AncestryDNA and Momundo Contest

Travel search website momundo.com has teamed up with Ancestry.com (and 23andMe for Germany, Spain, and France) for an interesting two-phase contest. The first phase is a chance to win one of 500 free DNA test kits. Winners of the 500 kits are then eligible to enter the second phase: win a trip to all your ancestral countries.

To enter the first phase, submit a description in 250 characters or less how you will “open the world through travel.” Twenty or more winners will be selected from each of these countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and USA.

The deadline for the first phase is 16 August 2016. There will be a minimum of 9 winners per country awarded on 16 June, another 9 or more on 16 July, and another 5 or more on 16 August. So if you want three chances to win, enter before 16 June. You need enter only once to be eligible for subsequent awards. To increase your chances of winning, it also helps if you’re living in a small country. <smile>

The 500 winners of phase one then move on to phase two. They must record on video the first moments of learning their DNA test results. And they must post the video online. To be eligible, this must be the first time you’ve seen your results. A first prize winner will receive up to 15,000 EUR with which to fly to all their ancestral countries. Second prize is a return airline ticket from a destination of the winner’s choice. One person from each of the countries listed above will win a second prize. Third prize is another DNA test kit. There will be 85 to 90 kits evenly distributed among the countries.

Momundo is an interesting venture. While you can search for flights and accommodations on momundo.com, it is not a travel agency and does not sell tickets. I’m not certain how they pay their bills. Their website says, “momondo was founded on the belief that everybody should be able to travel the world, to meet other people, and experience other cultures and religions. Travel opens our minds: when we experience something different, we begin to see things differently.” Of this DNA promotion they say, “Most of us are far more diverse and have much more in common with people from other countries than we would ever have thought. We have started The DNA Journey because we want people to understand that there are more things uniting us, than dividing us.”

You can read more about the DNA promotion, “Let’s Open Our World,” on the momundo website. You can enter the contest here. Ancestry has also posted a blog article, “The DNA Journey: powered by AncestryDNA.”