Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cybersecurity leader, through its Internet Safety for Kids and Families (ISKF) program, has announced the winners of its What’s Your Story? 2021 global video competition.
This year’s challenge was for students to create an impactful, two-minute video around the question, “How Did the Internet Help You Get Through this Past Year?”
Trend Micro Incorporated – winners
Contestants and schools from the U.S. and Canada submitted entries focused on a variety of topics ranging from the fears of economic impact to the relief of being freed from devices in order to do new things offline. Judges for this year’s competition included representatives from the Cyberbullying Research Center, ConnectSafely, MediaSmarts, the National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), NewsGuard and TikTok.
“Year after year I am in awe of the students’ creativity and talent, but more importantly, their perspective on whatever topic we ask them to tackle,” said Lynette Owens, global director of the Internet Safety for Kids and Families program for Trend Micro. “I always learn so much from them through this process, and this year we got a glimpse of their lives during this difficult time and how much they depended on the internet for everything.”
The grand prize in the individual category this year goes to Guohang “Henry” Zhang of Rowland Heights, California for his entry “Internet: 2020 – Official Trailer.” This entry showed the internet personified as the main character’s best friend who supports him through everything. Runner-ups included Gabe Sanchez of Toronto, Ontario who submitted a video about discovering the power of the internet for the first time in “You Know that the Internet Exists, right?” and Jack Kukolic and Emma Pascu from Oakville, Ontario who shared a look at what life was like during a pandemic before the internet in “Then and Now.”
For the U.S. school category, the grand prize was issued to Britton Platt, a student at Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona. The entry “Locked In” explores the daily life of a man in quarantine at his wits end using the internet to purchase the things he needs (like toilet paper). For the Canadian school entry, the grand prize went to Tiwi Lanre-Adisa of St. Francis Xavier Secondary School in Milton, Ontario, who demonstrated how the internet helped her start new hobbies in “I Have the Internet.” Other contest runner-ups in the school category include Dua’a Alkawasmeh from Ottawa Carleton Virtual Secondary School in Ottawa, Ontario for her video “Ways the Internet Helped Me Through The Past Year” and Serrina Anton Dominic from Michael McGivney Catholic Academy in Markham, Ontario for her video “How the Internet helped get me thru 2020.”
The ‘What’s Your Story?’ contest is an annual international competition that encourages students to explore multiple issues related to safe, responsible and successful technology use. Unlike most video contests, participants must both submit an entry and demonstrate that they can be an advocate for their own message. Contestants are asked to encourage their fans and communities to view and rate their entries as evidence of this advocacy. A complete list of the 2021 winners and finalists, past winners, and more about the contest can be found at https://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/.
