Facebook Competition

1. Most Alike Male or Female Identical Twins/Triplets,
2. Most Alike Male or Female Fraternal Twins/Triplets,
3. Most Alike Male/Female Twins/Triplets,
4. Best Twins/Triplets Fancy Dress and
5. Oldest Twins/Triplets

You could win a gift card of $50 for each twin/triplet
To enter you must:
- Upload a photo of a twin pair or triplet set, including their names, in the comments
- Like the Twins Research Australia Facebook Page.

Terms and Conditions:

1. Entry is open to Australian residents, aged 16+ only. Only one (1) entry per individual will be accepted.
2. Promotion commences 08/11/2021 and final entries close 11.59pm on 15/11/2021.
3. To enter, participants must upload a photo in the comments AND like this TRA Facebook Page.
4. The Prize is a Prezzee gift voucher valued at $50 for each twin or triplet, aged 16+. Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash.
5. Winners will be announced at our Virtual TwinsFest Australia event online on 18/11/2021.
6. Winners will be notified via our Facebook page or email within 5 working days thereafter.

This competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook

Social Media Terms and Conditions

1. The Promoter is: Twins Research Australia (TRA), at the University of Melbourne, Level 3, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton. This competition is run as part of the Virtual TwinsFest Australia (TwinsFest) event being held online on Thursday 18th November 2021.
2. The competition is open to residents of Australia aged 16 years or over except employees of Twins Research Australia, and judges of the competition, and their immediate families.  Twins, triplets or higher-order multiples who are members of Twins Research Australia ARE eligible to enter this competition.
3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
4. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via https://www.facebook.com/TwinsResearchAustralia
5. Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.
6. Closing date for entry will be 11.59pm Monday 15th November 2021. After this date, no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
7. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
8. The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows:
   a) Participants must like the Twins Research Australia Facebook Page.
   b) Participants must be 16 years old or older at the time of the competition; and also in the photo submitted.
   c) If a parent enters a photo of their children; the children must be aged over 16 years to be a valid entry and to receive the monetary prize. The parent will be contacted to verify age and contact details for 16-17 year old twins/triplets; for twins/triplets aged over 18, parents will need to provide contact details so that TRA can ascertain permission for the photo to be used for the purposes of this competition.
   d) To enter, participants must upload a photo of a twin pair or triplet set in the comments on the specific Facebook post. There is a specific Facebook post for each of the 5 categories;
   1. Most Alike Male or Female Identical Twins/Triplets,
   2. Most Alike Male or Female Fraternal Twins/Triplets,
   3. Most Alike Male/Female Twins/Triplets,
   4. Best Twins/Triplets Fancy Dress and
   5. Oldest Twins/Triplets.  If you are unable to upload a photo to FB for any reason, you may submit an email entry to alison.wright@unimelb.edu.au
9. The Promoter shall have the right, at its sole discretion and at any time, to change or modify these terms and conditions, such change shall be effective immediately upon posting to this webpage. The Promoter also reserves the right to cancel the competition if circumstances arise outside of its control.
10. The prize is as follows: The Prize is a Prezzee gift voucher valued at $50 for each of the twins/triplets in the prize-winning photograph in each of the 5 categories. Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. Prize-winners must be over 16 years old to win this prize. Total prize pool is $500-$750.
11. Winners will be chosen by an independent panel of judges appointed by the Promoter. This judging panel will include previous competition winners of "most alike twins”, a parent of twins, and TRA, ICOMBO and AMBA representatives.
12. The winners will be announced at the TwinsFest online event on Thursday 18th November 2021 and notified via TRA’s Facebook or email within 5 working days thereafter. If the winner/s cannot be contacted or do/does not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner/s and pick a replacement winner/s. Winners are not required to attend the TwinsFest event, however it is encouraged.
13. The Promoter will notify the winner/s when and how the prize can be delivered.
14. The Promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. The winner/s agree to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current Australian data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent. Please note: all shortlisted and winner photos will be displayed at the Virtual TwinsFest Australia event and can be used on Twins Research Australia social media and webpages.
16. The winners’ names will be available for 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: alison.wright@umimelb.edu.au
17. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
18. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to Twins Research Australia and not to any other party.

The aims of the virtual festival are:

• Celebrate twins and their families, researchers, partners and supporters for their contribution to TRA’s 40 years of life-changing research
• Provide a fun and entertaining experience for guests
• Provide a first-of-its kind forum for twins to come together
• Recognise key contributors and achievements in TRA’s history
• Raise funds for TRA health research to benefit the wellbeing of twins and their families 
• Encourage new members to join our vital research
• Raise awareness of TRA and its research

Did you know? There are around 750,000 multiples (twins, triplets and above) in Australia (based on an estimate that three percent of Australia’s population is a multiple). Twins Research Australia has around 75,000 members, or around 10 percent of Australian twins are TRA members.

For our TwinsFest event, we expect largely an Australian audience but the event may also attract international participants. TwinsFest is recommended for ages 16 and above, including:

• Australian TRA members - adult twins and HOM’s (triplets and above), parents of twins/HOMs 
• Australian multiple-birth community (non-TRA members) - twins/HOMs adults and parents of twins/HOMs
• Australian twin researchers and their teams
• Australian partner organisations e.g. University of Melbourne, Australian Multiple Birth Association
• International multiple-birth community – twins/HOMs adults and parents of twins
• International partners - twin members and researchers of registries around the world, international partner organisations such as the International Council of Multiple Birth Organisations

As we have not held an event like this before, it will be a first-time opportunity to gauge the interest of the multiple-birth community in such an event. From other public forums that we’ve previously held, we know that twins and parents of twins enjoy connecting with others in their multiple-birth community. TRA, in conjunction with the Australian Multiple Birth Association, held in-person Melbourne-based twin festivals in 2012 and 2015 with record attendance of 3000 patrons reached in 2012.

With the reach of our promotional campaign, and by presenting a popular program, we are hoping to attract 1000-plus attendees at our first-ever TwinsFest. We hope this will be a forerunner to an annual online event for the multiple-birth community. See below for details of the event promotional campaign.

Registration, ticketing and payment are operated by TRA through the Humanitix platform. Raffle is conducted through RaffleLink, and silent auction through GalaBid.

'Early bird' $30 ticket is offered until a week prior to the event; full price ticket is $40.

Guests are invited to contribute an additional $10 towards ‘event running costs’ at checkout. They also have the opportunity to make a further donation if interested.

A ticket purchase includes an online event program and link to the virtual event; access to the competitions; participation in the major raffle and silent auction; and recipes from twin celebrity chefs.

The virtual major raffle and silent auction closes towards the end of the gala. They will be launched three weeks prior to the gala to provide advance event publicity, and to enable people to make bids early.

Proceeds from TwinsFest will support TRA and its research addressing issues of importance to twins and multiples.

The program - from 7.30pm-9.00pm AEDT* - aims to showcase multiple-birth entertainers, presenters, personalities and researchers. It also includes fun activities such as a twin trivia quiz, and photo competitions for most-alike/least-alike identical and fraternal twins etc.

Please note: this format is provisional and will be finalised once invited special guests have confirmed their availability. The program will be finalised by late October and shared with all program participants.

Prior to the show, twin chefs provide recipes/menu for cocktails, mocktails and snack ideas for enjoying during the show

• Welcome by MC (a well-known twin or pair of twins, or parent of twins)
• Performance by twin entertainers (or parents of twins)
• MC explains how to purchase raffle tickets and to bid on a number of exciting auction items (encourage guests to add their messages/photos at TRA’s group birthday card at https://www.kudoboard.com/
• MC welcomes and interviews TRA Director, Professor John Hopper
• Message from TRA’s International Patron, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, herself a mother of twins
• Twin trivia online quiz
• Flashback – MC interviews one of the first pair of twins to join TRA in 1981
• Photo competition voted by event attendees via an online poll (awards for twins who are: most alike and least alike identical female, most alike and least alike identical male, most alike and least alike male/female, most alike and least alike fraternal female twins, most alike and least alike fraternal male twins, the eldest twins, a twin from the most far-flung place from TRA Melbourne HQ)
• MC interviews Dr Justine Gatt about her twin research into resilience and how her findings have helped people to cope during the pandemic
• Twin comedians (or parent of twins) on funny experiences of being a twin
• Is it important to know if you are identical or fraternal? MC interviews twins who found out for sure with some surprising consequences 
• Meet some new faces of twin research – an early career researcher interviewed by MC
• MC wraps up show; drawing of raffle and close of silent auction; thanks to guests, attendees and organisers
• Finale: Performance by twin entertainers (or parent of twins); they end the show with ‘happy birthday’ song and blowing out candles on a special cake to celebrate TRA’s 40th birthday

* Australian Eastern Daylight Time

TRA plans an extensive targeted program of promotions to inform and motivate multiple-birth audiences to join our event. The following table outlines the different types of audiences, and promotional channels to reach 100,000 plus people in this specific community in Australia and around the world. 

TRA has well established communication channels within the multiple-birth community, including our database of over 75,000 members and nearly 15,000 followers on Facebook as well as partnerships with key organisations such as the University of Melbourne, Australian Multiple Birth Association (AMBA), and International Committee of Multiple Birth Organisations (ICOMBO).

Our official social media and event hashtags are:

• Facebook @TwinsResearchAustralia
• Event page on Facebook
• Instagram @TwinsResearchAustralia
• Twitter @TwinsResearchAustralia
• LinkedIn @TwinsResearchAustralia
• #TwinsFestAus2021

The campaign will include regular communications to build excitement in the lead-up to TwinsFest such as an ‘early bird’ ticket offer; feature stories on guest entertainers, interviewees and special guests; and the launch of the major raffle and silent auction (people will be able to purchase raffle tickets and bid for silent auctions prior to, as well as on the night of, the event).

TwinsFest provides a unique opportunity to promote your brand and services to a motivated and enthusiastic audience at a one-of-a-kind event. All proceeds from the event go towards research to benefit the health of twins and their families.

We are seeking donations of products and services to be used for the major raffle and silent auction. Benefits for our business donors include:

• Promote your brand/products/services to a 100,000-plus Australia-wide audience of adults and parents prior to the event and/or audience participants on the night. See our event promotional campaign for the extent and reach of planned activities
• Yours may be a large company that can offer products/services widely used by adults/parents/families; a health product/service provider that complements the health/research focus of TRA; or niche products used by multiple-birth families
• Provide a point-of-difference from your competitors
• Demonstrate your corporate citizenship through the support of a not-for-profit community service organisation
• Support health research to benefit the multiple-birth community as well as all Australians

If you would like to learn more about becoming involved in TwinsFest and the benefits for your business, please contact TRA Communications and Marketing at lynettew@unimelb.edu.au or angela.clover@unimelb.edu.au 

Not-for-profit Twins Research Australia is unique – we are the only dedicated national facility in Australia, based at the University of Melbourne, bringing twins and researchers together for vital health research to not only benefit the health of twins but all Australians.

Our International Patron is Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, herself a mother of twins.

There is no more powerful way to investigate genetic and environmental influences on health and disease than twin research. It has contributed to important insights into some of our most pressing health concerns including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, epilepsy, asthma, and mental health.

Twin research offers the potential to fast-track research and to find cures faster. Twins bring known genetic and environmental factors to a study, thus saving time and resources in establishing baseline data for research. Also our state-of-the-art database of 75,000 volunteer twins – one of the biggest in the world – matches eligible twins to relevant research projects. This means researchers don’t have to undertake their own time-consuming and costly searches for study participants.

TRA relies on the generous support of the community to help us to continue our vital research. While TRA currently receives some government support, it does not cover all of our operating costs or research priorities - and there is no certainty that this support will continue in the long-term. Fundraising activities like TwinsFest ensure out research can continue to address the most pressing health concerns of our world both now and into the future.