Baldwin, Kamehameha, Maui High Among Winners at ‘Ōlelo Youth Xchange Video Competition
Three Maui schools earned award recognition in the 18th Annual ‘Ōlelo Youth Xchange Student Video Competition, announced Wednesday on O‘ahu.
Maui winners were recognized in the high school divisions for categories that included a Sustainable Hawaiʻi, Mini Documentary and Preventing Bullying. Maui honorees included:
- Kamehameha Schools Maui (High School) for “A Phone Call to Hawaiʻi under the category for A More Resilient and Sustainable Hawaiʻi;
- Henry Perrine Baldwin High for “The Strength Within” under the category for Mini Documentary; and
- Maui High for “CyberBullying Prevention” under the category for Prevent Bullying Together with Aloha.
The highest honors in the competition were issued to Moanalua High and Kealakehe Intermediate Schools.
Moanalua High was named Expert category winner with “Lost and Found,” while Kealakehe Intermediate was named the Junior Expert with “A New Normal.”
Those top two prizes – as well as winning schools in 35 other categories – were announced in three separate virtual shows this past week. The high-definition Sony digital video cameras that all won will be delivered to the schools in-person in the coming days.
‘Ōlelo Community Media’s competition is Hawai‘i’s oldest and largest contest of its type.
This year’s award-winners were selected from over 700 submissions from keiki in every county across the state. The submissions were created by students who attend public, charter and private schools statewide or are homeschooled.
Local social media influencer Jelayne Shelton hosted three separate awards shows on Channel 53 last night to allow each age group more focused time in the spotlight.
The three shows will be made available for viewing no later than tomorrow on ‘Ōlelo Video On-Demand Spectrum Channel 184 and Channel 1961 HD, Hawaiian Telcom On-Demand Channel 808, as well as at olelo.org/olelonet.
‘Ōlelo Youth Xchange was launched in 2003 to give island keiki a voice to tell stories in a variety of video formats and about subjects that are meaningful to them.
Hundreds of video submissions each year are created by elementary through college-aged students who attend dozens of public, charter and private schools statewide. Homeschooled students are also encouraged to participate. (Teachers submit videos for their elementary and secondary students, while university students are allowed to submit their work themselves.)
The winning videos were selected based on subject impact and technical production. The judging panels included local news media, filmmaking professionals and, in the case of sponsored categories, subject experts.
Since its inception, ‘Ōlelo Youth Xchange has awarded nearly 700 video cameras to schools throughout Hawai‘i.
This year, Youth Xchange videos competed in 15 categories. The five broad categories included mini-documentary, public service announcement, short, Expert and Junior Expert.
The 10 sponsored categories included 808 No Vape; A More Resilient and Sustainable Hawai‘i; Coping with COVID; Creating Peace; Forest Inspired; Preventing Bullying Together with Aloha; Start Living Healthy; Storm Water Hero; Substance Use Prevention; and Traffic Safety.
Students in ‘Ōlelo Youth Xchange compete in three age divisions: elementary, intermediate and high school. Previous winners and students with professional experience compete in the Junior Expert (kindergarten through middle school) and Expert (high school and college) categories.
This year’s ‘Ōlelo Youth Xchange Student Video Competition sponsors are Event sponsor the Honolulu Star Advertiser, Major Sponsor First Hawaiian Bank and Supporting Sponsor The Queen’s Health System. The individual Category Sponsors are the City & County of Honolulu Department of Facility Maintenance; GEICO Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i Public Health Institute; Hawaiian Electric; Rotary Club of Honolulu; and the State of Hawai‘i Departments of Education, Health, and Land and Natural Resources.
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