YOUTH INITIATIVES
Youth Ambassador for Science 2026 Short Video Competition*
Contest Period: June 7 – July 7, 2026 · Sponsored by the Asian American Scholar Forum
The “Youth Ambassador for Science” competition invites high schoolers to create and share short videos highlighting Asian American science pioneers for a chance to win $500. Multiple prizes available. Winners/runner-ups will be recognized at the Asian American Pioneer Award Symposium at Stanford on August 7-9, 2026.
How to Enter
Complete the following steps during the Contest Period of June 7, 2026 12:00:01 AM Eastern Time (ET) to July 7, 2026 11:59:59 PM (ET):
- Learn about and identify one of five eligible Scientist Submission Categories: (a) Terence Tao, (b) Samuel C.C. Ting, (c) Louise Tsi Chow, (d) Syukuro Manabe, (e) Narinder Kapany, to create a video about.
- Create a video (less than 45 seconds) profiling your chosen scientist submission category and highlighting their contributions to the world. We recommend reviewing the judging categories detailed below, as there will be 7 prizes awarded for each scientist submission category, with each prize having its own judging criteria.
- Submit your video to social media using either Instagram, TikTok and/or YouTube.
- Instagram Method of Entry: (i) Log-in or join Instagram at www.instagram.com and set your account to “public” (joining Instagram is free); (ii) follow @aasforum on Instagram; (iii) post your Video to Instagram, along with the hashtag #aasf_contest (these required hashtags must appear in the post caption, NOT in the comments, for the submission to be valid) and tag @aasforum. Submissions CANNOT be posted as Instagram Stories.
- TikTok Method of Entry: (i) Log in or join TikTok (account must not be set to “private”; creating a TikTok account is free); (ii) follow @aasforum on TikTok; and (iii) post your Video to TikTok and, in the description section of your Video, include the hashtag #aasf_contest and tag @aasforum. Entrants must not use TikTok to cross post their Video to other social media platforms without including the hashtag in the other social media platform post.
- YouTube Method of Entry: (i) Log-in or create an account YouTube at www.youtube.com (joining YouTube is free); (ii) post your Video to YouTube and, in the description section of your Video, include the hashtag #aasf_contest.
- Visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition/submit and submit (1) a publicly accessible URL link to where your Video can be viewed; and (2) a publicly accessible Google Drive URL to a screenshot of your Video appearing posted to social media and showing the number of “likes” it received in total, and any other information requested by the submission form.
See the official rules at https://aasforum.org/video-competition/official-rules-2026 for full details
Award Categories
35 winners, the parent/guardian of the entrant with the highest scoring eligible submission from each judging category for each Scientist Submission Category, will each receive $500. 35 runner-ups, the parent/guardian of the entrant with the second highest scoring eligible Submission from each Judging Category for each Scientist Submission Category, will each receive $250.
Each winner/runner-up, along with one guardian, will receive free registration to attend the AASF Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium/Ceremony, which is open to the public, at Stanford, CA on August 7-9, 2026. Attendance is not required to receive the prize.
See the official rules at https://aasforum.org/video-competition/official-rules-2026 for full details.
Five Scientist Submission Categories
- Terence Tao
- Samuel C.C. Ting
- Louise Tsi Chow
- Syukuro Manabe
- Narinder Kapany
Seven Awards Per Submission Category
Each submission is eligible for the “Best Video” category as well as one additional category, selected by the entrant at the time of submission.
- Best video.
- Best ultrashort video (20 seconds or less).
- Best science exposition.
- Best use of AI. Eligible if the Submission contains a total of 10 seconds or more of AI generated content such as script, narration, audio, and video.
- Most Creative.
- Best animation. Eligible if the Submission contains a total of 10 seconds or more of content consisting primarily of animation (any form of animation qualifies).
- Best comedy.
Judging Criteria
From July 8, 2026 to about July 15, 2026, a panel of judges will score each submission based on the judging criteria below. Judges will then obtain a final weighted score for each submission in each eligible judging category. For a detailed breakdown of the weighting per Scientist Submission Category, please see the official rules.
- Interestingness (100 points): How captivating is the Submission? That is, to what extent can the Submission hold a viewer’s attention and make them want to watch from start to end?
- Impact (100 points): How influential is the Submission on social media in terms of the number of likes it receives, as reported on the submitted screenshot? 4 points per like for the first 20 likes; 1 point per like for the remaining likes; the maximum score is capped at 100 points. For example, a Submission with 20 likes will receive 80 points; a submission with 30 likes will receive 90 points; a Submission with 50 likes will receive 100 points. The submitted screenshot can be updated to report the latest number of likes until the end of the Contest Period (therefore, it is recommended that entrants update their screenshot on the final day of the Contest Period if their likes have increased since originally submitted). Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify a submission if Sponsor, in its discretion, determines that the number of likes in the screenshot has been falsified.
- Informativeness (100 points): How informative is the Submission regarding the contribution(s) to the world of the scientist for your chosen Scientist Submission Category? (e.g., a high score could be obtained by being highly informative about a specific contribution or informative about the scientist’s broader contributions as a whole).
- Creativity (100 points): How creative and unique is the Submission? Creativity can be in storytelling, visual presentation, audio, editing, and/or other artistic/technical aspects of the Submission.
- Science exposition (100 points): How clear and accessible are the explanations and presentations of the scientific contributions in the Submission?
- [Where applicable] Animation (100 points): How effective is the use of animation in the Submission?
- [Where applicable] AI use (100 points): How impressive and effective is the AI generated content in the Submission?
- [Where applicable] Humor (100 points): How humorous is the Submission?
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states or DC who are ages 14 – 18 at the time of entry. “Contest Period” is from 12:00:01am Eastern Time (ET) on 6/7/26 through 11:59:59pm ET on 7/7/26. To enter, during the Contest Period, (i) visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition to learn about and identify one of five eligible AAPI Scientist Submission Categories; (ii) create a video profiling the scientist(s) for your chosen Scientist Submission Category; (iii) submit your video via both a social media posting and contest website submission as instructed in the full Official Rules; and (iv) comply with all other instructions outlined in the full Official Rules. For each Scientist Submission Category the highest two scoring submissions in each of the below categories will be deemed winners (35 total) and runner-ups (35 total): Best Video, Best Ultrashort Video, Best Science Exposition, Best Use of AI, Best Animation, Most Creative, and Best Comedy. See full Official Rules for the judging criteria applicable to each Submission Category. Prizes will be awarded to the parent/guardian of each winner, not the entrant. Parent/guardian of each winner will receive $500 by check, and $250 by check in the case of each runner-up. Odds of winning depend on the number and quality of eligible entries. Contest subject to Official Rules, and details and restrictions apply, so visit https://aasforum.org/video-competition/official-rules-2026 for Official Rules. Sponsor: Asian American Scholar Forum.