Transatlantic Storytelling, an immersive learning, global storytelling project between students at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and Cardiff Metropolitan University in Cardiff, Wales, has won the top honor in a international competition.
The International Awards Associate (IAA), organizer of the 2021 MUSE Creative and Design Awards, has released the list of winners to the public. From 55 countries, as many as 3,942 entries were submitted, and only the elect few emerged victorious.
The 76-minute documentary won the competition’s highest honor a platinum award. There were only three schools across the globe to capture the platinum award — from the United States (Ball State), from Germany (Miami Ad School of Europe) and from Canada (LaSalle College).
The MUSE Creative Awards is a part of the MUSE Awards Program, which was created by the International Awards Associate (IAA) in 2015. IAA’s inception was based on a mission to honor, promote and encourage creativity by providing a new standard of excellence for evaluating media design production and distribution. IAA’s mission has largely shaped MUSE Creative Awards’ goals.
At its core, MUSE Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals who inspire others to greater heights. With their concepts, ideas or designs, these creatives light a fire in others to strive further, thus becoming a muse.
44 professionals of varying disciplines from 23 countries were involved as jurors. While the judging process may have objective standards to adhere to, the jury’s extensive backgrounds in various fields ensure that the subjective qualities, such as creativity and concepts, are part of the consideration. Then, and only then, winners are selected from all available entries.
For 2021, the awards saw participation from countries such as Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Macedonia, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and many more.
The groundbreaking documentary features seven exclusive stories, with 22 different interviews, and stunning visuals from throughout Cardiff and Wales.
- Sam Gordon is the fastest man in Wales, owning multiple records and sprinting towards the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Though always smiling, the elite runner’s surge into the spotlight hasn’t come without setbacks.
- Jenny Nesbitt represents Great Britain and Wales as a talented distance runner. But, as a teenager, the world class athlete faced serious threats to her success
- Harrison Walsh, who after a horrific rugby injury ended his promising career, shifted his focus. Now, the world-record holding thrower is aiming for the 2021 Paralympic Games.
- Will Godwin is a student at Cardiff Met, who started his athletic career as a triathlete and rower until two freak accidents changed his life.
- Sam Pearce, the Cardiff Met student and captain of the cricket team, is also on the verge of a professional career in one of the world’s most popular sports.
- Lydia Hitchings, a student in Cardiff Met’s School of Art and design, grew up playing netball. Now, a professional player, she has a goal of playing in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
- Dr. Christian Edwards is the men’s soccer coach at Cardiff Met and guided his team to the 2019 UEFA Europa League. Six months later, he collapsed on the pitch.
About The Project:
Transatlantic Storytelling is an immersive learning, global storytelling project between students at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and Cardiff Metropolitan University in Cardiff, Wales.
Ball State students collaborated with Cardiff Met students on identifying, developing and producing feature stories on Welsh athletes.
While on the ground in Cardiff, Wales, for 12 days in late February to March, students worked together to capture footage, scenes and interviews with the athletes.
In 2019, Ball State and Cardiff Met agreed to a five-year understanding which recognizes the mutual benefits of an educational partnership, which in part will lead to collaboration, opportunities and faculty/student engagement.
Additional Media Information:
For media outlets, tv stations and other platforms wishing to air the documentary at no charge, please contact Joe Towns from Cardiff Met (JTowns@cardiffmet.ac.uk) or Chris Taylor from Ball State (ctaylor@bsu.edu).
Additional information, including student blogs, athlete blogs, photo galleries and video can be found at www.transatlanticstorytelling.com.