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High School Students in Arizona Can Create a Video to Improve the World and Win a Cash Prize

Feb 09, 2015

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT–High school students in Arizona can win cash prizes for creating a short video exploring how a rapidly growing human population might impact the world, Arizona, or their future quality of life. It’s a video contest called “One Planet, Many People” and is being presented by the Arizona chapter of US-based nonprofit Population Media Center (PMC).

“This provides high school students with a chance to learn about a critically important issue, to develop or improve their artistic creativity, and to win money,” says Keith Kaback, PMC-Arizona’s Executive Director. “Who knows? It could be the launch of their career as a film director or producer.”

The grand prize features $1,000 and publication of the video on PMC’s website. Four special category prizes of $250 each will also be awarded, along with publication of the videos on PMC’s website. The special categories are best presentation of the history of population growth from world, national, or Arizona perspective, best presentation of an environmental effect of population growth, best presentation of the likely impact of world, national, or Arizona population growth on today’s students, and best video production. PMC-Arizona got the idea from Population Connection, who has held a successful video contest the past four years.

“We are very excited about making a difference in the world, allowing youth to learn about how population growth underlies most of the pressing environmental and social issues confronting our world today, and building a video contest program that can hopefully be expanded in the coming years,” says Kaback.

The contest began on January 31, 2015. If students decide to participate, they must complete a short entry/parental form and should submit it as soon as possible. Videos must be submitted in digital format by midnight on March 31, 2015, along with a short form that includes the title of their video.

“We have no idea whether the contest will receive five entries, 50 entries, or 100,” says Kaback, “but we have gotten some enthusiastic responses from students and teachers so far. I hope that we are faced with the ‘problem’ of having so many entries that we have to expand our panel of judges.”

For more information about the “One Planet, Many People” video contest for Arizona high school students sponsored by the Arizona chapter of Population Media Center, please visit www.populationmedia.org/Arizona.

ABOUT POPULATION MEDIA CENTER (PMC):
Population Media Center is a nonprofit, international nongovernmental organization, which strives to improve the health and well-being of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies, like serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience for positive behavior change. Founded in 1998, PMC has over 15 years of field experience using the Sabido methodology of behavior change communications, impacting more than 50 countries around the world. www.populationmedia.org