It’s the first time a B.C. entry has won the top national prize. The win tops off one of the most successful years of the WorkSafeBC Student Safety Video Contest.

The theme of this year’s contest, “Staying focused at work,” challenged students to tell stories about what can happen when workers turn their attention away from a task. The winning videos persuasively showed how easy it can be to become mentally or physically distracted during the workday.

According to Robin Schooley, industry and program specialist with WorkSafeBC, this year’s contest was exceptional, with 160 submissions — more than double the usual number of entries. These entries represented the efforts of 428 students from 48 schools across B.C.

“I think we had a bigger turnout this year because the topic of staying focused at work really resonated with youth,” Schooley says. “This may be because most young people have a phone, and they recognize its potential to be a distraction.”

Phones are likely what most people think of when it comes to distractions. But other competing priorities, like extracurricular activities and friends, can take your focus away from work, as can impairment, fatigue, stress, and challenging work environments.

Winning on both the provincial and national stages

WorkSafeBC’s annual contest gives students the opportunity to make a two-minute video from start to finish, including writing, storyboarding, filming, and editing. It awards a total of $10,000 in prize money for two winners in the Grades 8–10 category and two winners in the Grades 11–12 category.

One notable entry this year was (Do Not) Disturb by Leo Teixeira, a student from Kitsilano Secondary School. Teixeira’s video, which he created entirely on his own, won one of the prizes in the Grades 8–10 category. The video also qualified for regionals and ended up winning the national Focus on Safety Youth Video Contest sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. This was the first time a B.C. entry won the top spot at the national competition and netted Teixeira an additional $2,000 in prize money.

Staying focused at work is about presence

Schooley describes (Do Not) Disturb as just one example of how the production value and sophistication of videos gets better every year. It also highlights the level of thought and planning that students, like Teixeira, put into their submissions.

When it came to the process of creating a video to address staying focused at work, Teixeira says he knew that, before starting anything, he wanted to tell a story.

“I think stories are the most impactful way to spread an important message,” he says. The theme resonated with him because staying focused and present is a challenge in today’s world. This challenge is reflected in his character’s struggle with a bombardment of notifications and how that lack of attention ultimately results in serious consequences at work.

“Through this process, I saw how creativity, art, and storytelling can be real catalysts for education, introspection, and change,” he adds. “As I was making the video, I scrutinized my own relationship with distractions, which made the theme even more relevant.”

Stay tuned for next year’s theme

Schooley and her team are currently exploring themes for next year’s contest that are powerful enough to resonate with young people and generate commentary. Stay tuned to worksafebc.com, or sign up to the Young Worker Enews, to be notified about next year’s contest.

This information originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of WorkSafe Magazine. To read more or to subscribe, visit WorkSafe Magazine.