This article originally appeared in MTV’s ACT Blog

It’s time to get democratic! Looking@Democracy is getting ready to give out major money prizes for people who can get creative in their discussions about democracy.

Even though we’re all in the same country, we’re not always the best at working together. In connection with the Illinois Humanities Council with support from the MacArthur Foundation, Looking@Democracy wants provocative submissions that answer the question, “How can we work together to strengthen our democracy?” You can get super creative with how you answer this question — like blogging, making your own mini cartoon, or shooting a video, etc. The requirement is that it needs to be digital so that it can get shared on the Internet.

You can start submitting today, and you have until April 16 to get your blog/cartoon/video/sky’s-the-limit turned in. And remember how I mentioned money? The person who comes in first place gets $25,000! Judges involved in the media and non-profits are going to be going over the entries and picking their faves.

For the most part Looking@Democracy is leaving it up to you to decide what you want to submit. They do suggest maybe talking about a topic that’s not brought up much in national debate (but one you think needs to be addressed) or looking into the real stories behind stats, or even concentrating on some kind of democracy going on in your area. It’s time to start looking!