Foundations Unveil Digital Media Center for Underserved Students
The Adobe Foundation and the Black Eyed Peas' Peapod Foundation have designated a new Peapod Adobe Youth Voices music and multimedia academy, the latest one in San Jose, CA.
This is the fifth such academy launched through the Youth Voices program, with three others in California and one in New York.
Adobe Youth Voices is a program designed to give disadvantaged students an opportunity to learn and use multimedia tools to express their social views through various digital forms of media: music, Web design, video, and other forms of expression. Launched in 2006, the program has resulted so far in the creation of some 557 "sites, grantees, and organizations" serving students in 33 countries. In the United States, there are 146 centers, many of them located on school campuses, spread out over 16 states. Schools and organizations designated as Youth Voices sites receive software, teacher and student training, and financial assistance for the production and exhibition of the works of participants.
The Peapod Adobe Youth Voices multimedia academies in particular focus on delivering curriculum technologies to support visual arts, video production, dance, and music.
The new San Jose academy will launch in September, serving students aged 13 to 18. It will be operated by Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana. Adobe said the program is expected to draw about 300 participants each year. The formal unveiling will be held Aug. 6.
“The collaboration with the Peapod Foundation and Adobe Foundation will provide invaluable support to our mission of engaging youth through visual, literary and performance arts programs to initiate civic dialog on important topical issues and encourage transformation in our communities," said said Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, executive director of Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, in a statement released Thursday.
In related news, the Adobe Youth Voices Summit 2011 is taking place this week, Aug. 2 through 6, at Santa Clara University. The event allows students to meet with digital media professionals for hands-on technical workshops and career guidance.
Additional details can be found on the Adobe Youth Voices portal.