World of 8 Billion Contest History
The World of 8 Billion student video contest opens again on September 3rd, 2024 for its 14th year of challenging students to think critically about global sustainability issues and human population growth. Today, we’re taking a look back into the contest’s history with Carol Bliese, who recalls running the contest during its first year.
Originally, the contest began as an initiative in 2010-2011 to use the milestone of reaching 7 billion people as a teachable moment for students. As such, it was the World of 7 Billion video contest. When the world population had surpassed 6 billion in 1999, Population Education created a poster. For the 7 billion milestone, the organization chose to take it to the next level and host a “PSA style” video contest. At the time, the concept of video editing was still fairly novel.
If you’ve recently participated in the World of 8 Billion competition, you’ll know that it has three main requirements:
- Create a video no longer than 60 seconds
- Focus on one global topic and explain how population growth impacts this issue
- Offer a sustainable solution to your topic
While students have always been required to connect population growth to a topic, the first contest in 2011 offered five topics to choose from and it was only open to high schoolers. All topics were judged together and prizes were awarded by grade, with a set of prizes going to the 9th-10th grade videos and another set for the 11th-12th grade videos.
After the first year of the contest, which was meant to be a one-time event for the 7 billion milestone, teachers began asking if it would return. Building off of the existing website and materials, the small but mighty World of 8 Billion team brought back the contest for the 2012-2013 school year.
In some years, the contest has used statements rather than topics, such as in 2014-2015 when students made a video responding to prompts such as “Most of The World’s Suitable Farmland is Already Under Cultivation.” Videos in the early years often had less talking because there were fewer overall requirements to meet.
As the contest grew and expanded to middle school and international students, the World of 8 Billion team built on their resources for students and teachers, including topic backgrounders, project organizers, an activism toolkit and more! Evolving with changing global challenges and feedback from students and teachers each year, we encourage participants to get creative and try out this project-based learning opportunity.
TIPS FOR SUPPORTING YOUR STUDENTS TO SUBMIT A VIDEO
One piece of feedback we often get from teachers is that students do not feel confident enough about their videos to submit them in the contest. Carol emphasizes the importance of weaving together a strong, coherent message in the script. “We get it—most students aren’t videographers. What we really want to see is that the students learn something, so that’s what we’re looking for.”
By participating in the contest, regardless of the result, students can build a foundational understanding of important global issues. “In order to make a difference, you have to understand the problems. And that’s exactly what the video contest aims to do for students—get them to understand the problem and consider different, better, outcomes.”
Beyond the contest, Carol encourages students to consider how they can be a positive influence on their families, friends, sports teams, bands, etc. through leading by example. Fostering conversations about these issues with your community and sharing ideas for solutions can be extremely impactful. “Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something!” And—don’t forget to vote when you turn 18!”
This year, we are awarding grants of $100-500 to teachers who need funds to support teaching the contest in their classroom. Details will be available as soon as the 2024-2025 contest opens on Sept 3rd.
