5. 5
Executive Summary: Accomplishments and Deliverables
TakingITGlobal is proud to have completed its 5th and most ambitious cycle of the Adobe Youth
Voices Program. This year, we hit a landmark milestone of by reaching over 10 000 youth
globally over our years of AYV programming. We successfully hosted our first AYV Film Camp
and grew our programming in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as part of our Geo-Lead Program. Training
over 150 educators from 75 organizations across 35 countries has made the 2014-2015 AYV
Program our most exciting to date.
Our 2014-2015 cycle saw a number of highlights including the growth of our Global
Collaboration Program where 10 organizations from around the world were partnered together
to create media pieces. Sites were not only matched to collaborate on the media making process
but also to learn from each other and give their youth the opportunity to share and experience
different cultures. To assist educators through the collaboration process, we launched our Global
Collaboration Guide that included resource, tools and guidance to help both educators and
youth make the most of the collaborative experience.
Our Youth Ambassador Program also expanded this year with 24 youth successfully completing
the Ambassador Program. The youth involved were passionate, engaged and enthusiastic to
have been chosen as leaders in their AYV communities. Ambassadors took great pride in their
role and took on the responsibility of sharing with their fellow AYV youth everything that they
had gained through the program. The 6-month Youth Ambassador Program focussed on a
range of topics including the Career Toolkit, Fostering Cross Cultural Awareness and how to use
Mobile Apps to improve their media. Three of our Youth Ambassadors had their media pieces
selected as finalists for this year’s AYV Awards and one of our Ambassadors is also a recipient of
this year’s AYV Scholarship.
A large focus of this year’s programming was on the
expansion of our program in Brazil and in particular
the development of an AYV hub in Rio de Janeiro.
With our dedicated Portuguese training and the
assistance of our on the ground Coordinator, Elaine
Cavalheiro, we established a hub of 8 partner sites in
Rio and an additional 11 sites across Brazil. Our
Brazilian educators participated both in the 8 week
online AYV training course with educators in Rio
having the opportunity to attend a live training
6. 6
facilitated by Elaine and a fellow AYV educator. Sites in Rio had the added benefit of working
with Media Mentors from the Observatorio de Favelas. Our AYV Live! Event for Rio de Janeiro is
scheduled for June 23rd where over 500 members of the local community have been invited to
attend. Our hope is that our programming in Rio is able to reach youth communities that are
most in need and so the decision was made to host the event in one of Rio’s slums to allow for all
members of the community to attend.
A major highlight of this AYV cycle was the success
of our first Adobe Youth Voices Film Camp.
Between 14-18 July 2014, 18 youth from around
Toronto joined us at the National Film Board of
Canada’s Toronto studio for an intensive week of
filmmaking. In partnership with the NFB and the
Toronto District School Board we were able to bring
together a group of passionate and inspiring youth
to talk about social issues through film. Throughout
the week a number of guest speakers, dedicated
Media Mentors and NFB facilitators guided the
youth through the creative process.
Highlights of the week included a digital storytelling workshop, breakout sessions on how to use
high quality film equipment and filming on the streets of Toronto. The culmination of the week
was a celebration at our 2015 Art and Innovation Festival. Hosted at the Art Gallery of Ontario,
the festival gave the campers the opportunity to screen their films and answer questions from
the audience. The camp was an unforgettable experience not only for the participants but also
for the entire TakingITGlobal Team.
Our year of highs continued with unique
exhibition opportunities at events and
conferences around the world where we were
able to showcase our youth’s work. In
December 2014, we had the honor of being
invited to participate in the United Nation’s
Humanicy Conference and have our AYV media
pieces highlighted as a Special Presentation of
the Conference. Other exhibitions included the
Youth Assembly at the United Nations as well as
at a number of academic and cultural events
around Toronto. Our very first exhibition in
Africa took place in November 2014 where we
exhibited our youth’s media pieces at International Civil Society Week in Johannesburg, South
Africa. Our final exhibit for the year will be held in mid- June at the World Summit Youth Awards
in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
7. 7
In addition to our live exhibition, this year saw the exciting release of our very first Global Gallery
Card Deck, which featured over 50 media pieces created by our AYV participants. The card deck
was developed as a teaching aid for educators to help them introduce and discuss important
social issues with their students.
Partner Sites
Our recruitment strategy this year focused on a number of elements including continuing to
grow AYV hubs in geographic locations where we have had success in previous years as well as
growing our programming in Brazil and expanding our global reach. Our partner sites from this
cycle came from across 6 Continents, 35 countries and 75 organizations and schools. New
locations for us this year included Australia, China and the Middle East.
At the end of our recruitment period we had confirmed over 80 sites as AYV partners however
due to political and social instability in their regions a number of the sites were unable to
successfully run their programs. Educators from these sites were able to complete their AYV
training and are eager to run their youth programs as soon as the situation allows them to do so.
For a detailed list of TakingITGlobal's 2014-2015 AYV Partner Sites please see Appendix B.
Educator Experience
Our 2014-2015 AYV cycle saw a number of returning educators looking to expand their
knowledge of media making so as to be able to better support their youth in creating more high
quality media on issues that matter. In order to retain many of our most passionate and
successful educators in our network we introduced a new expert cohort. These expert educators
would therefore be able to continue gaining new training and knowledge but at the same time
be able to pass on their years of AYV experience to newer educators in the program. Our
educators were grouped into five cohorts:
New Educators
8 week online training with supplementary
webinars
Returning Educators
5 week online training with supplementary
webinars
Advanced Educators Customized webinar series
Expert Educators
Customized webinar series and facilitation of
webinars
Portuguese Educators
8 week online training with a live training
session for Rio educators
8. 8
A) Training and Cohorts
Over the past year, four different training sessions were run for our educators. These included
two Core training courses (one for our International Cohort and a dedicated Portuguese cohort
for our Brazilian educators), we also had a cohort of returning educators take part in the online
training and finally we ran a customized training program that combined our advanced and
expert educators
As a result of the scaling up of our
AYV program from the previous
year’s cycle, we had over 70 new
educators sign up to participate in
our online AYV training. The 8
week online training was
supplemented by a number of
webinars that helped educators
review the training materials but
also allowed participants to
connect with their fellow
educators from around the world.
Webinars for our new and
returning educators included an orientation and introduction webinar, a mid training webinar
and a final recap webinar.
Our advanced and expert educators were invited to participate in a customized training
program that would allow them to learn about topics that were of particular interest to them. A
focus session was held at the start of the training to help determine which topics the educators
were most interested in learning more about. Following the focus session, our Educator
Engagement Coordinator worked with our expert educators to create the customized training.
The topics for each webinar were well researched by the AYV team as well as including expert
input and resources from the Essentials Community. Each webinar was co-hosted by our
Educator Engagement Coordinator and an expert educator from our network.
‘It’s been great to have new ideas from the program and the examples
to showcase in our sessions. Our kids are often struggling to accept their
changing medical conditions, lacking control over their illnesses and
treatments, and not always being able to engage as kids. Having the Create
with purpose framework has been useful in expanding our offerings. Also
helpful has been the example posters and projects to bring in.’
-‐Devora Kothari, Baykids Studios
San Francisco, USA
AYV Educator
9. 9
Advanced Educator training included the following webinar series:
B) Webinar
In addition to our training and advanced webinar
series, educators were invited to attended
monthly webinars that focused on a number of
different topics including: Global Dignity Day,
Global Collaboration, Mobile Apps, and the AYV
Career Toolkit.
This year we once again ran our virtual Rough
Cut events where educators were invited to
submit their rough-cut media pieces in advance to be featured in our webinars. We hosted two
Rough Cut Webinars in English and for the first time we also added a Spanish Rough Cut webinar
for all our youth and educators in Central and South America. The webinar focused on the
importance of running Rough Cut events in their local programming and all the resources
available to assist in these events including The Rough Cut Review Toolkit, Critical response
Handout, and Artist Feedback Worksheet.
Over 30 media pieces were submitted for the review webinars and educators had the
opportunity to provide each other with feedback and critical response. Educators were provided
with recordings of the webinars so that they would be able to share the feedback directly with
their youth.
Date Webinar Topic Expert Educator
22 May 2014 Welcome Webinar and Focus Session AYV Team Facilitator
26 June 2014 Creative Cloud + High Quality Media AYV Team Facilitator
29 July 2014
Innovative Tools & Mobile Technology in
Youth Engagement
David Gutierrez
07 August 2014
Film Camp- Lessons learnt in Running AYV
Programs
Sadquain Malik
14 August 2014 Fostering Youth Creativity Beyond AYV
Manthan Charles
Hassan Shehawy
04 September
2014
Taking AYV work further: Exhibitions and
other opportunities
Elaine Cavalheiro
Jamie Aquino
10. 10
Youth Experience
This year’s AYV programming reached over 3000 youth from around the globe. As in previous
years, most of the programs were after school or extracurricular but this year we saw a rise in our
in-school programming. Sites in China, Australia and the USA integrate AYV programming into a
number of their daily classes. As always, TIG partners are given the freedom to plan AYV
programs that worked best for their organizations. Some of our sites ran monthly or biweekly
sessions while others hosted more intensive weeklong programs. One of our most successful
sites in Guatemala traveled around the country and brought the AYV program to youth in some
of the most remote and rural areas of Guatemala and El Salvador.
‘Since we teach in a somewhat rural environment, some of the students who
haven't had access to Adobe's software were amazed, to say the least, as to
what the photography and video editing tools can do. There were also a
couple of situations when students told us that they have never had the
chance, up until then, to so clearly express their ideas.’
-Ivan Pjokov, OOU Rajko Zinzifov
Veles, Macedonia
AYV Educator
‘Some of the youth we worked with in El Salvador have never used a camera
and at first contact with it they had an AMAZING eye talent, that left us
astonished with the capacity they have. That itself gives us so much
information of how they see their reality.’
- Javier Borrayo, Seres
Sacatepequez, Guatemala
Educator
For more about Seres’ unique AYV Program in Guatemala and El Salvador please
see their final video report: https://www.tigurl.org/seresreport
11. 11
Another of our sites, Baykids Studio, works with hospitalized youth in San Francisco. Bringing the
AYV program, film equipment and media mentors to the youth’s hospital bed, they help the
youth cope with their illness through media. It is always inspiring to see how our sites develop
and run their AYV programs and this year’s creativity and unique ideas was no different.
A) Youth Media
As always, the media pieces produced by youth in our AYV program cover a diverse range of
topics and social issues. Youth are encouraged to focus on issues that are most important to
their communities and it is always interesting to see how similar themes arise from different
countries around the globe. Common themes this year included bullying, environmental
destruction, woman’s rights, and identity. A few of the more unique topics included police
brutality and ageism. Participants from The LAMP in New York created a short documentary
entitled #Every28Hours that
examined police violence in the
United States but in particular in
New York City. The documentary is
extremely powerful and includes
many insightful interviews with
both New York residents and
experts. The students are currently
working on Part 2 of the
documentary.
https://www.tigurl.org/every28hour
Students for Reel Youth in Vancouver, Canada participated in an Age Is More program where
each of the youth was paired with a resident from one of the city’s retirement homes. The
students were tasked with getting to know their partner and creating a short film about their
lives. The stories shared by the residents of the retirement home are heart warming and the
experience was extremely rewarding for all involved.
Move It Or Lose It Around We Go Making The Next Mountain
12. 12
Students from Leave Out Violence US staged a
hidden camera social experiment to see how
people would react to youth fighting in public.
Over a period of 5 days, the youth set up
hidden cameras and staged fights in a public
park in New York City. The youth were
interested to see how many passers-by’s
would interfere or even look over at the
sometimes-violent interactions between the
youth.
https://www.tigurl.org/lovesoex14
B) Youth Ambassadors
The Youth Ambassador Program this year has successfully trained 24 young people in varying
skills including leadership, communication, and technical design. Coming from 7 different
countries, the ambassadors this year have shared their knowledge, creative side, and culture
through live webinars and social media pages. A total of 5 webinars took place during the 6-
month program. The webinars covered the following topics: Introduction to AYV and Creativity,
Photoshop Elements Skills, Career Toolkit, Cultural Exchange, and Mobile Applications.
With three of our ambassadors featured as AYV Award Finalists and one securing the AYV
Scholarship, we couldn't be prouder of the amazing youth and their creativity!
For more information on the Youth Ambassador Program including a description of the
webinars and our highlights, please consult Appendix C.
"Thank you so much for offering such an amazing program. It was simply
marvellous and the whole thing was an experience I will always be very
thankful for and hold very dearly. I really appreciate that this program
allows for connections to be made between the younger and older
generation. Young people have so much to learn from these older women,
and I'd always wanted the chance to sit down and talk with older people. I
learned a lot technically, as well. It is my greatest hope that this program
will continue to run for years to come!"
- Youth Participant, Reel Youth
Vancouver, Canada
“One Highlight about being a youth ambassador is that after a webinar,
you can go tell your classmates and teachers all the amazing things you
learned. You can teach them different apps, and talk to them about your
experience meeting with people from different countries.”
-Ashley Priore, 14
The Ellis School, USA
AYV Youth Ambassador
13. 13
C) AYV Scholarship
The AYV Team at TakingITGlobal is so proud of all of the youth in our AYV program and all of
their accomplishments. This year, TakingITGlobal had 6 talented and inspirational youth receive
the scholarship. The team worked with a number of our educators over the past few months to
help them and their youth prepare for and apply for the scholarship. Since the scholarship was
launched, TakingITGlobal has had 16 youth receive the scholarship and go on to achieve
amazing things through this life changing opportunity.
Media Mentors
Another first for our AYV program this year was the
integration of Media Mentors into different areas of
our programming. While TakingITGlobal
contracted mentors for our Film Camp and Rio
programs, all our sites were encouraged to include
Media Mentors in their local programs.
For those sites that did work with mentors, many
reported great success as a result of the
integration. Through their work with Media
Mentors, youth participants were able to get more
one on one support and training from those with
experience in the filmmaking industry. Working with mentors significantly increased the
confidence and skills that the youth gained through the program.
‘I can't express how happy and grateful I am! Thank you so much for letting me be
part of this amazing program! I had so much fun! The fact that the AYV gave me
the chance to share my projects worldwide and beside so many talented people is
such an honor, and I feel like no matter the result of the Adobe Awards, I won! I
think the best prize anyone can win is knowledge, and though this experience I
enjoyed every minute of my journey!
As for the AYV Scholarship, I just can't believe it. Is surreal. I'm so happy!
Without the AYV Scholarship I would’ve never even planned to attend MICA
(Maryland Institute College of Arts), so this scholarship is a door opener!’
-Micaela Bolanos
Peterson School, Mexico
2015 Scholarship Recipient and Youth Ambassador
14. 14
The Media Mentors that were contracted directly by TakingITGlobal included both industry professionals
as well as film students. Our main mentors were:
Cam Woykin
An accomplished filmmaker in his own right, Cam has a BFA in Visual Arts and an MFA in Film
Production. Cam has worked in the arts and film industry for the past 10 years as well as running
student workshops across Canada. Cam is currently working with the National Film Board of
Canada to develop an interactive tablet app.
Nora Marku
Nora is in her final year of studies at York University’s Film Production Honours Program. Nora
has volunteered with a number of organizations working to encourage young people to get
involved in the creating of cultural and popular media. Over the past two years, Nora has been
involved in Kosovo’s new media scene, working closely with a youth focused website and
magazine called Kosovo 2.0.
Sadquain Malik
Sad has a BFA from York University in Cinema and Media Studies. He has worked as a
production assistant and assistant editor on a number of film and documentary productions. He
is passionate about working with youth to enhance their media making skills. Sad has also been
a guest speaker and mentor for our advanced educator training.
Corey Orszak
Corey holds a degree in Cinema and Media Studies from York University where he received the
Helen Vari Award for top film student and the CIBC Fine Arts Award. Since 2009, Corey has
worked as an Independent Filmmaker and has written, directed, and edited documentary,
experimental and narrative works.
‘I witnessed how valuable it is for students to have one-on-one
interactions with a mentor. Many of the students expressed how grateful
they were to receive feedback from our mentors, and how this helped
them feel more comfortable with the writing, sharing, and recording of
their personal stories.’
-Katy Gross, Youth Media Project
Santa Fe, USA
AYV Educator
15. 15
Priscila Rodrigues Gomes
Priscila got her bachelor's degree in Journalism at the Universidade Veiga
de Almeida in Rio de Janeiro. She is a first generation student and very
proud of being so.
"What I see in the Adobe Youth Voices project is an opportunity for me to help
empower people like me, my mom, my little brothers and sisters, my
neighbours, to use their own voices and share their perspectives"
Monique Ferreira Dos Santos
Monique has participated in various educational programs offered by the
Observatorio de Favelas while growing up. Thanks to programs similar to
Adobe Youth Voices she was able to develop skills in areas she is interested
in. Monique is passionate about photography, environmental sustainability
and youth engagement in social causes.
Janaina de Melo Silva
Janaina is originally from Favela of Nova Holanda in Rio de Janeiro. Thanks
to governmental affirmative actions and her father's civic job, she was able
to attend university in Rio de Janeiro, graduating in Public Relations from
the University Helio Alonso. Her main goal is to share the knowledge and
skills she gained through her studies with her home community.
"It is a pleasure for me to be able to somehow contribute to democratization of education for youth in
popular territories. I feel super motivated and excited to be part of this program!" Janaina de Melo S.
"Working with the Masters students for the AYV program was a very rewarding
experience! The students became excited as we introduced them to cinema
graphs and how to make their own using Photoshop. Not only were they eager
to learn this technique, they did outstanding work for their first time using the
program."
- Tara Trudell, Youth Media Project
Sante Fe, New Mexico
YMP Media Mentor
16. 16
Geo- Lead Program: Rio de Janeiro
As a result of our Portuguese training,
TakingITGlobal has gained a foothold with
organizations in Brazil and in particular in Rio
de Janeiro. This year we continued to focus
on Brazil and Rio in particular by kicking off
our Geo-Lead program in the region. Our
dedicated Portuguese Engagement
Coordinator was responsible for
coordinating recruitment, training and
coordination of all live events in Rio. To assist our coordinator based in Toronto, we also
contracted one of our most successful and passionate AYV Educators, Elaine Cavalheiro, to act as
our on the ground coordinator and facilitator in Brazil.
While organizations from across Brazil were eligible to participate in the program, our
recruitment focussed on sites in the Rio de Janeiro area. Targeted recruitment led to 10
organizations signing on to take part in our Geo Lead programming including many sites that
work exclusively with youth in the slums of Rio. Sites participating in our Rio program were
required to nominate educators to participate in the 8- week online Portuguese training as well
as attend a live training that was hosted by Elaine. The live training took place in December 2014
and educators were extremely excited to get to know more about the AYV program and receive
their training directly from Elaine.
Following the live training and the
break for Carnival, sites kicked off their
AYV programming. Elaine has also
been conducting site visits over the
past month to check in and motivate
educators and youth as they start the
final stretch of their programming.
In addition to our live educator training, three Media Mentors were also recruited to work one on
one with each of the Rio sites to assist them with their AYV program. The three media mentors
are all communication students from the Observatorio de Favelas. Media Mentors will be
working closely with all of the sites over the next month to assist and guide them through the
post-production stage of their programs and help prepare students and educators for our
upcoming AYV Live! Event.
17. 17
Planning for our Rio AYV Live! Event is well underway. The event is scheduled for June 23rd and
will be taking place at G.R.E.S Estação Primeira de Mangueira, a beautiful community centre in
one of the city’s Favelas. The decision was made to host the event in the Favela so that more of
the community would be able to attend and share in the celebration. Our guests will be received
with the traditional Brazilian dish Arroz e Feijoada (Rice and Beans), as a courtesy of the
Mangueira community. Transport will also be organized for students and parents who would
have to travel to attend.
Over 500 AYV and community members will be invited to the full day event. The event will
include a showcase of all the Brazilian youth’s work as well as highlighting media pieces from
many of our International partners. Local musical and dance groups will also be invited to
perform and showcase at the event, including some of our own AYV youth. In early July we will
be posting a detailed blog with pictures and highlights from the event.
AYV as a catalyst for additional support to partners
As mentioned above, many of the sites that we worked with in Rio work in the
impoverished slums and Favelas of Brazil. Both funding and access to technology
was difficult for these sites to secure. A particular highlight from our Rio program
was that our coordinator was able to secure 12 computer donations for these sites
through the Ministry of Communication’s ‘Centre for Reconditioning of Machines’
program. The computer donation not only allowed these sites to participate in the
AYV program but also to introduce some of the most underserved youth in their
communities to technology and media making.
18. 18
Our Rio program has been extremely successful and has allowed us to reach youth that would
normally never be given such an opportunity. We have received an overwhelmingly positive
response from both educators and organizations in the region and there has been great interest
from many sites across Brazil to continue to expand the AYV program throughout the country.
Global Collaboration Program
After the success of our pilot Global Collaboration program last year,
we once again facilitated a group of collaborative partnerships with
organizations from around the world. Scaling up the program this
year, a total of 10 media pieces were produced through 5 different
partnerships from across 8 countries. Partners worked together on
issues such as Police Brutality, Marine Conservation and Cultural
Exchange. More than 200 youth were engaged from Haiti, USA,
Canada, Mexico, Italy, Zimbabwe, Macedonia, and Belarus. To
facilitate the process and ensure the program's success, the AYV team
created and launched a Global Collaboration Guide as a reference for
all partners and educators.
For more information about the guide and a more in depth report of this year’s Global
Collaboration Program please consult Appendix D.
‘What I think is most remarkable about the AYV program is the ways that
allows us to really engage the students in ideas that are new to them. The
girls have been most excited to connect directly with students from both
Brazil and from Haiti, and to compare and contrast our ideas and opinions
about water and its place in our lives.’
-Rick Malmstrom, The Ellis School
Pittsburgh, USA
AYV Educator
19. 19
Exhibition
2014-2015 has been our most ambitious and wide spread year for exhibitions. Our AYV Team has
always been committed to showcasing our youth’s work at every opportunity possible. From
large-scale events, to conferences, and film screenings we have attended and hosted a number
of events to showcase and highlight the wonderful media pieces created by our youth. In
addition to TakingITGlobal run exhibitions, all our partner sites are encouraged to host their own
local youth led exhibitions.
A) A Window to the World Card Deck
In February 2015, we launched our very first Global Gallery Card Deck featuring over 50 of our
youth’s AYV media pieces. A Window to the World: Images by Youth on Issues that Matter is a
teaching aid for educators that can be used for community development and educational
purposes to promote intercultural understanding and awareness of issues.
In addition to the images, the card deck includes 15 activities that can be used to help youth
discuss and gain a better understanding of the important issues covered by the images. The card
deck also comes with a teaching guide that includes ideas on how to connect the learning
activities to the classroom curriculum.
We have already printed a 2nd
edition of the Card Deck and we
look forward to continuing to
develop new cards as our youth
continue to produce media.
The response to the cards has
been extremely positive and
many educators who participated
in our Education for Social
Innovation Professional
Development Course have
20. 20
already integrated the cards into their classroom activities. For more about the card deck and
the response that they have received you can visit our blog: https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcarddeck
B) Perspectives Global Gallery
In April 2015, TakingITGlobal re-launched its Global Gallery and we are excited to share our
2014-2015 AYV collection on the newly refreshed platform. With over 300 media pieces
expected to be submitted this year we look forward to launching our Perspectives Gallery in
June 2015. This year’s gallery set is entitled: ‘Perspectives: Inspiring Hope for a Brighter Future’.
http://gg.tigweb.org/tig/Perspectives2014/
B) TakingITGlobal Exhibition
Humanicy, New York City
Estimated Audience Reach: 200
In December 2015, TakingITGlobal was invited to take
part in the United Nation’s Humanicy Conference. The
two day event brought together artists, filmmakers,
musicians, politicians and diplomats from around the
world. The purpose of the conference was to examine
the intersection between arts, diplomacy and
heightened social consciousness.
Our AYV media exhibition was highlighted as a special
event throughout the conference as well as live
streamed on UN TV. In addition to our AYV exhibition,
TakingITGlobal Executive Director, Jennifer Corriero was
invited to speak on a panel that examined: ‘What Moves
Us to Take IT Global. From Art to Social Action.’ Jennifer
spoke of the importance of giving youth the
opportunity and space to express themselves through
art. She spoke of how TakingITGlobal through AYV has
been able to reach thousands of youth worldwide to afford them this opportunity.
For more about the conference and our AYV exhibit please visit our Humanicy Blog:
http://panorama.tigweb.org/ayv/humanicy-the-human-side-of-diplomacy
21. 21
Art Fusion Festival, Toronto
Estimated Audience Reach: 350
On Saturday June 22nd, our AYV team had the opportunity to exhibit
some of this year’s new media pieces at the Art Fusion Festival in Toronto.
Art Fusion is an annual, non-profit community arts event held at
Evergreen Brickworks, attracting nearly 3,000 visitors. Over 20 media
pieces were showcased and visitors were extremely impressed by the
quality and messages touched on by the pieces.
https://www.tigurl.org/artfusion14
Youth Day 2014, Toronto
Estimated Audience Reach: 1000
On July 20th 2014, for the second year in a row,
the AYV team exhibited our youth’s work at Youth Day Toronto. Held at
Yonge Dundas Square, Youth Day is a 12 hour arts festival that has attracted
over 100 000 visitors since its started in 2007.
https://www.tigurl.org/youthday14
Youth Assembly at the United
Nations, New York City
Estimated Audience Reach: 250
In August 2014, TakingITGlobal was once again invited to host our
AYV exhibition at the Youth Assembly at the United Nations in
New York City. Hosted by the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation,
the Youth Assembly brings together youth from around the world to work together and become
active participants in the success of the UN Millennium Development Goals. In addition to
sharing the media pieces with youth delegates, we had the unique opportunity to exhibit our
pieces to official UN delegates. The delegates were extremely impressed with the artworks and
many commented on the importance of programs such as Adobe Youth Voices.
https://www.tigurl.org/unya2014
22. 22
DEEP 2014, OCAD University, Toronto
Estimated Audience Reach: 100
On October 16th 2014, we had the opportunity to
exhibit our AYV pieces as part of the Ontario College of Art and Design's
DEEP 2014 Conference. The objective of DEEP 2014: Designing Enabling
Economies and Policies Conference, was to engage in tangible in-depth
discussions about implementation strategies for digital inclusion of
persons with disabilities.
https://www.tigurl.org/deep14
Global Dignity Day 2014, Brantford, Ontario
and National Video Conference
Estimated Audience Reach: 500
On October 15th 2014, the AYV Team join
students at Fieldcrest Elementary School as they celebrated
Global Dignity Day. This year, students at Fieldcrest spent the day participating in different
activities related to dignity. One of these activities was hosted by the AYV team and asked the
students to share their stories and messages of dignity through media. Students were divided
into pairs with each pair given a word that related to dignity that would inspire their short films.
Using the Adobe Voice App, students worked to explain what dignity means to them.
https://www.tigurl.org/gdd2014
International Civil Society Week,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Estimated Audience Reach: 200
In November 2014, TakingITGlobal had the
opportunity to host its very first exhibition on
the African Continent. Youth, ambassadors, and
political leaders from across Africa and many other countries around the world attended the 2-
day event hosted in celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa. The response to our
AYV exhibition was overwhelming with huge interest in the program and how it can be
implemented in communities around Africa.
https://www.tigurl.org/icsw14
World Summit Youth Awards, Sao Paulo, Brazil
As we wrap up this year’s program we still have one last exhibition to look
forward to. We have been invited to host a special exhibition at the World
Summit Youth Awards taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil in June 2015.
23. 23
C) Partner Site Exhibit
To ensure that student work is celebrated and showcased, all of
TakingITGlobal’s partner sites are required to host youth-led
exhibitions in their communities. Sites are free to be as creative
as possible with their exhibition plans and many come up with
unique ways to showcase their youth’s work. Some sites opt for
organized film screenings or gallery exhibits while others
choose to host virtual exhibitions. Detailed recounts of some of
our partner site exhibitions can be access on TakingITGlobal’s
AYV blog:
Site Location AYV Blog Link
Leave Out Violence New York, USA https://www.tigurl.org/loveus2014
Ecoeducarte Buenos Aires, Argentina https://www.tigurl.org/eco2014
ACVic Centre d'Arts
Contemporànies
Barcelona, Spain https://www.tigurl.org/acvic2014
Haiti Ocean Project Port Au Prince, Haiti https://www.tigurl.org/haiti2014
Fundacion PH15 Buenos Aires, Argentina https://www.tigurl.org/ph152014
Seres Sacatepequez, Guatemala
https://www.tigurl.org/seresa2014
https://www.tigurl.org/seresb2014
https://www.tigurl.org/seresc2014
OAJNA Corrientes, Argentina https://www.tigurl.org/oajnu2014
24. 24
Film Camp
A truly unforgettable experience for all those involved, the 2014 AYV Film Camp was a major
highlight of this year’s cycle. Working directly with the youth allowed for the entire AYV team to
see the significant impact that the AYV program can have on youth. From 14-18 July 2014, 18
youth from around Toronto were given the opportunity to learn about filmmaking and take their
ideas from project pitch to final product. The camp inspired and fostered creativity from camp
participants, media mentors, and even from the AYV team.
‘Thank you very much for selecting me to come to camp. It was an amazing
experience! I learned so much from my mentor, from the others in my group, and
from the wonderful speakers. From day one there was such a creative and positive
atmosphere around camp that made me excited to return the following day.
Camp inspired me to try new things and to write more. I was reminded that where
there is a will to make your dream a reality, there is a way. I took from camp many
life lessons which I believe have made me a better person.’
- Chedi Mbaga, 14
AYV Camp Participant
25. 25
Following the camp, the films created by the campers were submitted to numerous festivals and
competitions as well as being screened at The Global Overcoming Isolation and Social
Connectedness Symposium in October 2014.
A) National Film Board Partnership
The TakingITGlobal Film Camp was made possible through our
partnership with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The NFB
played a significant role in both the planning and execution of the
camp. The NFB provided us with a beautiful space in their
downtown Toronto Studio that allow students to have access to state of the art film equipment,
recording studios, green screens and editing bays. The NFB studio was the perfect location for the
camp and not only gave participants access to professional equipment but also located the camp
in the heart of Downtown Toronto allowing students to explore the city as the backdrop for their
films. The NFB also provided the camp with media educational experts that facilitated many of the
camp workshops and breakout sessions. The expertise and experience of the NFB staff was
invaluable to the camp experience.
B) Recruitment
With 20 available spots to fill, recruitment for
the camp began in May 2014 and had a
threefold approach. Hoping to target as many
diverse youth groups as possible we spread a
wide net and reach out to numerous groups
around Toronto. The first stage of recruitment
was to target our Toronto based AYV partners
and any of the AYV alumni in their programs.
We attended a number of AYV partner events
in the city in order to connect directly with the
youth and invite them to participate in the
camp.
The second stage of recruitment took place through TakingITGlobal’s partnership with the
Toronto District School Board (TDSB). A number of spots were held for TDSB students that were
nominated by their teachers to attend the camp. The TDSB worked directly with the teachers
through this stage of recruitment.
The final stage of recruitment was to reach out to community centres and youth focused NGOs
around Toronto including the YWCA, Boys and Girls Club of Canada, and Regent Park Focus
Media Centre.
26. 26
As part of the recruitment process, participants had to complete an application form and share
their ideas through a project pitch. Based on the answers provided by the applicants we were
able to group participants according to their interests and project ideas. After a rigorous
selection process, 20 youth were selected to participate in the camp. As a result of two last
minute dropouts, the camp went ahead with 18 youth participants attending.
C) Camp Preparation
A great deal of planning and preparation took place in the weeks
leading up to the camp. From group selection to the participant
nametags, all aspects of the camp were carefully thought out. A
dedicated camp administrator worked on ensuring that Health
and Safety forms were sent out and completed by all parents.
Media Mentor positions were posted through University job
boards with a particular focus on Media and Film Faculties.
Recruitment was done through a number of Universities in
Toronto including: York University, The University of Toronto,
Ryerson University, and Humber College. The response to the
posting was overwhelming and the team had a difficult time
narrowing down the applicants. After a long review process, the
following four applicants were selected as Media Mentors: Cam
Woykin, Nora Marku, Sadquain Malik, and Corey Orszak. The
mentors brought with them both an academic background in
film as well as years of hands on experience in the film industry. All the mentors had experience
working with youth as well as experience using Adobe editing software.
In preparation for the camp, all Media Mentors as well as facilitators from the NFB were required
to participate in a full day AYV training session. Mentors and facilitators were introduced to the
AYV philosophy and were familiarized with how AYV programs are run. Facilitators were
provided with a camp run down and were given a number of AYV resources to assist with the
development of camp programming. The NFB facilitators and the AYV team worked closely
together to integrate AYV methodology into the NFB’s existing Digital Media Curriculum.
A number of AYV resources were used to
supplement the training that was provided by
the NFB Facilitators. Youth were shown short
tutorial videos through Adobe TV and the
Essentials Community. On the first day of
camp, participants were also provided with a
filmmaking folder of worksheets and resources
to assist them throughout the week. These
resources included: Camera Basics Tutorial,
Editing Fundamentals, Field Production
Checklist, Production Workflow, SAMS
Worksheet, Shot Composition, and Storytelling
Basics.
27. 27
D) Camp Experience
Day 1: Orientation and Pre-Production
On Monday, July 14th 2014, 18
enthusiastic and passionate youth
from around Toronto came together
for a new and exciting experience.
Participants were received by their
Media Mentors and NFB facilitators.
They were given swag bags full of AYV
materials and resources. After some
icebreakers, groups got together to
start pitching their ideas to each other.
Each team member had the
opportunity to present a project pitch
and through discussions with their
mentors teams decided on the project that they were going to work on for the week. Following
the morning’s activities and pitch sessions, guest speaker Sarah Thomas Moffatt addressed
participants. Sarah is a Toronto based cinematographer with years of experience in the
filmmaking industry. Participants were filled with questions and interest in Sarah’s experiences
and stories. Following their conversation with Sarah, participants took part in a Digital
Storytelling workshop led by the NFB team. To wrap up the day, campers started storyboarding
their ideas and getting ready for the next full day of pre-production.
For more about Day 1 of the Camp visit our AYV Blog: https://www.tigurl.org/campday1
Day 2: Pre-Production
After an exciting first day, campers were
ready to hit the ground running and get
their storyboards and scripts ready
before Production began. While the day
was spent on focused storyboarding
sessions, a number of breakout workshop
were held throughout the day.
Participants were introduced to the film
equipment that they would be able to
use the following day and had sessions teaching them about lighting, sound and camera work.
Media Mentors took a very hands on approach during this period of the camp working one on
one with each of their groups and giving them tips and techniques on how to use the
equipment.
28. 28
Before ending the day, campers agreed on the roles that they would each take on Production
day and developed a shooting schedule to keep themselves on track.
For more about Day 2 of the Camp visit our AYV Blog:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcampday2
Day 3- Production
On Wednesday, campers took to the streets of Toronto to start filming. Participants had the
entire day to capture footage and do interviews for their films. In addition to the city itself,
campers had the option of filming at the NFB studio and at the TakingITGlobal office. Groups
also made use of the NFB’s green screens and sound proof room in order to record voice overs
and narrations. By the end of the day, the youth were tired but buzzing with ideas for the shots,
music, and narrations that they would add to their films during the following day’s post-
production.
For more about Day 3 of the Camp visit our AYV Blog: https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcampday3
Day 4- Post Production
The day kicked off with an editing presentation by guest speaker Jonathan Amar. Jonathan, a
Toronto based filmmaker, was eager to share his experiences and skills with the youth. The
editing session introduced the campers to Premiere Elements and how to use the editing
software. Following the presentation, Jonathan and Media Mentors worked one on one with
each of the groups to help them through the editing process. It was an exciting day as campers
started adding music, special effects and graphics to their films and began to see everything
come together.
For more about Day 4 of the Camp visit our AYV Blog:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcampday4
29. 29
Day 5- Post Production and Presentation
With a tight deadline of 12pm, campers only
had a few short hours to put the finishing
touches on their films. Two hours of final
edits and the films had to be exported and
ready for the evening’s screening. Campers
then participated in a special Presentation
Workshop with guest speaker Tracey Erin
Smith. Tracey worked with the groups to
create a presentation for their films and
taught them how to speak in public, answer
questions, and talk about their films with
confidence. After preparing their presentations, campers were given only one hour to create a
poster for their films. Designs were rushed to the printers to have the final products ready for
TakingITGlobal’s culminating Art and Innovation Festival.
For more about Day 5 of the Camp visit our AYV Blog: https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcampday5
Art and Innovation Festival
The culminating event of TakingITGlobal’s Summer
Camps was the Art and Innovation Festival. The
event was held at Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of
Ontario. Over 200 family, friends and VIPs were
invited to attend the event. A reception at the
Ontario College of Art and Design allowed campers
to showcase their posters with family and friends
and share a bit about their camp experience.
The Art and Innovation Festival kicked off with
campers from TIG’s Sprout Ideas Camp presenting
their projects and answering audience questions.
Following their presentations, it was time for the
world premiere of the AYV Camp Films. Media
Mentors had the honor of introducing their groups. Campers presented their films and following
the screening hosted a Q&A session with the audience. Both Media Mentors and campers were
then presented with certificates and unique Gemstones to represent all of the hard work that
went into this amazing journey.
30. 30
E) Camp Films
Creativity by Orranj Productions: Wake Up by Plot Twist Productions:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcreative https://www.tigurl.org/ayvwakeup
I Aspire... by 5+ Media: Urban Animal by Illuminite Productions:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvaspire https://www.tigurl.org/ayvurban
The entire camp experience was also captured by one of TakingITGlobal’s most engaged youth
members, Lawrence Lin, who flew in from China to be involved with the camp.
Film Camp Recap by Lawrence Lin:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvrecap1
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvrecap2
For more pictures from our amazing camp experience please visit our Film Camp Album:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcamppics
‘Thank you very much for allowing me to attend the film camp. I really enjoyed
creating the films with my group and mentor. One of my favourite parts was
talking to older students and learning and receiving tips from them. It is one the
highlights of my summer and I truly loved the experience. Thank you so much!’
- Kisenge Mbaga, 13
AYV Camp Participant
31. 31
Communications Strategies
TakingITGlobal Members
Total Registered Members 604 863
Newsletter Subscribers 174 950
Facebook Likes 21 965
Twitter Followers 12 699
Adobe Youth Voices Landing Page
Unique Visitors 957
Page Views 2879
Online Community Outreach and Social Media
TakingITGlobal’s Online Community of over 600 000 registered members is a key hub for the
sharing of AYV information and opportunities. Many of our exhibition opportunities have been
as a result of AYV media pieces being highlighted and showcased through our online
community. It is important for us to ensure that program updates, developments and special
opportunities reach our TakingITGlobal members.
Social Media and in particular Facebook and Twitter have been invaluable tools in our
promotion of AYV. Weekly tweets and posts were set up in advance of the AYV Awards to
encourage all our followers and members to submit to the awards. As voting is now underway
for the finalists, we will once again utilize these tools to help us garner support and votes for our
finalists. AYV news, updates and exhibition information are also shared via social media. Our
Youth Ambassador Facebook Group was a particularly successful way of reaching out and
interact with the youth in our program.
Late last year, TakingITGlobal re-launched its blogging platform and through the revitalized
Panorama platform we continue to post blog entries celebrating our program and partner
achievements. The blog is our main space where program stakeholders can access program
news. https://www.tigweb.org/youth-media/blogs/
32. 32
Challenges and Lessons Learned
Time Zones and Diverse School Year Calendars
As a result of working with organizations in so many different countries, the AYV team found
that we often ran into difficulties regarding timelines and calendars. The school year runs very
differently in many of the countries that we work with and so trying to find a timeline that works
for all our locations can be difficult. As a result, a number of our sites had delays in submitting
their final media pieces.
In order to deal with this challenge, the AYV Team opted to run all of our webinars twice a day so
that as many of our educators could attend. For those educators situated in North America,
South America and Africa we hosted webinars at 12:00pm EST and for those located in Asia and
Australia we hosted a second webinar at 8:30pm EST. We also made webinar recordings
available for all our educators who could not attend the live sessions.
We also had to have a certain level of flexibility when working with our sites in order to allow
them to integrate the program into their organization’s calendars.
Site Drop Off
TakingITGlobal is committed to working with youth in underserved communities and this often
means working with organizations that are facing a number of difficulties. Sites in Africa and Asia
often reported problems with Internet connectivity and environmental issues. Sites in the
Middle East had particular difficulty as a result of political and social instability in the country. We
also saw a number of our sites in North America lose funding for their youth programming.
Many of our educators were able to complete their training but as a result of circumstances
beyond their control they were unable to run successful AYV programs. These educators are
passionate and committed and so we continue to work with and support them in the hope that
they may be able to restart their programs in the future.
Software Donations
After running their AYV programs for a number of years, many of our sites were looking to
improve their work by using more advanced software. Since only two Creative Cloud Licenses
were donated per site, many of our educators felt
that they were unable to fully make use of
everything that Creative Cloud has to offer.
To overcome this challenge, the AYV put a great
focus on the use of Adobe’s free Mobile Apps.
We encouraged all of our educators and youth to
test out and make use of the apps in their media
making. We ran a dedicated Mobile Apps
webinar for all of our educators as well as our
Youth Ambassadors.
33. 33
Anecdotes From Educators
Mark Vonesch,
Reel Youth, Canada
“One participant, Ashley, was shy and uncomfortable sharing in the large group activities. Through the film
making process she formed a relationship with her senior partner and received a lot of praise for her maturity
and skills. By the end of the program Ashley was sharing a lot more confidently her personal anecdotes and
feelings about how touched she was by the experience.”
Agnes Jekli,
SCI Hungary, Hungary
‘The best experience was to see how the youth
from different backgrounds are getting along,
brainstorming together, finding common
interests. Sometimes because of language
barriers the group had a hard time with verbal
brainstorming (some of the refugees didn't
speak Hungarian, and some of the
Hungarians didn't speak English) But at the
moment of creating, holding the camera, or
the pen, this barrier fell down and they
understood each other without words.’
Debora Calderon,
Superatec, Venezuela
‘Since our training centers are located in underprivileged communities, many of
our students are youngsters that have had limited access to technology and
little opportunities for expressing their thoughts and feelings trough media
projects. Our teachers reported that the tools provided by the AYV program
catch the attention and interest of the youngsters immediately and make easier
for them to conduct the training activities.’
34. 34
Devora Kothari,
Baykids Studio, USA
‘Baykids is fortunate to witness youth participants being impacted by the subject
matter they are focusing on as well as being impacted by the process of creating
their media project. This is really the whole raison d'etre for Baykids- working with
chronically ill youth to provide them this incredible outlet to express a story, often
their own, and to benefit tremendously by engaging in the storytelling process,
focusing on their creativity, finding their voice, gaining recognition for their ideas,
not just their illnesses and feeling purposeful and connected to the world through
this process.‘
Dawn Omura,
Ecoeducarte, Argentina
‘Working once again in shanty towns, giving the possibility to
kids of lower resources to film and edit has been a great
experience, for them, and for ourselves. This is always
rewarding for the ones who have nothing, being able to learn
about technology and have access to it.’
Jamie Aquino,
Haiti Ocean Project, Haiti
‘Last week, fishermen on the
north coast of Haiti harpooned
a humpback whale which died
the next day. This got the kids
very upset and outraged and
they are now working on a
public service announcement
commercial which they hope to
air on all Haitian television
stations to spread the message
of marine conservation. After
we finalize our public service
announcement, we are
planning to invite local community leaders, schools and government officials to introduce the public service
announcement and encourage the community to spread the message’
35. 35
Next Steps
As AYV continues to evolve, we look forward to helping our educators and sites through the
transition period of the next few months. Our educators have had such a meaningful experience
through the program that we are certain that they will continue to share the methodology of
Creative Confidence within their local communities.
Over the next few months, we plan to work with our sites to help them create their own self-
sustaining media programs by providing them with a number of opportunities. We plan to invite
them to join a Community of Practice Platform on TIGed.org that will allow educators to share
their experience as they continue to expand and evolve their media making practices. This will
also be a space where more advanced educators will be able to assist newer educators as they
build these self sustaining programs.
In addition to supporting our educators through the transition, we also look forward to
celebrating their accomplishments in creative and uplifting ways. We plan to host appreciation
events at a number of key locations around the world and celebrate the accomplishments of
youth, educators and sites.
Finally, we hope to continue cultivating our youth’s creativity and passion by running a
customized cohort of our Sprout e-Course that will help the youth develop their Social
Entrepreneurship skills as they expand and develop social change media making projects. The
course will be open to our Youth Ambassadors and all AYV youth Alum.
36. 36
Appendix A:
Metrics for TakingITGlobal’s 2014-2015 AYV Cycle
1
Based on TakingITGlobal’s 2014-2015 Mid-Cycle Reports
Youth Reached 32381
By New Sites 1099
By Returning Sites 1858
Educators Reached 154
New Educators 77
Returning Educators 41
Portuguese Educators 36
Countries 35
Projects Submitted 250
Additional Projects Expected 90
2015 AYV Award Submissions 116
2015 AYV Award Finalists 6
37. 37
Appendix B:
TakingITGlobal’s 2014-2015 AYV Partner Site List
Name City State Country
A Era do Radio Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
ABAS Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
ACVic Centre
d'Arts
Contemporànies
Barcelona Catalonia Spain
Amnesty
International -
Italian Section
Rome Rome Italy
Amnesty
International
Mexico
Mexico City Mexico DF Mexico
Asociación
Connexion al
Desarrollo El
Salvador
San
Salvador
San Salvador El Salvador
AREVAH Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Aware Girls Peshawar Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
Pakistan
Baykids San
Francisco
California United
States
Blue Sparrow Huancayo Junin Peru
Bonaire Youth
Outreach
Foundation
Kralendijk Bonaire Bonaire
Boys and Girls
Club London
London Ontario Canada
Casa do Zezinho Sao Paulo SP Brazil
Caye Caulker
Ocean Academy
Caye
Caulker
Belize Belize
CDI
Comunidade
Bairro da Paz
Salvador Bahai Brazil
CDI
Comunidade
Integrasol
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
CDI
Comunidade Lar
de Clara
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
CDI
Comunidade Lar
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
38. 38
Fabiano
CDI
Comunidade Lar
Fabiano –
Jurema
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
CDI
Comunidade
Madre Regina
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
CDI
Comunidade
Projeto Ilhas
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
CDI
Comunidade
Vila Velha
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil
Centre for Youth
Integration
Belgrade Belgrade Serbia
Chanan
Development
Association
(CDA)
Lahore Punjab Pakistan
Changchun
American
International
School
Changchun Jilin China
Children's
Future
International
Battambang Battambang
Province
Cambodia
Cloudhead Art
Organization
Salta Salta Province Argentina
Community
Development
Centre
Balaghat Madhya
Pradesh
India
Dhriti- The
Courage Within
New Delhi Delhi India
Ecoeducarte Buenos
Aires
CABA Argentina
EIC JAM Curitiba Parana Brazil
Fundacion la
Morera
Cordoba Cordoba Argentina
Fundacion ph15 Ciudad de
Buenos
Aires
CABA Argentina
Fundacion
Proacceso
Mexico City Mexico City
DF
Mexico
Global Potential New York
City
New York United
States
Guildford
School
Montevideo Montevideo Uruguay
Haiti Ocean Royal Palm Florida United
39. 39
Project Beach States/Haiti
Heritage
Conservation
Think Tank
Zamalek Cairo Egypt
Holy Network Downtown
Kingston
Kingston Jamaica
Information and
Cultural
Exchange (ICE)
Parramatta New South
Wales
Australia
Innovation and
Leadership
Academy
Seke Mashonaland
East
Zimbabwe
Instituto
Empreender
Recife
Recife Pernambuco Brazil
Instituto
Empreender Rio
Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
ISMOTION
Education
Darlinghurst New South
Wales
Australia
K-Youth Media Nairobi Nairobi Kenya
Kiril i Metodij
School
Prilep Prilep Macedonia
Leave Out
Violence-U.S.
New York
City
New York United
States
Little Globe Sante Fe New Mexico United
States
Media Concern
Initiative
Ogba Lagos Nigeria
Meridian Hill
Pictures
Washington
DC
District of
Columbia
United
Stated
Mukira Chihuahua Chihuahua Mexico
NGO A
Pratiquecologia
Campo
Grande
Mato Grosso
do Sul
Brazil
OAJNU Buenos
Aires
CABA Argentina
ONG Art Cult Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
OOU Rajko
Zhinzifov -
D.Orizari, Veles
Veles Veles Macedonia
OYE Honduras El Progreso Yoro Honduras
PAVED arts Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
Peterson
Schools
Mexico City Mexico City
DF
Mexico
Plan
International
Kwekwe Midlands Zimbabwe
Projeto Fazendo
Arte
Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Reel Youth Vancouver British Canada
40. 40
Columbia
REDECCAP Casa
Viva
Rio de
Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Reto Juvenil
Internacional
Sabanilla San Jose Costa Rica
Salt Lake City
Prayasam
Kolkata West Bengal India
SCI Hungary Budapest Budapest Hungary
Seres /
Foodscapes
San Juan del
Obispo
Sacatepequez Guatemala
Shilpa Sayura
Foundation
Pilimatalawa Pilimatalawa Sri Lanka
Shoruq
Organization
Bethlehem Bethlehem Palestine
Superatec Caracas Miranda Venezuela
The Ellis School Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United
States
The LAMP New York
City
New York United
States
The Women's
Technology
Empowerment
Centre W-TEC
Lagos Lagos Nigeria
Tomorrow's
Youth
Organization
Nablus West Bank Palestine
World Partners
for
Development
Ghana
Pokuase GA West Ghana
Youth
Advocates
Zimbabwe
Harare Harare Zimbabwe
Youth
Leadership
Development
Sana’a Sana’a Yemen
Youth Media
Project
Santa Fe New Mexico United
States
YPA "New
Group"
Minsk Minsk Belarus
41. 41
Appendix C:
2014-2015 Youth Ambassador Program Final Report
For the second year in a row, TakingITGlobal has run the Youth Ambassador Program as part
of AYV. This year 24 young people (19 females and 5 males) from seven different countries
had the opportunity to connect with each other and advance their global awareness,
creativity, and leadership skills. The program which ran for a total of 6 months included
numerous learning opportunities for the participants including five live webinars, a
continuously updated Facebook group where the youth were able to share their thoughts
and creative energy, and regular set of emails that included learning resources and materials
for them to share with their organizations and peers.
A number of topics were covered in the live webinars including an introduction/ice breaker
webinar where the youth were introduced to each other and the program in general, a
technical webinar where the youth learned some advanced skills in Photoshop Elements, a
special opportunities webinar introducing the Career Toolkit and the AYV Scholarship, a
cultural exchange webinar giving the youth an opportunity to talk about their cultures and
address any misconceptions, and finally a webinar dedicated to exploring mobile creative
applications.
This report includes a list of all youth participants, the recruitment and selection process of the
Ambassadors, a synopsis of all webinars, as well as the major highlights and insights of the
program.
Youth Ambassadors:
Name Age/Gender Country
1 Joyce Yanka 16 / Female
Brazil
2 Isabel Silva 17 / Female
3 Claude Pressoir 19 / Male
Haiti
4 Francklin Barbier 19 / Male
5 Mridul Utkarsh Charles 15 / Male
India6 Riya Chowdhari 13 / Female
7 Nidhi Thakre 13 / Female
8 Camila Aguirre 17 / Female
Mexico9 Griselda Fueyo 16 / Female
10 Fernanda Kuntzy 16 / Female
42. 42
Recruitment and Selection
Recruitment for the Youth Ambassador Program was two fold. In the first stage educators from
our AYV partner sites were invited to nominate their most active and engaged youth. The
second stage of recruitment was to open up applications to all youth in the AYV programs
interested in taking on the ambassador role. Participants of last year’s Youth Ambassador
Program were welcome to once again join the program.
Webinars
Webinars were run twice a day to accommodate all the participants and they were always
facilitated by an AYV coordinator and in some instances featured a guest expert to share
his/her skills with the youth. A recording of each webinar along with a summary was sent to all
participants following the live webinar so youth who were not able to attend were still able to
watch the recording.
Moreover, youth were always asked to contribute original content to the webinars in the form
of photographs, memes, videos, and/or discussion and questions. These contributions along
with the icebreaker activities at the beginning of each webinar ensured that the youth were
engaged in discussions with each other as well as with the facilitator, which always generated
new insights and ideas.
11 Mica Bolaños 17 / Female
12 Wonderful Kayode 14 / Female Nigeria
13 Medha Pramodhani Herath 18 / Female
Sri Lanka
14 M. M. G. Prabhashana Hasthidhara 15 / Male
15 D. M. Reshani Wasundara 17 / Female
16 K. M. Nuwan Sachintha 15 / Male
17 Madusha Lakmini 18 / Female
18 Madeleine Barth Wu 14 / Female
USA
19 Yolanda Zheng 15/Female
20 Gabriella Boyiadzis 14 / Female
21 Leela Cañuelas-Puri 15/Female
22 Fiona Kivuva 14 / Female
23 Hannah Wheeler 14 / Female
24 Ashley Priore 14 / Female
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Webinar 1 – Welcome Webinar
This was the first webinar where the youth
were introduced to each other as well as
the platform and the AYV program. The
webinar started with an icebreaker and it
progressed to talk about the different
countries the ambassadors come from and
asking the ambassadors to share one
major event that happened in their part of
the world. From then, the facilitator
walked the participants through the tools
available in the platform and how to use
these tools in future webinars. This was
followed by a general introduction of the
AYV program and the role it plays in the
different communities, the Youth Ambassador Program and the role each of them will be
playing in leading their local communities. Finally, the youth defined what creativity
means to them and were asked to capture and share a creative inspiration from their daily
lives and share them with the group on the Facebook page.
Webinar 2 – Photoshop Elements Tutorial
This webinar featured a guest graphic designer that walked the youth through the steps of
editing photographs. In the webinar, the youth were introduced to the fundamentals of
graphic design and the interplay between type, line, shapes, texture, colour, and space in
creating powerful pieces. This was followed by a live demonstration of the different tools
they can use in Photoshop Elements to edit images and introduce text and different
elements to a photograph.
Title Date Type Main Outcome
Welcome Webinar November Instructional Understanding of the AYV program and
their roles as ambassadors
Photoshop Elements December Live
Demonstration
Advancement of technical skills
AYV Career Toolkit &
AYV Scholarship
January Instructional Career opportunities and skill
development
Cultural Exchange February Instructional +
Knowledge
Sharing
Mutual exchange of cultures and
understanding of misconceptions
Mobile Smart Apps March Instructional +
Live
Demonstration
Understanding of the use of mobile
apps in aiding the creative process
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In preparation of this webinar, the youth were asked to capture a picture from their local
communities and prepare an inspirational quote to accompany the picture, they were later
asked to apply what they learned and attempt to edit their own pictures and share them
on the Facebook group. The shared pictured started an interesting dialogue between the
youth where they got a chance to comment on each other’s work and incorporate the
comments in their future pieces.
Webinar 3 – AYV Career Toolkit & AYV Scholarship
This webinar focused primarily on walking the ambassadors through the different sections of
the AYV Career toolkit and encouraged them to think about their potential careers and to
explore the options and opportunities that are available for all of them. The ambassadors
collectively talked about what they envisioned for themselves and how creativity plays a major
role in defining their career paths.
Additionally, the youth were also guided through the creation of an online portfolio using
Behance and how to effectively display their thought process and creative media pieces. The last
part of the webinar covered the AYV Scholarship and explained the guidelines, requirements,
and selection criteria. It is worth mentioning that a number of the Youth Ambassadors expressed
interest in the opportunity and shared it with their classmates.
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Webinar 4 – Virtual Cultural Exchange
The most interactive webinar of the series was definitely the cultural exchange webinar.
Following last year’s example, the youth were asked to send in pictures that represent elements
of their culture including food, art, buildings, clothing ...etc. Moreover, to encourage the youth’s
creative energy, the AYV Coordinator asked all the participants to create memes in order to
address any misconceptions about their culture. The results? Inspiring posts and insightful
discussions on the Facebook group in the weeks prior to the live webinar!
Along with the cultural exchange, the webinar also covered a brief overview of the definition
and different levels of culture as well as cultural misconception and how to develop intercultural
sensitivity.
Although a great deal of the discussion happened in the Facebook group, the webinar proved
very successful as it allowed for a lively interaction among the youth as well as with the
facilitator which was very important to address the questions the youth had about each other’s
pictures.
Webinar 5 – Mobile Applications
The final of the series, this webinar was the
most popular among the youth (especially
the ones with smart phones and tablets). In
the weeks prior to the webinar, the AYV
coordinator started posting on the Facebook
group teaser media pieces that were
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produced by different apps to start the discussion, this tactic increased the curiosity of the youth
and they all attended the live webinar prepared with their own smart phones ready to download
and test the apps themselves.
The webinar started with discussing the importance of mobile apps and how they aid in
capturing creativity and inspiration on the go. From then, the webinar covered a number of
mobile apps including Adobe Clip, Adobe Voice, Adobe Draw, Adobe Shape, and Adobe Color.
This included a general overview of the apps, the different potential uses, and a live
demonstration of each app.
Highlights
The experience of running the Youth Ambassador Program has been rewarding for the AYV
team as well as for the participating youth. A number of the youth have reported gaining
leadership and technical skills through the different webinar. They also reported enjoying
meeting new people and learning more about the different cultures of youth their own age.
Our Facebook group has also been a major highlight this year with the youth not only sharing
materials for the webinar, but also sharing their own personal work and other inspirational
stories with their peers. In fact, Mica Bolaño, an AYV Scholar and AYV Awards Finalists have
posted both her pieces in the Facebook group before submitting them in order to get insights
from her peers and the AYV coordinators.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that three of our youth ambassadors (Mica Bolaños, Prabhashana
Hasthidhara, and Madusha Lakmini) have been selected as AYV Award Finalists with one of them
(Mica Bolaños) securing the AYV Scholarship as well!
“My favourite webinar was the mobile apps one because it really helped me improve my
creative skills with media and do it in an easier way because I don’t need the computer”
- Camila Aguirre, 17, Mexico
Youth Ambassador
“My highlight of the Youth Ambassador Program has to be the Facebook page. I loved to share all
the AYV projects I did and all the inspiring posts everyone shared from all over the world! I was
always curious about the post from all over the world and I always liked to think that the projects I
shared touched countries I’ve never been to.”
- Mica Bolaños, 17, Mexico
Youth Ambassador
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Appendix D:
2014-2015 Global Collaboration Program Final Report
Following the success of the previous cycle, TakingITGlobal has expanded the Global
Collaboration Program to include 10 AYV partner sites working together in exchanging ideas,
experiences, and knowledge to produce media pieces with a common social theme. The
program this year has engaged more than 200 young people from different parts of the world
and resulted in a total of 10 media pieces that focused on important social issues that included
marine life conservation, police brutality, hopes of young people, youth development and
change, and a focus on cultural exchange.
The AYV team has been working hard to facilitate the collaboration process between the
participating sites and is very proud of all the hard work the educators and youth have put in
their production of the final pieces. This report will include an outline of the metrics (including:
partner sites, locations, number of youth engaged and media pieces produced), a brief
description of the facilitation process, a synopsis of the different projects, and finally the
challenges and highlights of the program.
Metrics:
Project AYV Partner
Location
No. of Youth*
Media
ProducedCity Country
1
Haiti Ocean Project
Port-au-
Prince
Haiti 20
3 videos
The Ellis School Pittsburgh USA 40
2
PAVED Arts Saskatoon Canada 6
2 Videos
Peterson Schools Mexico City Mexico 50
3
Innovation and Leadership
Academy
Seke Zimbabwe 14
1 Video
Youth advocates Zimbabwe Harare Zimbabwe 40
4
Amnesty International Rome Italy 7
1 Video
The Lamp New York USA 5
5
OOU Kiril Metodij Veles Macedonia 10
3 posters
YPA "New Group" Minsk Belarus 20
Total 212
10 Media
Pieces
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Recruitment & Facilitation Process
The program this cycle was initiated in September 2014. This was done through a live webinar
that was hosted for all AYV partner sites in order to introduce them to the program. Following
the live webinar an application process was opened for interested partners. This was important
to match partner sites based on a number of criteria (e.g.: time zone, language, program cycle,
social topic of interest, and availability of Smartphones and tablets). We received a total of 22
applications from our partners of which 10 were selected for the program. The selection was
based on a number of criteria including the availability of resources, the effectiveness of their
local AYV program, and the capacity to host virtual meetings.
In October 2014, once partners were matched and notified of their
partnership, a second webinar took place that walked the
educators through the requirements, time frame, expectations,
and deliverables of the collaboration program.
Additionally, we shared with our educators our Global
Collaboration Guide; a guide that was developed by the AY V team
to serve as a supporting reference for the participating partners. It
included resources and materials divided in the following sections:
Benefits of Global Collaboration, Collaboration Framework,
Collaboration Considerations, Execution of Virtual Collaboration, and
Tools and Resources. For more information on the Global
Collaboration Guide, please consult the following link:
https://www.tigurl.org/ayvcollabg
The facilitation process continued throughout the 6 months and consisted of one-on- one
support via emails and conference calls until the program concluded in March 2015.
Projects
1 – Haiti Ocean Project & The Ellis School
Both of these organizations were interested in environmental conservation and more specifically
water and marine mammal conservation, which set the tone for the theme of their collaboration.
The educators opted to utilize Google Docs as a way to brainstorm ideas and compare the
thoughts that were coming from both groups of youth. This initial brainstorm was followed by
introduction videos from the youth themselves talking about the projects they are working on
and the issues that matters to them. The youth in Pittsburgh sent videos about the river system
in their city, while the youth in Haiti focused more on the marine life in Haiti and the work they
have been doing to raise awareness in their community.
Half way through their collaboration an incident that occurred in Haiti (a whale being
harpooned by local fishermen) sparked an outrage with the Haitian youth, which led to the idea
of working on a Public Service Announcement to shed a light on the incident. The idea
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resonated well with the youth in Pittsburgh and together with their educators they sent a letter
of support to their Haitian peers along with an animation that reflected what they thought of
the incident. The animation was included in the final editing of the PSA and it is scheduled to air
soon in Haitian local television.
This collaboration illustrates the power of emotional response to a real-life problem that eventually
created a bond between the youth in both locations and led to the concept of their media piece.
The experience also proved very rewarding for the youth as they got a hand on experience on
leading projects. A selected number of them (appointed as leaders) were in communication via
email and Facebook regarding the final PSA production and they were also responsible on
updating their classmates with the progress of the project.
Haiti Ocean Project + Ellis School Collaboration: https://www.tigurl.org/collab1
50. 50
2 – Petersons Schools and Paved Arts
The collaboration between these organizations focused on the exchange of daily life
experiences between the youth in Saskatoon, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico.
The overall communication happened over a Facebook group that was established by the
educators to allow the youth to communicate freely and directly with each other. As the
Canadian youth compiled their videos with the support of their educator, the youth from Mexico
took a far interesting approach choosing to use their phones and tablets to film raw snippets of
their daily lives and share them directly via email. This documentation of daily life became a
powerful instrument for cultural exchange between the youth in both locations as they were
exposed to different cultures and the daily lives of young people in different cities.
Paved Arts + Peterson School Collaboration: https://www.tigurl.org/collab2
& https://www.tigurl.org/collab3
3 – Innovation and Leadership Academy and Youth Advocates Zimbabwe
Both of these organizations were based in Zimbabwe within a short drive of each other. This
afforded them the opportunity to meet up and work on their projects in one space. The main
highlight of this collaboration is that the youth got the opportunity to meet face-to-face and
learn more about the interests of each other in an intimate manner. Moreover, it allowed the
youth to focus on issue that pertain to them locally and look at these issues from different
perspectives.
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Initial communication between the educators via emails and phone calls determined the topics
that were important and of interest to the youth. This was followed by a couple of meetings
between the youth from both organizations. In these meetings, the youth worked together on
brainstorming, producing and editing a promotional video highlighting the work of each
organization. The video was titled: ‘Passion’ which according to the youth is the common thread
between young people who are trying to affect change in their communities. The video was
created as a promotional tool to highlight the work that the organizations do in their
communities.
It is worth noting that both of these organizations were initially paired with partners in India and
Sri Lanka, but were reassigned to each other later in the process as it became evident that their
resources were better equipped for on the ground collaboration.
Innovation and Leadership Academy + Youth Advocates Zimbabwe Collaboration:
https://www.tigurl.org/collab4
4 – Amnesty International and The Lamp
With their organizations based between Italy and USA (New York), the educators focused on
establishing communication via emails first to set the theme, schedule, and framework of the
work ahead. The youth were then involved to brainstorm and discuss their ideas together.
Throughout the six months, the youth met on a bi-weekly basis via Skype to update each other
with the work that was being done locally on the ground.
The theme for their project was Police Brutality, a topic that is of special importance to the youth
in both locations. There was an agreement to produce one short video that includes footage
from both Italy and New York. Along with some research to include in their documentary, the
youth went to the streets to interview people and get some insights on the topic. The videos
shot in both locations were exchanged and youth discussed them in an online live session that
served as a rough-cut session for the project. Subtitles of the Italian interviews were added and
the final editing was done by the youth in New York.
According to the educators, the youth involved in the project were very passionate and were
interested to see the manifestation of the issue in cities different to theirs, which served as the
motivation to connect via Skype and discuss the progress of their work. It became evident that
the commitment to regular communication over a sustained period of time led to a deeper
understanding of the issue and a high quality final product.
The LAMP + Amnesty
International Italy’s
Collaboration:
https://www.tigurl.org/collab5
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5 – OOU Kiril Metodij and YPA New Group
With an experience under their belt in virtual collaboration, OOU Kiril Metodij took the initiative
to guide the project from the start. As they shared their experience from last year with their
partner, together they developed a structure for their collaboration this year.
The theme for their project was set under: Hopes and Dreams of young people, this theme
initiated many discussions among the youth from Belarus and Macedonia as they started
sharing their ideas for the projects they want to produce. There were a total of two online live
meetings that allowed for brainstorming and storyboarding to take place. Unfortunately due to
scheduling conflicts, the project has fallen behind but both groups managed to produce three
posters based on the initial discussions. The posters looked at Friendship, Music, and Travelling as
examples of some of the hopes and dreams young people have regardless of where they live.
OOU Kiril Metodij and YPA New Group Collaboration:
Friends forever best: https://www.tigurl.org/collab6
Music is my life: https://www.tigurl.org/collab7
I love travelling: https://www.tigurl.org/collab8
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Highlights
There were numerous highlights of the collaboration that were observed throughout the
process. The main one is the exchange of knowledge and expertise that occurred between the
educators. This was the case specifically in the collaborations between new AYV partner sites
and returning sites as the returning educators shared specific skills, resources, and insightful
comments in the process. This exchange of knowledge was not limited to educators but it
extended to the participating youth as they shared specific software tricks, mobile applications,
and other tips with each other. Moreover, the collaboration enabled a number of the partners to
experiment the use of mobile applications (specifically: Adobe Apps) to aid in the process.
Challenges and Lessons Learned:
Participating partners reported a number of challenges over the course of the collaboration
program. This included difficulty to frequently meet online because of the different schedules;
difficulty to focus the youth on the collaboration project when they were working on different
AYV local projects, and lastly, unpredictable political situations (specifically in the case of Haiti
and Zimbabwe) that limited the access of the affected youth.
Lessons learned include the need recruit more than your target number – We recruited a total of
16 partner sites, but three of the partnerships fell through for various reasons (lack of
communication, lack of commitment, lack of time, and scheduling conflicts). In the future, it is
best to recruit partner sites that will dedicate all their time and energy towards the collaboration
instead of running two programs (Local AYV Program and collaboration).
Successful collaboration is rooted in the commitment and motivation of the youth involved –
this was illustrated through the collaboration between Haiti and Pittsburgh, which led to the
production of a great PSA. Students from both sites were extremely passionate about the
subject matter and so their interest in completing the project pushed forward the collaboration
Throughout the challenges, the AYV team continued to provide support and guidance and offer
alternative ways of continuing the collaboration. This proved effective as the partner sites
delivered their media pieces and a couple of partnerships continued their conservation beyond
the deadline of the programs in hopes of carrying forward with their collaboration outside the
AYV scope!
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Closing Remarks
The Adobe Youth Voices program has been a meaningful and unforgettable journey for all those
involved. We are thankful to all the youth, educators, organizations, and staff that have made
this such a successful and inspiring program. The support of the Adobe Foundation has allowed
us to make a lasting impact on the lives of so many youth and educators from around the world.
TakingITGlobal is grateful for the opportunity to have partnered with over 150 organization from
more than 50 countries around the world to reach over 10 000 youth through the Adobe Youth
Voices Program. We are proud of the amazing work that has been accomplished over the past 10
years of AYV and we look forward to building on our collective experience and momentum for
even greater impact in the years to come!
