WeVideo, a leading cloud-based, collaborative multimedia creation platform, has joined forces with KQED as an official technology partner of the KQED Youth Media Challenges, an initiative to help educators across the nation facilitate student civic engagement and media making. The partnership provides 2021-2022 school year Challenge participants with a complimentary six-month WeVideo for Schools license for use on their submissions through June 2022. WeVideo’s production-proven multimedia platform is trusted by more than 38 million users worldwide, and through the collaboration, KQED Youth Media Challenges participants will be equipped with user-friendly media creation tools, empowering students from all backgrounds and ability levels to share their unique perspectives and stories across a range of topics with their peers and the public.

“We anticipate this will make KQED Youth Media Challenges more accessible to more students – particularly those who are underrepresented in traditional media – and we can’t wait to hear more of these young people on KQED’s airwaves.”

“WeVideo is committed to providing easy and accessible multimedia creation tools for use across education, business and personal projects. Our partnership with KQED brings our tools to all schools that want to participate in the Challenges, removing technology barriers for traditionally under-resourced schools and leveling the playing field so that students can share their voice and learn essential skills through exploring the creative process,” states Krishna Menon, CEO, WeVideo.

KQED Youth Media Challenges prompt critical thinking and foster civic engagement and are open to middle and high school students across the U.S. With 7 Challenges to choose from, students can explore a range of STEM, humanities and arts topics, and educators can access the supporting curriculum for free. KQED Youth Media Challenges welcome video, audio and graphic arts submissions, transforming traditional classrooms into spaces where students are active creators and producers. With these Challenges, students can build valuable media literacy skills and share their authentic voices beyond their classrooms. All Challenge submissions are published on the online showcase, and select pieces are broadcast to public media audiences on KQED shows and through partners.

“It’s a powerful partnership when technology joins with public media to reduce barriers to media creation,” says Holly Kernan, Chief Content Officer at KQED. “We anticipate this will make KQED Youth Media Challenges more accessible to more students – particularly those who are underrepresented in traditional media – and we can’t wait to hear more of these young people on KQED’s airwaves.”

Complimentary WeVideo for Schools licenses will be available to participants through June 2022 – the deadline to submit entries for the 2021-2022 school year. Ideal for learning environments, WeVideo for Schools can easily be accessed on any Windows, Mac, iOS or Android device and is trusted by millions of teachers and students, providing cloud-based multimedia production tools that simplify capture, editing, viewing and sharing of education-based projects.