The NYPL Hosts The Second Annual Emoti-Con NYC Youth Digital Media & Technology Festival

Socially relevant video games, digital comics, animated movies and DIY tech support are just a few of the digital media projects that will be displayed by New York City kids at the second annual Emoti-Con NYC Youth Digital Media & Technology Festival, set for Saturday, June 19 at the New York Public Library.

Over 100 Big Apple youths will gather at the Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue for the second annual Emoti-Con conference to showcase various tech projects and discuss how teens can use digital media to express themselves and influence debate on both global and local issues.

“Nowadays, we are limited in how much fun we can have because of the myth that technology will distract us from learning,” said student Leroy Tindi, who participated in Emoti-Con last year. “But I think the Emoti-Con is a great way to challenge this myth and show that you can learn while having fun. That’s when people learn the best, I think.”

The event – the largest non-formal learning program in New York City – will also feature a video game design competition, keynote presentations from professionals in several media and technology fields, a college fair and opportunities for kids to meet with professionals in the digital media field.

Youth participants will be attending from founding organizations MOUSE, Global Kids, the New York Public Library, Parsons Academy, as well as Mobo Studio from Quest to Learn. Additional promotional support has been generously provided by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, Best Buy Childrens Foundation, and The New York City Council.

The event is made possible by generous funding from HSBC Bank USA, N.A., which also provided promotional support.

“For all of Emoti-Con's founding organizations there¹s a very consistent thread: it¹s the importance of giving young people a venue to voice their ideas and opinions, have their perspectives valued, and spotlight their amazing work in a context where peers and professionals can offer real feedback,” said Marc Lesser, education director at MOUSE, one of the founding partners. “For us, it's not just another part of the learning process, it¹s a core element. The collaboration among these organizations marks an unprecedented commitment to the support of young people as leaders of the digital age.”

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the media fair at 2:45 and a Playing 4 Keeps Serious Game Design Challenge competition at 3:25.

For more information on the coordinating and founding organizations, check out their websites at www.mouse.org, www.parsons.newschool.edu, www.globalkids.org and www.nypl.org.

For more information on the event and to RSVP, contact NYPL PR Manager Angela Montefinise at 212-592-7506 or angela_montefinise@nypl.org

About The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with the Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. Its renowned research collections are located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem; and the Science, Industry and Business Library at 34th Street and Madison Avenue. Eighty-eight branch libraries provide access to circulating collections and a wide range of other services in neighborhoods throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English for speakers of other languages. All in all The New York Public Library serves more than 17 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org.