C-SPAN’s StudentCam contest is an annual event that invites students to produce short videos about current issues related to United States government. The 2016-17 version of the contest asks students to deliver a message to Washington about the most urgent issues for the new President and Congress to address.

The StudentCam contest is open to U.S. students in grades six through twelve. The contest deadline is January 20, 2017. Students’ videos should be five to seven minutes long. Students can work individually or in teams of two or three. All videos must include some C-SPAN footage. This year more than $100,000 will be awarded. There are separate judging categories for middle school and high school submissions. Complete contest rules can be found on the C-SPAN StudentCam homepage.

Applications for Education
Even if your students don’t enter the contest, the topic of the contest does make for great discussion topic in a social studies lesson. You could use the topic, “what is the most urgent issue for the new President and Congress,” to host your small video contest in your school or school district.