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2023-2024 Winners

2023-2024 Winners

The World of 8 Billion contest is a project of the Population Education program, provider of K-12 classroom resources and professional development opportunities. The contest is run every school year.

Click on a topic below to view the winning videos.

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Thank you to all the teachers and students who participated in the 2023-2024 World of 8 Billion student video contest. We were thoroughly impressed with the quality and thoughtfulness of submissions this year. Many videos demonstrated creative approaches to video production, and unique sustainable solutions to complex topics.

The contest first ran during the 2010-2011 school year as a “teachable moment” around the 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 make the contest an annual event.

Now in its 13th year, over 29,000 student 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 growth 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.

2023-2024 contest infographic

Contest Judges

Harriet Alexander

Senior Reporter, DailyMail.com, New York, New York

Lauren Johnson

Assistant Director, Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia

Shannon Morago

STEM Learning Specialist, Humboldt County Office of Education, Eureka, California

Brandon Gilroyed

Associate Professor, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada

Lesleigh Drake

Associate Director, Nature's Classroom, Inc, Charlton, Massachusetts

Cathy Knoop

Pop Ed Trainer, Population Connection, Ohio

Marty Martell

Sales Advisor, Boulder REI, Inc., Boulder, Colorado

Byron Williston

Professor of Philosophy, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada

Emilie Pesante

Cinematographer, Emilie PESANTE, Los Angeles, California

Alex Lempin

Program Specialist, Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center, Smyrna, Tennessee

Andrea Williams

President , National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS), Washington, D.C.

Julie Ashworth

Dr. Julie Ashworth, Augustana University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Pat Heaney

Assistant Director of Education, The Watershed Institute, Pennington, New Jersey

Pefolé Fotsing Claude Winnie

Magistrate, Gender Expert, Ministry of Justice, President and Founder of ReKnow Association, Cameroon

Christine Percheski

Associate Professor, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

Jordan Johnson

Collegiate Fellow, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Sue Strutz

FCS Teacher, School District of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

John Seager

President, Population Connection, Washington, D.C.

Olivia Nater

Communications Manager, Population Connection, Colorado

Melyna Campos

Education Specialist, Education Service Center Region 13, Austin, Texas

Nazeem Muhajarine

Professor, Director, University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Quentin Groom

Senior Researcher, Meise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium

Krishnendu Mukherjee

Barrister/Advocate, Doughty Street Chambers, London, United Kingdom

Zita Holbourne

National Chair / Co-founder, BARAC UK, United Kingdom

Bob Pettapiece

Professor, retired, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan

Ginny Beauregard

Environmental Educator, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Melvine Ouyo

Founder and Executive Director, Hope for Kenya Slum Adolescents Initiative, Nairobi

Sydney Rodman

Founder and President, Green Revival, Potomac, Maryland

Christy Williams

Teacher, ReDefiners World Languages & Ugarit Linguistics Institute, Tampa, Florida

Dakota Altman

Instructor and Photographer, Platte Basin Timelapse & University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska

Elizabeth Katoa

Environmental Science and Biology Teacher, North Ridgeville High School, Ohio

Florence Blondel

Content and Campaigns Specialist, Population Matters, Charlotte, North Carolina

Tyrell Davis

Writer, Boulder, Colorado

Kathleen Rocco

Owner, Red Clay Farm, Ohio

Sara Pipernos

Director/ Producer, Human Rights at Sea International, Bristol, United Kingdom

Suzanne de Berge

President, Seeds for a Future, Arizona (Work done in Guatemala)

Maria Seitz

Educator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond, Virginia

Laura Clary

Assistant Scientist, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

Isha Garg

Mental Health Advocate & Peer Educator, Melbourne, Australia

Rana Dajani

Professor, The Hashemite University, Jordan

Milka Loff Fernandes

Emotional Health Ambassador, Milka Loff Fernandes, Germany

Rafael Woldeab

Executive Director, City Blossoms, Washington, D.C.

Nsah Mala

Poet-Writer, Scholar-Researcher, Foresight Practitioner, Multiple Affiliations, Cameroon/France/Germany/UK/USA

Alexander Glass

Senior Lecturer in Geology and Climate, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

Odunola Oladeji

Doctoral Candidate, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy

Denise Stewardson

Director, Utah Agriculture in the Classroom, Logan, Utah

Aníbal Pauchard Cortes

Associate Professor, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

Simona Voicescu

Human Rights Advocate, Necuvinte Association, Romania
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