Back to the Audio Fiction World Cup
The Audio Fiction World Cup was founded to support and uplift creators around the world. In order to protect that we have a code of ethics that each participating festival agrees to. These rules are meant to ensure fairness for all projects and creators, and ensure that festivals continue to be creator focused.
One single submission fee makes a project eligible for all awards in their medium
Audio Fiction World Cup festivals may not charge a single project additional fees for additional awards consideration as this creates a two-tiered judging process where those with more financial access can make themselves eligible for points on the world cup that those with less cannot. An audio fiction world cup festival must charge a single fee at the point of submission and that fee makes a project eligible for all awards consideration by the judges. No additional fees can be paid for awards consideration by any one project.
In-Person attendance is not a requirement to win awards
The number 1 financial barrier facing creators is the cost of attending festivals. The Audio Fiction World Cup celebrates work from creators all over the world and aims to remove as many financial barriers as possible in that celebration. To that end, festivals may not make attendance a requirement of winning an award, as that puts an undue burden on creators from farther away. The single submission fee for a festival must make projects eligible for all awards consideration.
No Discrimination or Pre-Determination in Judging
Projects will be judged solely on their merits. The Audio Fiction World Cup and associated festivals will not allow discrimination based upon age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, race, body size, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or any other status prohibited by applicable anti-discrimination laws.
No Conflicts of Interest between Judges and Sponsors
Festivals may require sponsorship to cover costs, and many companies who sponsor such events are also the producers of content that is eligible for AFWC consideration. Being a sponsor of a festival does not remove a project’s ability to submit to that festival. However, being a sponsor cannot guarantee selection; their work will be fairly considered along with all the other submissions.
Further, sponsors cannot be involved in the judging process, even if they have not personally submitted a project. This ensures that those who are financially supporting a festival are unable to give extra weight to their preferred projects in the judging process.
Advocates for Creators through Creator-Focused Decision-making
No festival or judging system is perfect. There’s no way to strive for perfection. Also each festival will have different criteria and systems they work through on their own end. Other than following the guidelines outlined above, there is no prescribed system to be part of the Audio Fiction World Cup. However, each festival agrees that they will always keep the primary focus on the creators they serve. Decisions will be run through the question of “what would I, as a creator, want/appreciate?” In doing so, festivals agree that year-over-year, they will strive to improve their experiences, find new ways to open doors, and create more fair and more equitable experiences. As each festival finds new exciting ways to improve, other festivals get the opportunity to learn and apply these methods, providing a mutually beneficial cycle of growth throughout the entire circuit.