Oregon media contest promoting young worker safety open to high school students; submissions due Feb.16

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – High school students across Oregon are encouraged to let their video or graphic design skills flourish by engaging in a competition involving cash prizes and a noble cause: increasing awareness about workplace safety and health for young workers. 

The 2024 media contest, organized by the Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes]), calls on participants to create an ad – through a compelling graphic design or video – that captures their peers’ attention and convinces them to take the O[yes] Young Employee Safety Awareness online training.

The door to creativity is open: Participants get to choose the key message, theme, or tagline they believe will enthrall their audience and move it to act. The contest is now open for submissions. To compete, participants may submit either a graphic design or a video that is no more than 90 seconds in length. 

Participants are expected to choose their key message, theme, or tagline in a wise and positive manner as they work to convince their target audience – teen workers or teens who are preparing to work for the first time – to take the O[yes] Young Employee Safety Awareness online training to improve their knowledge of how to stay safe and healthy in the workplace. 

The top three entries in each of the two media categories will take home cash prizes ranging from $300 to $500. In each category, the first-place winner’s school, club, or organization will receive a matching award. Moreover, O[yes] will use the best of the submissions as ads in its ongoing efforts to improve on-the-job safety and health protections for teens. 

While they carry out their projects, participants must ensure the health and safety of their team. No one should be endangered while creating their video or graphic design project. 

The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. 

Participants are encouraged to submit entries online. Submissions may also be mailed on a USB thumb drive or delivered in person. 

For more information about the entry form and rules, contest expectations, and resources – including the entries that won in 2023 and 2022 – visit the O[yes] online contest page. 

The contest sponsors are local Oregon chapters of the American Society of Safety Professionals, Construction Safety Summit, Central Oregon Safety & Health Association, Hoffman Construction Company, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU, Oregon OSHA, SafeBuild Alliance, SAIF Corporation, Oregon SHARP Alliance, and the Oregon Utility Notification Center.

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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state's workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to osha.oregon.gov.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to oregon.gov/dcbs.

The Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition (O[yes]) is a nonprofit dedicated to preventing young worker injuries and fatalities. O[yes] members include safety and health professionals, educators, employers, labor and trade associations, and regulators. For more information, go to youngemployeesafety.org.