Adobe Youth Voices (AYV), the signature philanthropic initiative by the Adobe Foundation celebrated the completion of six successful years of the program in India by screening over 22 short films made by children from the underserved community. Touching across a range of social topics like gender discrimination, education and corruption the short films highlighted issues that that are core to the hearts of these children. Further, the foundation also announced the first ever Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards, a global online media festival honoring young people who creatively communicate their vision for change in their communities and their lives. Students aged 13-18 are invited to compete across eight sub-categories – animation, documentary, music video, narrative video, poetry-experimental video, audio, graphic design and photography and can submit their entries through an educator or mentor by April 20, 2012. AYV is a partnership between the Adobe Foundation and the American India Foundation (AIF) and empowers youth to comment on their world using multimedia and digital tools to communicate and share their ideas, demonstrate their potential, and take action in their communities. The AYV global network includes more than 750 sites, grantees, and organizations, across 50 countries engaging over 150,000 youth and 8,200 educators in schools and out of school programs. In India, the program is currently operating in 70 sites reaching out to more than 3500 children and 84 educators across the country. The Adobe Foundation also announced scholarships worth Rs.125,000 for meritorious AYV students.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Naresh Gupta, Sr Vice President, Print & Publishing Business Unit & Managing Director, Adobe India said, “We are humbled by the sheer brilliance showcased by these children as they portray issues that are close to their heart. It is a privilege for us to provide the platform of digital tools that they need to become the voice of change in their communities. We are delighted at the success of this program over last six years and are committed to help more young people think creatively, communicate effectively and work collaboratively thereby empowering them with critical 21st century skills”. “The Aspire Awards are a small step towards encouraging these young people to unleash their creativity and to provide them with a global platform. We are excited and look forward to multiple entries from India”, he further added.
Outlining the role played by the educators Ms. Neelima Khetan, Country Director, American India Foundation said, “AIF´s relationship with Adobe has not only allowed us to scale-up our efforts in supporting the youth across India but we will continue to provide training to new educators to integrate technology into their teaching practice. We also intend to leverage the skills of the educators who have been participating in the program to be mentors and trainers themselves to share their experience, knowledge and skills with other educators at their own schools or within their own communities.
Hashib, a student from YUVA (Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action) commenting on a short filmed made by his group said, “Our film is called ‘Asha ki Kiran’ and with it we want to encourage young people to focus on getting an education even if they have to grapple with the reality of earning a livelihood. We used Premier Elements which was very simple to use with the help of volunteers from Adobe. We also screened the film for children who work at a local vegetable market going forward I want to continue to make bigger and better films.” Mahesh Kaushik, an educator with Rani Dutta Arya Vidyalaya who has been working closely with the children commented, “It is a joy to watch the enthusiasm with which these children go about making these short films. Thanks to AYV, these children are able to use tools and digital technologies that would otherwise be out of their prerogative.”
Engaging young people in exciting and meaningful new ways, Adobe Youth Voices provides an opportunity for middle and high school youth to communicate their concerns, aspirations, and vision. The program provides youth with a forum to share their vision and voice on community issues through media like documentary films, photo essays and other art work prepared using state-of-the-art technologies and flagship Adobe software. The Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards is an international juried media competition that recognizes projects that best illustrate the program’s ‘Create with Purpose’ philosophy. Winning submissions need to be original, high-quality youth-produced multimedia created to address critical issues and effect positive change. All entries need to be submitted for students by an educator already registered with the AYV program. Educators not registered with AYV can submit their entries by registering with Adobe Youth Voices Essentials, at http://essentials.youthvoices.adobe.com/
For more details visit: http://www.youthvoices.adobe.com/awards/
