Congratulations to the winners of the 2025-2026 World of 8 Billion Student Video Contest! View the Winners!

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2025-2026 Winners

2025-2026 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 2025-2026 World of 8 Billion student video contest. The creativity, subject knowledge, and production quality of this year’s submissions were truly impressive. Participants brought global issues to life through innovative storytelling, highlighting thoughtful, sustainable solutions with unique perspectives.

The contest first ran during the 2010-2011 school year as a “teachable moment” around the world population reaching 7 billion. That year, we received 619 video submissions from 36 U.S. states and four countries, and the contest was intended 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 15th year, over 35,000 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 and watching more students explore the complexities of population growth through film.

2026 winners infographic

Contest Judges

Amanda Killough

AP Human Geography, World Geography Teacher, Flower Mound 9th Grade Campus, Flower Mound, Texas

Dr. Ir. Amina Chouairi

Lecturer, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands

Andrea Williams

Board Member, Reef Renewal USA and Consultant/PADI IDC Staff Instructor, Atlanta, Georgia

Anganette Byrd

Senior Administrative Support Assistant/Education Coordinator, Mecklenburg Soil and Water Conservation District, Charlotte, North Carolina

Angie Wood

Professor of Geography and Director of Chattanooga State Honors, Chattanooga State Community College, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Anne Pherson

Retired Teacher & Pop Ed Trainer, Burnsville, Minnesota

Barrett Wright

Science Teacher, Chesterfield County Public Schools, Midlothian, Virginia

Belaynesh Aragew

Managing Director, Save the Future Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Benjamin Bolger

Teacher of Social Studies, Governor Livingston High School, Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

Brett Burkey

Director of Education, Florida Council on Economic Education, Boca Raton, Florida

Carol Ward

AP Human Geography, World Geography and Civics, Windsor High School - Weld RE4, Windsor Colorado

Catherine Knoop

Retired Science Educator/Pop Ed Trainer, Camp Oty'Okwa, Hocking Hills, Ohio

Cheryl Miller-Arndt

Former University Instructor & School Psychologist, Learning Disorders Clinician, Spokane, Washington

Chris Anderson

Host and Executive Producer, OutSCIder Classroom, Cincinnati, Ohio

Diana Buirgy

Science Teacher, Glenwood Springs High School, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Donna Goggin Patel

Environmental Volunteer

Elizabeth Katoa

Biology & Environmental Science Teacher, North Ridgeville City Schools, North Ridgeville, Ohio

EunJung Kim

Clinical Assistant Professor for Social Studies Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

Gail Luera

Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan

Ginelle Aziz

Civil Engineering Graduate Researcher, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ginny Beauregard

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

Guy Hamlin

8th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Camden-Rockport Middle School, Camden, Maine

Heather Plumridge Bedi

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Heather Smith

Board Member, Population Connection, Cape Town, South Africa

Janet Beach

Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, Heartland Community College, Normal, Illinois

Jarred Haas

Teacher, Racine Unified School District, Racine, Wisconsin

Jennifer Adams

Teacher, South Shore International College Prep High School, Chicago, Illinois

Jermaine James

Curriculum Specialist, School District of Osceola County, Kissimmee, Florida

Joanne Rebbeck

Retired Research Scientist, USDA Forest Service, Mars Hill, North Carolina

John Seager

President, Population Connection, Washington, DC

Karen Roos

Educator, New York City, New York

Kathy Raffel

Retired Professor (Former Faculty at University of San Francisco, School of Nursing and Health Professions), San Francisco, California

Ken Folger

Retired Teacher, Nashville, Tennessee

Kimberly Worsham

Founder & Principal, FLUSH, San Francisco, California

Linda L. Hammon

AP Human Geography, World Geography Teacher (retired), College Board APSI Consultant for APHG, New Braunfels, Texas

Maria Seitz

Second Grade Teacher, St. Christopher’s School, Richmond, Virginia

Marty Martell

Outdoor Supervision, REI Boulder, Boulder, Colorado

Michelle Jones

Retired Secondary/Middle School Teacher, Darlington County Schools, Hartsville, South Carolina

Dr. Michael D. Bechtel (Bec)

Professor of Science Education, Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa

Nancy Lehmann-Carssow

Tour Guide to Africa, Austin, Texas

Nathan S. Lewis

George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

Nick Boutis

Executive Director, Glen Helen Association, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Nicole Vickerman

World Geography Team Leader, Clark High School, Plano, Texas

Rose Calhoun

Science Teacher & Department Chair, South Bend Community School Corporation, South Bend, Indiana

Ryan Hauck

Social Studies Teacher, Director Global Classroom Program, Glacier Peak High School and World Affairs Council, Seattle and Snohomish, Washington

Ryan Levitt

Environmental Economics Analyst

Seema Mohapatra

Board Member, Population Connection and M.D. Anderson Foundation Endowed Professor in Health Law, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Dallas, Texas

Stacy Blomquist

USDA Forest Service, Kisatchie National Forest, Pineville, Louisiana

Stephen Day

Director, Virginia Commonwealth University Center for Economic Education, Richmond, Virginia

Sydney Rodman

CEO, Green Revival, Potomac, Maryland

Tabeer Riaz

Co-Founder, South Asia Young Women in Water (SAYWiW), Eskilstuna, Sweden

Tammi Remsburg

North Carolina Environmental Educator (Retired)

Trudy Swan

Retired Science Teacher, Yorktown Heights, New York

Zita Holbourne

Campaigner, Educator, Visual Artist, Writer, National Chair and Co-founder of BARAC UK, London, United Kingdom
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