Défi Inter-Alliances !

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ARTICLE 1 - The organizers

The Alliances Françaises of the United States of America, not-for-profit organizations, and the Fondation des Alliances Françaises (based in Paris) are the organizers of the “Défi Inter-Alliances” competition, hereinafter called the “competition”.

ARTICLE 2 - Objective of the competition

Competition entrants are invited to participate in a general culture questionnaire, in French, through the digital platform Kahoot.

The competition takes place in four stages:

• A local selection organized by each participating Alliance (cf Article 1) =>  on 2nd of May at 6pm for AF San Francisco
• A national selection => on 11th of May at 1pm (EST)
  
• A geographical zone selection => on 1st June at 2pm (EST)
  
• An international finale => on 1st October at the « Théâtre de l’Alliance Française" (Paris) - (Time to be confirmed)
  

ARTICLE 3 - Participation conditions and modalities

The competition participation is completely free.

The competition is open to every registered student of participating Alliances Françaises under the following conditions:

• The contestants must be at least 18 years old when registering to the competition (or as of 15th September 2024)
  
• The contestants must have a A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2 level or be in the process of learning at one of these levels.
  

Any learners who do not meet these criteria will not be able to participate in this competition.

An « Alliance Française learner » is any person enrolled in a group French course, face-to-face or online, on the date of May, 2nd 2024. (The organizing committee recommends a minimum of 30 hours of classes)

Participation in the competition implies full acceptance of these rules, and contestants must respect any of these conditions. Failure of any competition entrant to comply with the terms and conditions set out in these rules will render their participation invalid.

The four selection phases -local, national, by geographical zone and international- will take place as follows: a general cultural questionnaire in French through the digital platform, Kahoot.

The contestants must imperatively use two digital devices to participate, through two platforms, free and easy to access (a computer to access Zoom for the virtual game space, a mobile phone or tablet to answer the questionnaire using the Kahoot application). Participants are informed of these conditions upon registering to the competition.

The international final will take place in person in the “Théâtre de l’Alliance Française” in Paris via the Kahoot App. Finalists can only use their smartphone, with questions projected onto a screen and internet connection provided by the organizers.

The competition is only moderated in French and the general cultural questions are also redacted in French.

The general cultural questionnaire answers offered by the Kahoot platform will result in points counting and ranking:

• The two contestants with the highest points counted at the local selection, will be designated as finalists, and will represent their AF at the national selection.
  
• The two contestants with the highest points counted at the national selection, will be designated as finalists, and will represent the so-called “national” network in their geographical zone finale.
  
• The participant ranked first in each of the six geographical zones will take part in the international final in Paris - transport and accommodation provided by the organizers.
  
• The participant in the international final who scores the most points will be declared the winner of the competition and will go on to compete against the winner of the DEFI high school students' competition (present at the final).

Special provision:

The winners of the previous editions (2021, 2022 and 2023) will not be able to participate in the DEFI Inter-Alliances.

ARTICLE 4 - Prizes

For the local selections, each participating Alliance defines the prizes to be offered to the first two winners, apart from their participation in the national selection.

• First prize : 1 free Conversation class session at AFSF
• Second prize : 75$ discount on a session
• Third prize : 50$ discount on a session

For the national selection, the first two winners, apart from their participation in the geographical Zone Final, will be rewarded with a surprise kit containing goodies and books.

For the Geographical Zone Final, the winners (1 per zone) will be offered a stay in Paris during the week of September 30 to October 6, 2024, in order to take part in the International Final on October 1, 2024. (The dates of the stay may be subject to change, remaining within the same period).

The stay includes:

• Accommodation (with a French family)
  
• Transportation from the airport closest to the winner's home to Paris, and from Paris to the airport of departure. Intercity transport tickets (bus, metro, RER, etc.) are not included.
  
• An allowance of €400.
  

All other costs not included in the prize (insurance, extra luggage, etc.) will be borne by the winners. In the event that the winner needs to obtain a visa to stay in France, it will be the winner's responsibility to make the necessary arrangements. Winners are responsible for ensuring that they meet the requirements for travel to France.

4.1 Validity

Winners of the Geographical Zone final must be available to attend the international final in Paris on October 1, 2024. Unavailability constitutes grounds for cancellation of the prize. In this case, the second-ranked participant will be named zone winner and invited to the international final.

The winners of the geographical zone final may not transfer the prize to a relative.

ARTICLE 5 - Image rights

The local, national, geographical zone final and the international final might be broadcast live or at a later date, on the websites and social networks of the participating Alliances Françaises, as well as those of the competition organizers and partners.

By virtue of their participation in the competition, participants authorize the organizers to use their surname, first name, as well as the indication of their city and country of residence, in any advertising-promotional event, on the websites and social networks of the organizers, and on any affiliated site or support, without this use giving rise to rights and remuneration other than the prize offered as part of the competition.

By participating in this competition, each contestant grants to the organizers the right to use their image if they are declared winners (local, national, by zone or international) including the right to reproduce and use details of their participation, their names and their images on all media (websites, social media networks press and events) for the purpose of promoting the competition, in the year following the current competition year. This promotion will not give rise to any right of remuneration other than the benefit of the prizes detailed.

Participants acknowledge that they do not have the right of veto in terms of the selection of images used by the organizers. In addition, participants acknowledge that they will not have right of veto over the promotional channels used for the selected photographs and that they will not have the right to oppose the dissemination of the photographs, in accordance with these terms of conditions.

ARTICLE 6 - Responsibilities

6.1 Responsibilities of the organizers

The organizer cannot be held responsible if, in the event of an emergency, or for any other cause, the competition should be postponed, shortened, or canceled. The organizer also reserves the right to extend or limit the period of participation, to postpone it or to modify the conditions, with emergencies requiring such measures being out of their control. Additions and amendments to these rules may be published during the competition. They will be considered as annexes to these terms and conditions.

The organizers cannot be held responsible for any malfunctions linked to the Internet network itself or linked to any intrusion, attempted intrusion, fraud, technical failure, or any other reason beyond the control of the organizers which lead to failures in the network, administration, security, fairness, integrity or management of the contest. The organizers cannot be held responsible for the congestion of the Internet network, the quality of the equipment of the participants, nor the quality of their mode of access which could have repercussions on the delivery time of the answers or on the connection time required for participation.

In addition, participants will not be able to claim any compensation in the event of incidents as mentioned above, modification or cancellation of the competition.

6.2 Responsibilities of participants

It is expressly reminded that it is the sole responsibility of the participants to ensure that the information they provide when registering for the competition, in particular their contact details, are genuine and correct, and that they are able to participate in the competition.

Participants selected to take part in the national, geographical zone and/or the international finals must ensure that they are available on the dates specified. If they are not available on these dates, for any reason, they will not be able to take part in the competition.

It is up to all participants to take all appropriate measures to protect their own data and / or software stored on their computer equipment against any attack. The participation of entrants in the competition is their sole responsibility.

Participation in the competition represents agreement to adhere to the terms and conditions set out herein. The organizers reserve the right to disqualify, without notice, and / or not to award a prize to any participant who has disregarded the provisions of these terms and conditions.

The organizer also reserves the right to revoke the participation of any entrant in the competition if their conduct is deemed inappropriate in any way.

By entering this competition, participants tacitly accept the provisions of these rules and authorize the participating and organizing Alliances Françaises to publish their name and data that identifies them or could lead to their identification.