By Valéria Credidio – ASCOM/LAIS/UFRN

One of the main tools to fight syphilis is communication. Aiming to develop innovative videos directed to the prevention of syphilis, the Project “Syphilis No” promotes RECSífilis, the first audiovisual hackathon directed to undergraduate students in Social Communication, throughout Brazil. The “Syphilis No” Project is a partnership of the Laboratory for Technological Innovation in Health (LAIS/UFRN), with the Ministry of Health and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), and has been guiding the actions to confront syphilis throughout the national territory.
Within the competition, the students will have to form teams to produce audiovisual material with innovative narratives that contribute in an intelligent, persuasive, and educational manner to the prevention and confrontation of syphilis in pregnant women and congenital syphilis, with a focus on early diagnosis and the incentive to treat the disease. The videos must be authored and unpublished, with a maximum duration of one minute.
At the time of registration, the competitors must submit the video produced by the team. Entries will be accepted from May 23rd to June 23rd, 2022. In this link, the competitors will find all the information about the competition rules. All entered material will be disseminated via Instagram, in the competitors’ own profile.

Awards:
The 10 best works will participate in the final stage of RECSífilis, which will take place, in person, in Natal, between September 16 and 18, with all expenses paid by the event. During the stage, the finalist teams will create new videos following the same rules for the competitors.
A judging commission, composed by members of LAIS/UFRN and of the Centro de Apoyo a la Investigación de Creación de Contenidos Audiovisuales y Digitales para la Investigación y la Enseñanza de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (CREAV/UCM) will choose the three best works, based on the following criteria: appropriateness to the theme, creativity and innovation, originality, and engagement with social networks, in addition to the educational and communication capacity of the piece.
The teams will be rewarded with activities aimed at qualifying students in the social communication area. The winning team will participate in an immersion for a technical-scientific cooperation internship with the team from the Centro de Apoyo a la Investigación de Creación de Contenidos Audiovisuales y Digitales para la Investigación y la Enseñanza de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (CREAV/UCM) in Spain. The immersion will last 30 days.
The second place winner will spend a month with LAIS/UFRN’s communication team, immersing herself in all the production developed. And the third place winner will have the opportunity to spend a week in a technical visit and scientific activities with the Ministry of Health’s communication team, in Brasilia.

All participants will receive extension activity certificates issued by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).