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The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation and Adobe Foundation Unveil New Academy for San Jose Youth

Located at 510 South First Street, the academy will be housed in a facility operated by Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA), an organization promoting visual, literary and performance art as a vehicle for civic dialogue and social equity. The collaboration between The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation, Adobe Youth Voices (the signature program of the Adobe Foundation) and MACLA will focus on empowering youth to find their voice and become agents of social change in addition to learning important digital literacy skills. Beginning Sept. 2011, programs and services will be offered for youth ages 13-18. An estimated 300 youth are expected to participate in the academy annually.

Six-time Grammy Award-winning recording artists The Black Eyed Peas - will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie - will join Adobe Foundation officials in unveiling the new San Jose academy at a private ceremony on Aug. 6. The Peapod Foundation was established in 2007 to help provide music and arts education as a means to serve underserved youth throughout the world.

"We are very excited to be part of the growing network of Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academies," said Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, executive director, MACLA. "The collaboration with the Peapod Foundation and Adobe Foundation will provide invaluable support to our mission of engaging youth through visual, literary and performance arts programs to initiate civic dialogue on important topical issues and encourage transformation in our communities."

"Every day we are inspired by the immense talent we see in young people," said will.i.am. "The Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academies provide these youth with opportunities to advance their artistic and academic skills and channel their creative energy in ways we can only imagine. We are proud to help them make their voices heard."

"These youth are at a crucial point in their lives - at the intersection of self discovery and recognizing their potential," said Miguel Salinas, senior manager, Adobe Youth Voices. "Our partnership with the Peapod Foundation has enabled us to help these youth realize what's important to them while arming them with the essential means to become positive and productive members of society."

Adobe Youth Voices Summit 2011

The announcement of the San Jose academy coincides with the second international Adobe Youth Voices Summit, a four-day digital immersion experience bringing together approximately 90 Adobe Youth Voices youth and educators from 16 countries to explore, create and develop new skills in technology, storytelling, collaboration and making media for social change. While at Santa Clara University on Aug. 2–6, attendees will engage with Adobe employee volunteers, industry professionals and media artists through a variety of hands-on workshops to build digital technology skills and get an inside look at careers in digital technology and media.

Summit highlights include: an opening keynote by Laura Ling, a journalist for Current TV, the politics and youth-oriented channel founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore; and a special appearance by The Black Eyed Peas to kick off Adobe Youth Voices Live!, a closing ceremony and private event celebrating youth work produced at the Summit.

About MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana

MACLA is an inclusive contemporary arts space grounded in the Chicano/Latino experience that incubates new visual, literary and performance art in order to engage people in civic dialogue and community transformation. Founded in 1989 as the result of a broad community mobilization in the City of San Jose and nationwide on behalf of multicultural arts, MACLA has evolved into a well respected arts organization known for our commitment to artistic excellence and civic dialogue. Located in downtown San Jose, more than 30,000 people participate in the 50 programs MACLA produces annually. Our four core program tracts include: visual arts; performance and literary arts; youth arts education; and community development through the arts. In 2010, MACLA was honored to be the only San Jose organization to be named by Philanthropedia as one of the 21 most effective arts and culture organizations in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

About The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation

The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation encourages social change by uniting people, especially children, through the universal language of music. In 2008, the foundation opened the first Peapod Music & Arts Academy, a state-of-the-art music and educational center and recording facility serving foster care youth and other at-risk teens, at the Watts/Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club. The Peapod Foundation has since launched similar programs in Oakland, Redwood City, New York City and most recently San Jose. The Peapod Foundation was established as a Charitable Service Fund administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation. For more information, visit www.thepeapodfoundation.com.

About Adobe Youth Voices

Adobe Youth Voices is the Adobe Foundation's global philanthropic initiative that empowers youth from underserved communities with digital media skills so they can comment on their world, share their ideas and take action on issues that are important to them. By harnessing the energy and insight of youth 13-19 years old, Adobe Youth Voices aims to inspire a dialogue for change in their communities. The program engages youth to express themselves through documentary videos, photography, print media, radio diaries, animation, Web communications and other media. Since 2006, the Adobe Youth Voices global network has grown to more than 700 sites, and grantees and organizations in 45 countries, while engaging more than 76,000 youth and 4,000 educators in schools and out-of-school programs. For more information, visit www.youthvoices.adobe.com.

About the Adobe Foundation

The Adobe Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation created and funded by Adobe Systems Incorporated to leverage human, technological and financial resources to drive social change and community improvements.

Adobe Systems Incorporated
Jodi Sorensen, 408-536-2084 (Press)
jsorensen@adobe.com
or
Edelman
Victoria Chu, 650-762-2834 (Press)
victoria.chu@edelman.com
or
EIF/The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation
Maurine Slutzky, 213-240-3923 (Press)
mslutzky@eifoundation.org