TakingITGlobal

2020 Shilpa Sayura Foundation (Kandy, Sri Lanka) Shilpa Sayura Foundation revamped the curriculum for their multimedia programming on Digital Photography, Graphic Design, Animation and Video Production in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. To best support 185 of young creatives with virtual learning, the participants were divided into the groups based on their age, digital skill level, and subject interests. The goal of this virtual program was to support young creatives with resources and digital media skills that allowed them to create media pieces about social issues that are personally important to them. To continue to build pathways to careers in the creative fields, participants connected with industry professionals through workshops on digital media skills. By the end of this project, the young creatives had created short-films using their mobile devices, photographs capturing quarantine in their communities, and stop motion films. Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center (Buffalo, New York, USA) The Squeaky Wheel team redesigned the delivery of their Saturday Cafe program for virtual program delivery for 10 young creatives from around the United States. This virtual Saturday Cafe program incorporated Mozilla's VR apps Hubs and Spoke for virtual program delivery. The young creatives connected virtually where they learned how they can create and utilize VR environments as a tool for learning and for self- expression, developing skills and confidence with new media technology. To empower youth voice and foster leadership opportunities, all project ideation processes included input and feedback from the young creatives. To provide a well rounded learning environment, professional working artists were invited to be a part of the sessions for exposure to different art-making processes and allowed the young creatives the opportunity to speak directly and network with working professionals for a deeper understanding of creative industries. 28

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