Just a couple of years ago, Sam Kitondo was truggling to succeed at his
London, England, high school. He was
a spirited and outspoken teenager but
had earned a reputation as a troublemaker and was struggling to buck
the gang stereotypes that plagued
his community.
Then he got involved with
Adobe Youth Voices (AYV), a
global educational program sponsored by the Adobe Foundation,
the philanthropic arm of software
maker Adobe. The education-based
initiative teaches underserved kids
aged 13–18 how to use digital media
to comment on their world, share
ideas, and take action on the social
issues that are important to them.
The AYV mission is to help students
“create with purpose” and spark a dialogue for change around the world by
harnessing the energy and insight of
young people.
Sam took this mission to heart.
Under the guidance of his AYV-trained instructors, he produced a
striking film called “What about the
Families?” a psychological inquiry
into the effects of prison life on the
offenders’ families.
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Today, Sam’s own life is headed in a
completely new and exciting direction.
As a direct result of the inspiration
he found while working with AYV,
he is now in his first year of a media
and cultural studies degree at the Uni-
versity of East London. Through the
program, he also became a protégé of
British Acad-
emy of Film
and Television
Arts (BAFTA)
award-winning
director Noel
Clarke and hopes
to have a cameo role
in Clarke’s next
feature film.
