The Royal's Youth Video Contest Reaches Global Audience with New Partnership

The Royal's Youth Video Contest was rebranded this year as Flip the Lens on Stigma (FTLOS) and became part of the Do It For Daron brand. For those that are not familiar with DIFD, it is a youth-driven movement that creates an open dialogue about youth mental health. The organization came together after the tragic suicide of 14-year-old Daron Richardson, daughter of Luke and Stephanie Richardson, in November 2010. “DIFD is so excited to partner with FTLOS… the video submissions were so powerful, diverse and creative.” said Stephanie Richardson.

The contest was open to residents of Canada and the US, and public voting saw more than 25,000 votes pour in from Australia, Russia, Kenya, Argentina, Yemen and many other parts of the globe. The winners were announced on March 4 as part of this year’s virtual Inspiration Awards.

First place winner in the English category Andres Majia explained, “I wanted to focus on a critical aspect of mental health – seeking help. It’s often very challenging to recognize one’s illness and be proactive about getting better/living with it. With only 30 seconds, I wanted to subvert the audience’s expectations; the man in the video was not saying goodbye to his own life, he was instead saying goodbye to his own hopelessness. By going to rehab, he gives himself the opportunity to get better.”

 To watch the winning videos visit https://www.difd.com/flip-the-lens.

2021 Winners

English 1st Place $1000: Andres Mejia (Towson University, 20 years old)
English 2nd Place $500: Nicéphore Cens (Algonquin grad, 21 years old, donating his prize winnings back to DIFD)

French 1st Place $1000: Isabelle Le Gall (University of Ottawa, 19 years old)
French 2nd Place $500: Antoine Berube (Ecole secondaire de la ruche, 14 years old)