DIGITAL ARTS FESTIVALS WINNERS EMBARK ON TECH ADVENTURE IN SEATTLE

Boys & Girls Club members gain hands-on experience at Best Buy and Microsoft
 

Club Tech Digital Arts Festival winners Christian Agron (C), 14, of Holyoke, Mass., and Gabriel Alvidrez (R), 16, of Tucson, Ariz., interview Best Buy’s Hollie Ekornas about career opportunities at the nation’s top electronics retailer.

(ATLANTA, July 20, 2007) – Boys & Girls Clubs of America recently recognized winners in its National Club Tech Digital Arts Festivals with a fun and educational trip to Seattle. After winning contests on the local and regional levels, 21 tech savvy Club kids took home the top prize in areas of graphic design, Web design, music making, photo illustration and movie making.

“This phenomenal experience for our young people truly embodies the mission of our organization, and gets at the very core of what we are committed to doing — providing hope and opportunity,” said Roxanne Spillett, president, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “Thanks to Microsoft and the Best Buy Children’s Foundation, we are not only able to provide them with the necessary skills needed to excel in today’s technology-driven world, but we’re also able to help them see where those skills can take them.”

The winners, ranging in age from 10 to 17 were able to experience first-hand the diverse career opportunities that lie ahead through behind-the-scenes tours at Best Buy and Microsoft. Employees from various departments of both companies, including the innovative Best Buy Geek Squad, and Microsoft’s X-Box, Zune, and Surface Table PC divisions shared career choices and personal experiences with the winners, opening their worlds to a vast landscape of technology careers. Winners also experienced some of Seattle’s top tourist destinations, including the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project, and interviewed Seattle Mariners’ in-fielder Ben Broussard about his passion for music.

Participating in this rich experience required members to create digital artwork incorporating skills developed through the Club Tech program, a partnership between Boys & Girls Clubs of America, founding partner Microsoft and the Best Buy Children’s Foundation to equip some 4.8 million youth with essential digital literacy skills. Members gain basic and advanced tech skills, from word processing to computer refurbishing, and are encouraged to apply their knowledge through Digital Arts Festivals.

“At Microsoft, we are proud of our longstanding partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the opportunities we have been able to help afford through a series of grants, technology, and curriculum,” said Andrea L. Taylor, Microsoft’s North America Director of Community Affairs. “These commitments illustrate our philosophy that technology has the power to transform education, inspire innovation, and enable social and economic growth.”

Over the history of the Digital Arts Festivals, Club members have submitted nearly 6,000 pieces of original digital artwork. Under the 2006-2007 theme, “In the News,” members expressed their creative talents recognizing the myriad of ways youth access and share information via the Web, television, newspapers and magazines.

The following Boys & Girls Club members took home national Digital Arts Festival awards:

Graphic Design: Members learn artistic concepts and technology skills to create professional-quality print materials and animation. By the time members complete the graphic design program, they have developed logos, posters, animation and other materials requiring the expertise of a graphic artist. National judges for the Digital Arts Festival in graphic design were Brandi Davis, a Web designer for Ebony magazine and group program manager Alex Weinert of Microsoft.

· Amanda Coombs, 17, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix, created merged music and innovative photography in a mock magazine cover, Notes & Strokes.
· Hector Rivie, 15, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Holyoke, expressed his love for skateboarding into the colorful and polished magazine cover of Street Skateboarding.
· Simone Wade, 12, Boys & Girls Club of Newark, highlighted issues often facing tweens such as gossip, peer pressure and violence in school on her cover of Tweens Magazine.

Web Design: Members designed Web sites in the style of a news Web site, such as USAtoday.com, to present the latest news or current events from their Club. The Web design festival was judged by a group of experts in the field, including Vincent Christie of Today’s Custom Home magazine; Collette Stallbaumer, senior marketing manager with Microsoft; and Professor Claude Cookman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and associate professor at Indiana University.

· Ricardo Robles, 17, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson developed a winning Web design entry titled “The Hour of Power” which celebrated Black history.
· Christian Agron, 14, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Holyoke, captured the goings-on at his Club with his Web site, “Toepfert News.”
· Valentina Herrera, 11, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, highlighted the various activities taking place at her Club with “Bulldogs in the News.”

Movie Making: Members were challenged to write a screenplay for or film a newscast or report “from the field” to convey the news from their local Club or community. National judges for movie making included Ken Ellis, senior producer, George Lucas Educational Foundation; actor and singer Jason Weaver of television shows Thea and Smart Guy, and the movie Drumline; and Karen Fowler, creative director, Sesame Street Workshop.

· Arsenia Longoria, 10, Alexis Rodriguez (10), Celina Chavez (12), Alex Zack (13) and Ivylize Valdillez, 14, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, created a slick black and white silent film titled “Boys & Girls Clubs Follies.”
· Olivia Hutchinson, 14, Aron Byerly (16) and Tyquez Williams (14), Fort Sill Youth Services, creatively highlighted news taking place in their Club.
· Skyler Myers,12, Boys & Girls Club of Huntington Valley, wrote a script depicting Cupid’s efforts to bring two news anchors together for Valentine’s Day in “Untitled.”

Photo Illustration: Members used an existing photograph, or took their own, and manipulated it to represent a current event and then wrote a caption explaining the photo. Celebrity photographer Jennifer Pottheiser of Turtlebox Productions; Associated Press and freelance photographer Greg Smith; and professional photographer Nelda Mays served as national judges.

· Alex Gomez, 15, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, created a vivid depiction of Hurricane Katrina in his “Hurricane Katrina Turns a Child’s Life Upside Down” illustration.
· Gabriel Alvidrez, 16, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, inspired by King Kong and Godzilla developed an illustration “Baby Runs Wild,” featuring a giant-sized baby reeking havoc on a town.
· Brianna Hill, 10, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, created a photo illustration, entitled, “Save the Victims” depicts her view of the effect of Katrina on a community.

Music Making: Exploring a variety of digital music software applications and basic music theory, Club members learned to write sheet music, mix musical loops, and compose and record original songs. Music Making Festival was judged by a panel of distinguished industry and celebrity judges, including Reginald Haley, entertainment and technology consultant for Diversity studios; Ryan Cameron, comedian, TV host of Atlanta & Co. and radio host for Atlanta’s top R&B radio station V-103; and R&B recording artist Sammie.

· Ryan Machado, 10, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, created “In the face of war,” an original score including common sounds of war.
· Cristina Rivera, 17, Boys & Girls Club of Pharr, composed a musical piece, entitled “Spanish Flavor,” which possessed a creative mix of the Salsa and Merengue genres.
· Gonzalo Guerrero, 14, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, arranged the strong and inventive hip-hop melody, “Go For What You Know.”

By encouraging young people to employ creativity and develop tech skills through the Digital Arts Festival, the Club Tech program works to bridge the digital divide for those without access to technology. Acquiring Club Tech skills not only helps members navigate the World Wide Web or computer programs, it enables them to better navigate life.
 

Microsoft Architect Nigel Keam demonstrates the new Surface Table PC to Digital Arts festival winners. Along with 13 other Club members, these tech-savvy youth were the first ever to have their artwork displayed on this new Microsoft product not yet available on the market.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Club Tech Program
Club Tech was created by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) and Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) in 2000 to technology enable Clubs worldwide, transforming Clubs from “swim & gym” to “point and click.” Partnering with long-time supporter Best Buy Children’s Foundation (www.bestbuy.com) and Microsoft, BGCA provides technology program access to some 4.8 million youth served through a network of more than 4,000 Clubs. By leveling the “virtual playing field,” kids of all ages and circumstances now have access to the same resources and skills to help them discover their world; expand creativity; perform better in school, and eventually take their technology know-how into the workplace.

# # #
 

« Return to Press Releases