2019 High School Winners

Ethan is a 10^th grader at St. Joseph’s Institution International in Singapore. Being a previous World of 7 Billion video contest middle school winner, he has learned a lot from his experiences participating in the competition over the years. With previous winnings, he purchased “film equipment, software, and lessons” which he contributes to his growth as a film producer. He enjoys the skills he has acquired, but feels “the contest has a greater purpose.” He says, “It is crucial, for the world’s sake, that my generation starts learning about and considering the sorts of challenges presented by this contest, and I personally find many of them very interesting to analyze as well.” Ethan was inspired to submit a video this year after learning one of the topics was Sustainable Resource Use. He explained, “Overfishing is a pressing issue in Singapore, especially because fish are a very common part of the Singaporean diet.” He had some previous knowledge about overfishing from his Geography, Economics, and Biology courses, but was not aware of how a growing population is connected to this topic until after doing research.

Although Ethan has had previous experience with the World of 7 Billion video contest, he still found the 60-second time limit to be a challenge. He spent most of his time refining his script and exploring different angles to approach the topic. Some advice he offered to future contest participants is, “Don’t rely on the script alone to convey all the information you wish to include, but instead maximize the video’s potential to complement your script.”

With the prize money, Ethan plans to spend a portion on purchasing a new laptop and the rest on college savings. Now that the video contest is over, Ethan looks forward to getting back to long-distance running, debate, and creative writing.