Over 10,000 youth have been reached through the Adobe Youth Voices program powered by the collaborative efforts of TakingITGlobal and the Adobe Foundation. The full impact of this program was made possible with the support and dedication of our partner sites around the world. Our international partners played an integral role in implementing the youth-focused programming. Without their commitment to engaging and empowering youth to share their stories through digital media, none of this meaningful work could have been done.

To express our gratitude, we have been hosting AYV Partner Appreciation Events all around the world. Currently, there have been AYV Appreciation Events held in Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Egypt, Belize, and Costa Rica.

This AYV Appreciation Event takes us to the town of El Progreso in Northern Honduras. Here we meet one particularly enthusiastic and committed partner, the Organization for Youth Empowerment – Honduras. OYE is dedicated to helping at-risk youth in their community become socially conscious leaders. Many of their workshops and community engagement initiatives use the arts as a vehicle for learning and a platform for expression.

The celebratory event opened with a slideshow of digital media pieces that were created through the AYV Program at this site. There was also a print display showcasing some of the compositions. This provided an excellent opportunity for youth to share their inspiration and the ensuing process of creating their digital media art pieces. We learned about the stories behind the art. This instigated a conversation about where youth find their creative inspirations. They revealed some of the issues that they find most pressing and the messages that they want to convey through their art.

One youth expressed that sharing your message through your art was an important part of the process but was equally significant as the interpretation of the person who views the art piece. This point segued perfectly into the workshop that used the AYV Window to the World Card Deck.

Youth worked in small groups and chose a card that spoke to them in some way. The first activity asked them to share what they saw in the image, what it made them think, and how it made them feel. The second activity challenged the youth to imagine a world where their issue was no longer a reality. They had to describe how the world came to eliminate that social issue. Through the use of the cards, youth engaged in lively and enthusiastic discussions full of thought-provoking points and insightful reflections regarding some of the world’s most complicated social issues. Youth deliberated over the steps that would be involved in order to overcome the global challenges that they identified. It was uplifting to see this group of youth express a great deal of compassion and commitment to creating a better world.

Certificates were awarded to all the youth who participated in the AYV Program to recognize their efforts throughout their involvement. The celebration then culminated with refreshments and a lovely cake dedicated to AYV. It was a delight to spend time with this inspiring group of youth.

Thank you!

A special thank you to Oscar Osorio, Amanda Hall, and the team at the Organization for Youth Empowerment in Honduras for empowering marginalized youth to express themselves through digital media. Our celebrations here are to extend our sincerest gratitude to all of the educators and participants for their passion and dedication to the Adobe Youth Voices Program. We recognize the meaningful work that is being done through OYE and it is a pleasure to be a part of the process where youth can share their views on significant global issues and feel that they are being heard on an international level.