“It’s obvious that the key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life—for 8 billion or more people—without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt.”—E.O. Wilson
The World of 7 Billion contest winners have been selected! E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation President & CEO, Paula Ehrlich, was a judge for the contest, which had entries from an estimated 3,800 students. Watch the 18 winning videos here.
Statistics from the 2015-2016 contest:
1,983 videos entries were received,
• 71% (1,417 videos) were from high school students
• 29% (566 videos were from middle school students
Of the possible topics,
• 38% of videos focused on deforestation and population
• 26% of videos focused on public health and population
• 36% of videos focused on water scarcity and population
Videos were submitted from 28 countries and 44 U.S. states and territories.
From the World of 7 Billion website:
The contest first ran during the 2010–2011 school year as a “teachable moment” around world population reaching 7 billion. 619 videos were received from 36 U.S. states and four countries abroad in that first year and it was meant to be a one-time event. But we received such positive feedback from teachers—many wanted to participate again and make the contest a permanent project in their courses—that we decided to run the contest a second time during the 2012–2013 school year.
Now in its 5th year, nearly 5,000 student-made videos on the impacts of population have been created as a direct result of the contest. Thousands of students are now more aware of the vast connections between population and so many of today’s pressing global challenges.
We look forward to continuing the contest into the future and watching as more students explore the complexities of population growth through film.
