Population Education has officially launched its fourth annual World of 7 Billion student video contest for high school students.

This year, high school students from around the world will be challenged to create a 60-second video about "human population growth," said a press release. The video must highlight one of the following global concerns Population Education provides:

• The world is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction
• Most of the world's suitable farmland is already under cultivation
• Worldwide, 1 in 10 primary school age children and 1 in three secondary age children are not enrolled in school

The videos, the release said, "must include how population growth impacts the issue, why the issue is important, and at least one idea for a sustainable solution."

Four winners will be chosen for each global challenge, the release said. The first place winner will receive $1,000, the second place winner will receive $500, and each honorable mention will receive $250 each. All students in grades 9-12 are eligible to apply. The entries are due by Thursday, February 19, 2015. 

Population Education is a national program with "a strong emphasis on curriculum and professional development for K-12 educators that focuses on human population issues," said the release. The program, which has been running since 1975, has "developed age-appropriate curricula to complement students' science and social science instruction about human population trends and their impacts on national resources, environmental quality and human well-being."

The program has also created a lesson plan, the release said, to "help teachers incorporate the video content into the classroom."

"With clear objectives, research materials, a step-by-step procedure, and follow-up questions for further analysis, teachers can provide a meaningful experience for their students," said the release. "The contest fits easily into classes on Social Studies, APHG, Global Studies, Science, APES, Communications, and more. Teachers who have 10 or more students enter the contest will receive a free resource kit."

Here is an example of last year's first place winner for the World of 7 Billion's contest by Marius Vaitkevičius in Lithuania.

For more information, visit World of 7 Billion. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor