Brookwood Student Wins Honors in International Video Contest

Robert Chandler, a sophomore at Brookwood High School in Snellville, GA, won honorable mention for an original video he produced for the “World of 7 Billion” student video contest, sponsored by Population Connection. 

See the above video to watch Chandler's video, titled “Food Security: Inked.” 

Robert’s video – which uses hand-drawn animation to show how hunger affects the human population – was among 13 winners from 567 submissions created by high school students in 37 states, 18 countries and American Samoa.

Robert won $250 and has his video featured on the “World of 7 Billion” website. 

Robert won honorable mention in the “Food Security” category. Two other categories included “Global Status of Women and Girls” and “Wildlife Habitat.”

Robert created his video as an assignment for his AP Environmental Science class. He’s always been interested in environmental science and chose to participate in the food security category because he knew how important the issue was for the world. Robert had seen hunger firsthand while on mission trips, but had “never really thought of the connection (between population and food security) until I saw how apparent it was during my research.” 

Robert admitted that he’s “not a great actor,” so he chose to use a series of drawings instead. He said the hardest parts were choosing what information to include and coordinating the images and voiceover. 

Robert said he might be interested in biology or environmental science as a career, but “nothing too concrete yet.”  He loves being outdoors, whether rock climbing or camping with his school’s Outdoor Club. Robert is thinking of putting his prize money toward a mission trip he hopes to take to Guatemala. 

“Each year, the submissions for our video contest get better and better,” said John Seager, president of Population Connection. “Robert’s video proved that simple drawings can be used to explain complex topics, such as how hunger and human population growth are linked.”

A panel of 21 judges included:

• Ellen Barnard, executive producer, Tomorrow Pictures Inc.
• Joe Bish of the Population Media Center
• Dr. Joe Fargione, science director of The Nature Conservancy, North America Region
• Chris Day, Head of Corporate Communications, United Talent Agency
• “Mother: Caring for 7 Billion” filmmakers Joyce Johnson and Christopher Fauchere
• John Bard Manulis, president of Foundation Entertainment
• Documentary filmmaker Lisa Russell of Governess Films
• Seager

Population Connection is the United States’ largest grassroots population organization, with 140,000 members and supporters. It was founded in 1968 as Zero Population Growth, or ZPG. Population Connection advocates for universal access to voluntary family planning programs to help expand women’s rights, ensure social justice and protect natural resources.

Population Connection’s Population Education program provides support for K-12 educators teaching about population and related issues by providing curriculum resources and professional development workshops. 

For more information on the “World of 7 Billion” contest and to see the other winning videos, visit their website.