar).
• The Reel should be a maximum of 1 minute 30 seconds in portrait format.
• Each participant can submit only one entry. If multiple entries are submitted, only the first one will be considered.
• Your Reel must be original content shot and created by you. Plagiarised or copyrighted content will be disqualified.
• By entering the competition, you grant us permission to repost and share your Reel on our Instagram account, giving you credit as the creator.
• Your Reel should adhere to Instagram’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
• Entries will be judged for quality of images/video/graphic, informativeness of caption, coherence (how it all ties together), imagination and uniqueness

Awards

• Shortlisted entries will be published on our website/ shared on our social media pages
• They will receive a certificate of participation from Citizen Matters.
• 1st place from either category will receive a cash prize of Rs 5000. 2nd place from either category will receive a cash prize of Rs 2500

Note: This article has been updated to reflect extended deadlines and additional contest information.

Also read:

• Despite hundreds of crores spent on desilting, why Mumbai could still see flooding this monsoon
• Can Mumbai metro or monorail save the day as monsoon submerges the suburban lines?
• Mumbai monsoons: Are citizens passing up a chance to solve the flooding issue?

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