Ideal school of the future: Education Youth Video Challenge winners revealed

 

You’ve got 30 seconds to tell the world what you think the future of education will look like. What do you do?

That was the challenge set to young film-makers in the Education Youth Video Challenge.

Open to everyone from age 13 to 30, the contest was organised by the global Education Commission with support from A World at School’s Global Youth Ambassadors and MTV Voices.

Almost 400 entries came in from more than 60 countries. The winners were announced today as 18-year-old Ruth Arunachalam and 19-year-old Tanzina Nowshin from Canada.

They put together a collage of voices around the question “What does your ideal school of the future look like?” and ended the piece with the powerful statement: “Regardless of race, gender or religion, everyone deserves to go to school.” 

Watch the winning video here.

The pair will attend the launch of the Education Commission’s report to the United Nations on September 18 and be recognised by commission chair Gordon Brown, who is also United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education.

Brown said: “Young people are at the heart of the commission’s work as the upcoming generations will have the most to lose if we fail to invest in education today.”

The winning videos were selected by the commission’s Youth Panel alongside Beth Garrod, Director of International Social Responsibility at Viacom, and Ahmad Alhendawi, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth.

What is the Education Commission?

Garrod said: “MTV Voices is proud to support the Education Commission’s efforts and the global movement needed to help ensure everyone’s basic right to quality education around the world.

“The Education Youth Video Challenge was a fantastic way to tap the creative minds of young people who shared their passion, voices and ideas about the future of education. We look forward to helping turn these ideas into action.”

Second prize went to Preeti Shakya, 23, from Nepal for her moving video about child marriage and girls’ education.

Third prize was awarded to Gustavo Santana, 30, from Brazil for his lyrical animated video that proposes “quality education shall develop citizens for life, who are complete and capable to deal with the world with responsibility, enquiring skills and creativity”.

Gustavo was also named as one of two winners of the People’s Choice Award, decided by public voting.

The other People’s Choice Award winner was Grace Sameve, 23, from Indonesia for her personal testimonial video that describes an ideal education as “one that provides every individual the best-fit support to learn, to understand, accept and grow to be the best version of oneself”.

Meet some more of the inspiring film-makers and watch all of the entries in the Education Youth Video Challenge.