World of 8 Billion Student Video Contest

Teachers around the world have been using the student video contest to promote global learning and provide an opportunity for students to practice 21st century skills.

“I found the video project a great way to learn about technology and video editing, while simultaneously making changes to the world for the better!”
— Student contest participant

More About the World of 8 Billion Contest

Who: 6th - 12th graders worldwide

What: Students create a short solution-orientated video connecting human population growth to one of three global challenges. The 2026-2027 topics are:

City Planning
Extreme Weather
Fresh Water Use

When: Contest is open! Submissions accepted starting September 2, 2026. Submission deadline is March 3, 2027.

How:

Visit www.Worldof8Billion.org for full contest details.

Integrating the Video Contest into Your Classroom

The contest serves as a great small group or individual student project. On the contest website, you’ll find a lesson plan to help you seamlessly use the video contest as a classroom assignment as well as background resources and an interactive, student-friendly project organizer for your students.

“This was an amazing opportunity for my students to use what we study in geography and apply it to the real world outside of the walls of the classroom. They are so motivated for this project and I fully intend to continue this annually because of the incredible value it has for their learning.”
—Teacher, Shorewood WI

The World of 8 Billion video competition is a great fit for: general Social Studies and Science classes, Biology, Global Studies, Media Literacy/Communications, AP Human Geography, AP Environmental Science, and more!

Now in its 16th year and with over 35,000 student-made videos created, the contest continues to be a teacher favorite. This engaging real-world video project has made thousands of students better informed on the vast connections between population growth and so many of today’s big global challenges. The contest was previously called the World of 7 Billion student video contest. Watch last year’s winners now!