Adobe Award for Indian Teenagers
By Sumir Singh

Tech giant Adobe has partnered with MTV, Dell and Samsung to launch the Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards, a new online youth media competition and festival showcasing creative media from teens ages 13-18 worldwide. This virtual media competition honors youth who creatively communicate a vision for change in their communities and lives through video, print and audio projects.

The Adobe Aspire Awards competition, launched in early 2012, called for entries produced by teens who demonstrate creativity and skill in using video, print and/or audio to convey a perspective on issues important to them. Educators were invited to submit work on behalf of youth who are invited to compete in eight categories – animation, documentary, music video, narrative video, poetry / experimental video, audio, graphic design and photography.

Entries were evaluated by a global panel of teen peers, youth media professionals, educators, media industry experts and filmmakers, including Neil Bennett, Sarah Kay, and Robert Kenner. Among the Judges were a number of highly regarded Indians including Dhanaraj Keezhara (Activist and Social Worker), Mira Nair (Director) and Mala Sharma (VP, Creative Pro Business, Adobe)

Prize packages include Adobe software, laptops provided by Dell, HD camcorders donated by Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Flip Mino HD video cameras and an MTV grant. Winning youth producers will also have the opportunity to showcase their projects at partner film festivals, art galleries and exhibitions worldwide, including: Seattle International Film Festival, the Sarajevo Film Festival, Digital Arts Magazine, and many more.

The Adobe Foundation has announced the winners of the first-ever Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) Aspire Awards. Aspire Awards winners were selected from among 160 projects chosen as semi-finalists. More than 800 submissions were received overall in response to a call for entries. Entries were accepted in eight categories – animation, documentary, music video, narrative video, poetry/experimental video, audio, graphic design and photography.

India has won an award in the music video category.

 MUSIC VIDEO:
- Gold Award: Keep Pushing – Tyler Gil-Contrearas, Roberto Guzman, Diamante Horton, Richard Kaho and PJ Poloai; Redwood City Peapod Academy (Redwood City, Calif., United States)
- Silver Award: A Trip to Heaven – Mohammed Al Barghothy, Ahmad Kurdi and Zaid Negresh; PBYRC Computer Clubhouse (Amman, Jordan)
- Audience Choice Award: Stop the Drop – Students of Christel House India (Bangalore, India)

The winners of all the 8 categories can be seen at this link

India’s Stop the Drop is described as “In our fast-paced daily lives, we sometimes overlook the power and importance of a single drop of water. In this production, students have taken perceptions of the role of water in our lives into another realm entirely. By using sound effects created by splashing, dripping, pouring, and even flushing water, with the addition of a rhythmic drum, the students of Christel House India have reinvented and emphasized the way human beings interact with one of our most precious resources - Water.”