2017 Middle School Winners

Ethan Xiong, an eighth grader who currently lives in Singapore, was having a difficult time finding video competitions that are open worldwide when he found the World of 7 Billion contest through a web search. He shares with us, “I am concerned for the environment and the future of our planet, and I wanted to spread a positive message through my videos that would inform people about the issues we face, as well as how they can be solved.” With this inspiration on hand Ethan submitted videos to each topic category and won first place in two (Ocean Health and Rapid Urbanization).

Ethan, who has been making films for about two years, pulled inspiration for his Rapid Urbanization video from his personal life. He tells us, “My family is Indonesian, and on the occasion when we do get to go back to Indonesia, I have to stay in my Grandma’s house which is very near to a slum area. I’ve seen slum life and many of its hardships first-hand, which drove me to make that particular video.” Ethan spent hours contemplating the challenges before him and his solutions were developed from extensive brainstorming and researching facts to back up his ideas.

He plans to use his prize money on better film equipment in order to increase the level of quality in future videos. When Ethan isn’t making films, he enjoys running, hiking, and playing tennis. He also enjoys debating, and is involved in Model United Nations.