The Global Fund For Children

Welcome to California

• By Kudirat Initiative for Democracy in Nigeria on September 2nd, 2011
• Category: Blog, Sub-Saharan Africa

For the last two years, GFC has partnered with the Adobe Foundation to participate in Adobe Youth Voices (AYV), a program that empowers young people to share their voices and express their understanding of the world through the use of new media technology. Twenty-seven of our grantee partners currently participate in the AYV program. Young people from these grantee partners are engaged in innovative media making, including learning how to use Adobe software like Photoshop and Premiere Elements to create animation, digital art, videos, and more. The following guest blog was written by Eno, a youth artist from The Kudirat Initiative for Democracy in Lagos, Nigeria. Eno had the opportunity to attend the Adobe Youth Summit in August 2011 in Santa Clara, California. The Summit brought together youth and educators throughout the world to share knowledge and learn new media making skills.

California, USA – On August 1, 2011, Ms. Temitope Tejuoso (educator) and I travelled to the United States of America to represent Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) in the Adobe Youth Voices Summit 2011. It was a mixture of emotions for me: I was very excited because it was my first time travelling outside my country—Nigeria—but I was also scared because I had never travelled by air.

Orientation at Santa Clara University
We arrived at Santa Clara University on Tuesday, August 2, 2011, at about 5:00 PM. There, we were welcomed by officials from the Education Development Center and the Adobe Foundation. There was a welcome session where I met fellow youth from different countries. I was also very excited to see Maria, another youth from Nigeria who almost did not make it to the summit. We were briefed on the week’s agenda and were told what was expected of us. We played a game called Ado Bingo, which allowed us to search for people in the summit that had experiences relating to the question on the sheet—we were asked to pick them out and have them sign on the sheet. The game was a way of getting familiar with others at the summit.

After the orientation, each youth set out to his/her group to produce a media piece that related to the group. With regard to our application, the groups were: change, environment, human rights, culture, identity, and relationships. Our educators were not left out, as they were also asked to come up with their own media piece. Those in my group were Josh and Fernando from the USA, Justine and Stephanie from Canada, Meash from India, and Maria and I from Nigeria.

Media mentors were also appointed to each group, and we were all to show our finished work to other summit participants on the third day. Knowing we had a mission to accomplish, every member of my group agreed to come up with his/her own story and to share it with the house the next day.

Inspired
We got to meet Laura Ling, a famous reporter who is passionate about making people’s voices heard and creating awareness around the world. She told us about all she went through because of talking about the humanitarian crisis of the North Korean people; how her capture, the weakest time of her life, became the greatest test of her faith after she was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment with hard labour. She told us about how she kept holding on to hope until she was set free without spending even a year. She advised us to always try to help people who do not have freedom gain freedom and never to give up. I learnt to always hold on to hope for it will lead us to greater places.

My meeting Laura Ling made me understand that if I must make my voice heard and give voice to the voiceless that there is always a price to pay and that it takes determination. It gave me hope to always be determined just like she was.

The Project
The groups went back to work, and my group was no exception. We all shared the stories we had come up with about our environment. The stories were very interesting and creative to the extent that it was difficult to choose one. We finally decided not to scrap anyone’s idea but to create our own media as a group by extracting pieces from everyone’s ideas to create our environmental piece. We decided to move out of the bracket—that is, we thought of doing something that would be different from what people would think the environment team would produce— so we agreed to represent our thoughts with abstractions.

We agreed to make a stop-motion video using the Kindle book advertisement as our guide. The making of the video wasn’t an easy task; it required dedication and patience. Every member of the group was entrusted with the making of one or two props needed for their scene. The preproduction and production was done concurrently; over 600 pictures were taken to produce our piece.

We had to improvise and create our props, like using cardboard for fire, while others did the acting and shooting. Knowing we had a task to complete, every member of the group, including our media mentors, had to sacrifice their spare time to see to the completion of the project.

Day Out
This was one of the days I longed for. Formally dressed, we visited the Adobe headquarters, where we meet volunteers from the Adobe Foundation and they asked us questions about what we intended to be in the future. They told us steps to take in order to make sure our dreams come true, and I can hear their words of counsel reverberate. One thing I will always remember was when I was told ‘‘Challenges are your biggest achievements; find strength in them.’’

We had the chance to go on a tour around the streets of San Francisco, where I got to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Pacific Ocean, and so many other beautiful places.

The Exhibition
This was my happiest day while in California. Our educators got the chance to present their works. Representatives from the Peapod Academy came and informed us of strategic steps to take whenever we plan on producing something. After the orientation, we moved to the hall, where each group presented their work, and that, I think, was my moment. Every member of the team took a turn talking about the preproduction and production process. I was particularly excited when I heard people ask us questions, and I was glad to proffer answers to some. Our certificates of attendance were presented to us on the stage, and I was glad I attended.

I was told that production is not complete until it is shared; seeing our work exhibited at the AYV summit, live in the California city cinema, was my happiest moment in California. I felt like a star for the first time. Our work, though, met with some criticism, which was constructive. It was really a wonderful experience for me.

When we got back to the lounge after the exhibition, we had an all-night party. We all refused to go to bed at the usual lights-out time, which was 10:00 PM, since it was the last night we would spend together. The party was fun. I got to learn how to play a particular tune on the piano from a youth from China, and I also learnt some dance steps. Youth got to pass papers around for everyone to sign on and tell us what they learnt and thought about us. This act was really fun, particularly for me because I got to know exactly what the youth really thought about me, and it was then that I began to realize how much I’d miss them and wished we could stay longer. I am glad we were able to exchange contacts though and wish to keep the fire burning.

Going Home
As the saying goes, ‘‘We meet to part.” Saying good-bye to everyone as they departed one after the other to the airport was very sad. It was fun and interesting meeting with everyone from various parts of the world. We shared great times together; an unforgettable experience for me. I am glad that I was a part of this.

I would like to express appreciation to the Adobe Foundation, Education Development Centre, The Global Fund for Children, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, and of course, my educator, Ms. Temitope Tejuoso, for their support, encouragement, and opportunity of a lifetime.