DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, through its Internet Safety for Kids and Families (ISKF) program, today launched its 2019 What’s Your Story? competition. In its ninth year, the annual global video contest is designed to give young people a platform to educate others and nurture safer, more responsible use of the internet.

This year’s challenge is to create an impactful video around the question, “If you could have one special power that would make life online better, what would it be?” Trend Micro’s ISKF hopes to encourage contestants to stretch their creative muscles when considering some of the biggest challenges we face today on the internet, including privacy, hacking, hate, misinformation, and overuse, and what they could do to make it better for everyone.

“We depend more and more on the internet because there are so many benefits to it, but life online is far from perfect,” said Lynette Owens, global director of the Internet Safety for Kids and Families program for Trend Micro. “To address that, we want to give students an opportunity to think about the role they play online, what they see as the biggest challenges and how they can make the internet a better place for themselves and for all.”

One aspect that makes this contest unique is that winners are selected partly based on how contestants engage with the wider internet to promote their video and advocate their message. From the moment they submit until the day the winners are announced they are encouraged to drive views, ratings, and reviews of their entries among their communities to help them win.

The contest opens today in line with Safer Internet Day, which Trend Micro celebrates along with many others around the world. Trend Micro recognizes that making the digital world safer cannot be accomplished alone, and partners with Connect Safely each year to collaborate toward this mutual goal. The company supports the official Safer Internet Day event each year to launch the annual contest. This year’s event takes place in Seattle, Washington, and will be live streamed here.

Participants from Canada and the U.S. will have until April 16, 2019 to submit their videos, and an additional two weeks past entry deadline to promote their submitted videos to friends, families, classmates and communities. Finalists will be notified on or around April 30, with the winners announced on or around May 14. A grand prize of $10,000 will be awarded for the winning student entry, with $5,000 awards each for the best Canadian and US school entries.

What’s Your Story? was first launched in 2010 and has run successfully in more than a dozen countries worldwide. Over the past 11 years, ISKF has hosted and supported more than 3,000 events at more than 10,000 schools, teaching more than two million children, parents and teachers worldwide how to use technology safely, responsibly and successfully.

Contestants can post general comments under #WYS2019 and are asked to promote their entries under #HeresMyStory2019. For more information on What’s Your Story? 2019, please visit: https://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud workloads, networks, and endpoints. With more than 6,000 employees in 50 countries and the world’s most advanced global threat research and intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their connected world. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.