Youth Media and Tech Showcase at Emoti-Con NYC 2016!

This past Saturday, middle and high school students from all over New York City showcased technology and digital media projects at the 8th Annual Emoti-Con NYC youth conference in the Bartos Forum at the New York Public Library. Attendees participated in networking activities where they had the opportunity to talk to experts in various tech and media fields, listened to inspirational keynote speakers, and presented their work to their peers. This is my third time attending the conference and each year I am more impressed with the innovative ideas and creativity demonstrated by the youth who participate. This year’s conference did not disappoint.

The scene in the NYPL Bartos Forum as students network with experts in tech and media.

​The aim of every project was to make some sort of social impact in the local or global community. “Badges” were awarded to those whose projects demonstrated most social impact, most innovative, point of view, and most entertaining. Winners include Baruch Campus High School’s VakWay, a prototype of a vacuum cleaner that vacuums subway tracks, ScriptEd’s Styling with the Stars in which users must “dress up” a presidential candidate using a digital tool, and Mouse Design League’s Panda’s Box, a specialized wallet made for disabled persons. Of course, I have to give a special shout out to Global Kids’ Ears Wide Open , a radio podcast produced by middle schoolers from School of Human Rights about combating racism in their school (click here to listen), that won the badge for most social impact! I also need to give another shout out to Global Kids’ #GirlsMatter, a website created by middle schoolers at IS 109 that encourages female empowerment, who won honorable mention!

Pictured right: high school student Jonathan showing his game, "Intruder Alert", that addresses issues of cybersecurity.

I find that events like Emoti-Con are so effective in giving youth the chance to demonstrate the work they put into their designs, take ownership of that work, and be rewarded for it. What’s more is that by inviting experts in related fields to speak and network with them, the kids are shown how they can take their designs to the next level and can be applied to “real world” scenarios. As this school year in NYC wraps up, I am excited to see how these kids will continue to reveal their creative minds through the ingenious tech and media designs that they produce.