Tech this out!
“We’re just thrilled! We had great fun making the video.”
Those were the words of Annmarie Lewis from Dramarama Cork after they received the big news that they were one of the winners in a yearly video competition. The drama students scooped the €500 prize fund for the Group Category 8-12 Years’ for their entry in this year’s What’s Your Story?’ with their entry called The Techogram 2000.
The submission caught the judges’ attention thanks to its commentary on how technology will continue to impact on human interaction and daily activities well into the future.
Annmarie said: “As a drama group, our students always love a chance to practice their skills in front of the camera. Now they can say they’re award-winners in the business! At Dramarama Cork we pride ourselves on creating a safe space for expression, so I think the competition topic fed into this, as it encouraged our students to think about how that safe space can also be achieved within the online world. We’re delighted that our efforts were recognised and I have a feeling our group will be celebrating for some time to come!”
The annual video competition is organised by Trend Micro’s Internet Safety for Kids & Families (ISKF) programme which is a global educational initiative for parents and teachers as they endeavour to keep children safe and savvy online. The winners were announced to mark Safer Internet Day which was held on Tuesday.
Each year, What’s Your Story? asks a thought-provoking question about technology and internet use, and invites children and teens from across the country to submit their response in the form of a two minute video. This year’s topic asked how might new technology (or AI) help you in the future.
Entrants were encouraged to be as imaginative and creative as they wished.
Commenting on this year’s winners, Avril Ronan, Trend Micro Global Programme Manager for Internet Safety for Kids & Families, said: “As usual, Trend Micro’s annual Irish youth video competition challenged the youth of the nation with an important question, and we were not disappointed! Young people were encouraged to research, chat with friends and family, to ask questions and to let their imagination run wild with their answers, and this is exactly what they did.”