I’ve spent a lot of years in journalism, so I’m used to writers working up until the last minute, filing stories just in time to meet their deadlines. But I only just realized it’s a trait that reporters and filmmakers share.

On January 23, barely a week before entry deadline for the Democracy Video Challenge, I reported that more than 100 videos had been submitted. But it seems that a lot of people spent that last week putting the finishing touches on their entries: Nearly 900 films from more than 60 different countries were submitted for our judges’ consideration.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out the entries for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/democracychallenge and let me know which ones you liked the best.

If you’re interested in democracy or filmmaking and would like to meet others who share those interests, join our Facebook page.

In some ways, democracy is an ideological prism through which the bright lights of aspiration, experience and history pass and are refracted into forms as varied as the people of Earth.

This point is richly illustrated in America.gov’s Democracy Video Challenge, which invites the world to complete the phrase “Democracy is ….” From the entries submitted thus far, it’s clear the word evokes a lot of different interpretations. The submissions also underscore that, for many, regardless of the name applied to their current form of government, democracy is more a goal than a fact of daily life.

Some of the entries I found interesting (and I haven’t yet viewed them all) are those submitted from nations furthest removed from democratic government. Take a look at life in Burma presented by the videographer as the antithesis of democracy, or share the Chinese Dream, as it looks back at the events decades ago in Tiananmen Square and ahead to a future in which freedom of expression is the norm.

Some interesting submissions also have come from Iran: Find out what Honey has to do with democracy, or see it boiled down to its most basic element in ER.

More than 100 videos have been submitted to this contest and more are arriving every day. Does one capture your vision of democracy? Take a look and let me hear from you.

U.S. leaders are speaking out on the growing crisis in Zimbabwe, but nothing I’ve read in recent weeks expresses the searing pain of that once-prosperous country as starkly as a recent letter to America.gov. Here’s a portion of it:

… We need you, please, to get the news OUT that we are all in a fearfully dangerous situation here. Too many people turn their backs and say – oh well, that’s what happens in Africa

This Government has GONE MAD and you need to help us publicize our plight—or how can we be rescued? It’s a reality! The petrol queues are a reality, the pall of smoke all around our city is a reality, the thousands of homeless people sleeping outside in 0 Celsius with no food, water, shelter and bedding are a reality. Today a family approached me, brother of the gardener’s wife with two small children. Their home was trashed and they will have to sleep outside. We already support [many people] on this property, and electricity is going up next month by 250% as is water.

How can I take on another family of 4 —– and yet how can I turn them away to sleep out in the open?

I am not asking you for money or a ticket out of here - I am asking you to FACE the fact that we are in deep and terrible danger and want you please to pass on our news and pictures. So PLEASE don’t just press the delete button! Help best in the way that you know how.

Do face the reality of what is going on here and help us SEND OUT THE WORD. The more people who know about it, the more chance we have of the United Nations coming to our aid. Please don’t ignore or deny what’s happening. Some would like to be protected from the truth BUT then, if we are eliminated, how would you feel? ‘If only we knew how bad it really was we could have helped in some way’.”

We’re getting the word out. Are you listening?

Even though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is 60 years old, the rights it enumerates remain out of reach in many nations. When the declaration was adopted, the world was still reeling from the magnitude of the Nazi atrocities, the full scope of which did not come to light until after World War II.

Hiding has been an effective strategy for other abusers. Despite widespread support for the declaration, violations continue around the world in repressive regimes that, until recently, were able to hide the true extent of their crimes. But in the age of new media, hiding is getting a lot more difficult.

The YouTube blog “Broadcasting Ourselves” cites how organizations are using video to document human rights abuses, raise awareness and promote change.

“Video continues to serve as a powerful tool to expose incidents that threaten the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And while it may be impossible to end human rights abuses everywhere, we can be grateful that there are citizens armed with cameras who help bring these abuses to light,” blogs Ramya R. of YouTube Nonprofits & Activism group.

But it’s not all about video. A question posted today on WITNESS underscores the power of pictures by asking the question “What Image Opened Your Eyes to Human Rights.?”

Other new media giving voice to the previously voiceless include cell phones, blogging and social networking.

Ultimately, 21st-century technology might be the key to realizing a promise six decades old and making the Universal Declaration truly universal. Your thoughts?

Sorry to have left you hanging for so long, but with so much attention focused in recent weeks on the 2008 U.S. elections, I didn’t think I could compete.

The presidential campaign has been a great story, with a former prisoner of war as one party’s candidate and the other ticket led by a face exemplifying American diversity and opportunity, promising a change in policies.

How important is it that America can change course through a peaceful transition of power? Seems important enough that al-Qaida is scrambling to tear down Barack Obama before he even takes the oath of office.

Consider how the latest piece of al-Qaida propaganda mocks Obama for the color of his skin, trying to turn a tangible, measurable sign of progress in the United States – and a willingness to change – into a liability; trying to substitute fear for hope because al-Qaida’s continued existence depends on fear.

That’s not just my opinion. See what knowledgeable sources have been telling Matt Armstrong , an expert on public diplomacy, and then tell me what you think the election of Barack Obama says about America and its role in the world.

In a new kind of public-private partnership, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James Glassman launched the State Department’s Democracy Video Challenge on September 15 at U.N. headquarters.

The launch was timed to coincide with United Nations’ first International Day of Democracy. Partners for the online video contest include the State Department, democracy and youth organizations, academia, and the news, film and entertainment industries.

The contest, which asks aspiring filmmakers to complete the phrase “Democracy is …,” seeks to engage the world in sharing ideas about how democratic principles work – or could work – around the world. An independent panel of experts will identify finalists and the global audience will determine which entrants win a trip to the United States for gala screenings of their films and meetings with film industry professionals.

The competition represents another public diplomacy foray into the wired world.

“We are creating opportunities for using emerging technology to engage in a discussion of democracy,” said Jonathan Margolis, deputy coordinator of the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, told the New York Times.

Not a filmmaker? You can still join the conversation. All voices are welcome at the Democracy Roundtable. Speak up!