It’s the day we’ve been waiting for all school year – the winners of the World of 7 Billion student video contest have been announced! This year, 18 middle and high school students were winners in the 8th annual video contest. Their videos explored how human population growth relates to three global challenges: Preserving Biodiversity, Sustainable Resource Use, and Protecting Human Rights. Watch the winning videos and learn more about the students!
In their videos, students educated viewers about their chosen topic and proposed at least one sustainable solution for the problems they discussed. “The students’ ability to take complex challenges and create such thoughtful, creative, one-minute videos is truly impressive,” said John Seager, president of Population Connection.
Winners of the 2018-2019 World of 7 Billion Video Contest
Winning Videos in Preserving Biodiversity
High School
• 1st place: Ethan Xiong of Singapore for “Preserve Our Priceless Pollinators”
• 2nd place: Ali Ransom of Poolesville, MD for “Pollinators and the Human Population”
• Honorable Mention: Rana Duan of Sugar Land, TX for “The Threat of Outsiders”
• Honorable Mention: Lyssa Frank and Katie Jacomides of Austin, TX for “Flipper’s Dilemma”
Middle School
• 1st place: Ruby Ha of Teaneck, NJ for “In Your Backyard”
• 2nd place: Sydney Hopkin of Virginia Beach, VA for “The Ugly Truth About Receipts”
Winning Videos in Sustainable Resource Use
High School
• 1st place: Pitt Pongpittayapa and Kritin Vongthongsri of Bangkok, Thailand for “A Nanofuture”
• 2nd place: Ethan Xiong of Singapore for “Smart and Sustainable Fishing”
• Honorable Mention: Sophia DeSantis of Lafayette, CO for “The Pee-Cycling Alternative”
• Honorable Mention: Kevin Florio and Jake Florio of Bolyston, MA for “Single-Use Plastics”
Middle School
• 1st place: Honor Dodd of Los Angeles, CA for “Switch to Rechargeable”
• 2nd place: Winni Ye of Whitestone, NY for “Abuse to Re-use”
Winning Videos in Protecting Human Rights
High School
• 1st place: Jade Christman of Cumming, GA for “Women of Action”
• 2nd place: Lucy Barretto of Oakland, CA for “Barriers to Education: Menstrual Health”
• Honorable Mention: Jack Gasdia and Harper Colburn of Hudson, NH for “Stepping Toward a Freer World”
• Honorable Mention: Sarah Lee, Crystal Lim, and Rachel Hong of Seongnamsi, South Korea for “For a More Nurturing World”
Middle School
• 1st place: Eleanor Bennett, Noa Biener, and Lucy Benavides of Shorewood, WI for “Coltan: A Conflict Mineral”
• 2nd place: Vedika Amin of Mumbai, India for “Compassion and Integration Can Solve the Refugee Crisis”
Submissions came from over 5,500 middle and high school students in 43 countries and 47 U.S. states and territories. Winning students come from the United States, Singapore, Thailand, India, and South Korea.
More Winners: Best in State and Best in Region
A new twist was added to the traditional prizes this year – a top video was selected from each U.S. state as well as each world region. With so many exceptional videos, we wanted to recognize more students for their hard work and high-quality messages. We applaud these Best in State/Region winners!
Visit the World of 7 Billion website for more information on the contest.
View the winning videos and read bios of the student filmmakers.
Want to use the contest in your classroom or share with future students? Sign-up today and you’ll receive updates and information on the 2019-2020 contest as it becomes available.
