Just a few more days to get in Project:Connect applications

June 05, 2013
By Elyse Eidman-Aadahl

The fifth Digital Media and Learning Competition–the Project:Connect Summer Youth Programming Competition-– is accepting applications through June 10 for awards made starting July.

The inaugural NYC-based youth hackathon, sponsored through the Hive Learning Network, is an example of what young people envision when given the time and space to design for a web that best serves them. Now, the Project:Connect-Summer Youth Programming Competition aims to expand this opportunity through its call for summer event and programming proposals to excite and enable youth to engage the web in civil, collaborative, productive, safe, and confidence-building ways. The Competition supports single or multi-day participatory and hands-on learning experiences (labs, hackathons, pop-up events) that support youth working with peers, mentors, and educators in order to work toward a better web for all. Based on the principles of Connected Learning—learning that is equitable, social, and participatory—Project:Connect Summer Youth Programs will give young people hands-on experience creating, testing, and investigating ways to make using the web a better place to learn, connect, make, contribute, and share.

The Project:Connect-Summer Youth Program Competition is administered by HASTAC and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with the Born This Way Foundation and Mozilla. A related Open International Competition focused on Digital Tools for Democracy will be announced on June 17, 2013. For the latest news, connect with us in one of the ways listed below.

For full information: dmlcompetition.net

  • Awards: Up to $10,000 per institution (winners to be announced in early July)
  • Deadline: Online applications are due June 10, 2013, at 5pm PST.
  • Timeline: Project:Connect-Youth Summer Programs will be held July-September, 2013.
  • Who is eligible to apply: U.S.-based non-profit learning development and civic engagement institutions and organizations (including learning development organizations such as museums, libraries, after school and summer programs).

Winning proposals will create:

  • Social Tools for Social Good – Enabling people to create a culture of kindness, respect, and safety that enhances civic participation for youth.
  • Social Tools that Enable Control of Information – Helping youth understand how to control their information, and manage privacy and security.
  • Social Tools that Enable Literacy – Helping youth build, access, and understand the web in ways that support interest-driven learning, and empower learners to connect in safe ways with resources, mentors, and peers.

Visit the Project:Connect website for the full timeline, eligibility requirements, and application process.