Olelo Youth Xchange: 20 Years of Inspiring Hawaii’s Next Generation of Storytellers

by Michael Choe | May 17, 2023

As a former teacher, nothing makes me feel better than seeing young people turn their talents into action. So it was heartwarming to me to see the mixture of shock and celebration on the faces of young student filmmakers as they walked up on stage to claim their awards at Olelo’s 20th Youth Xchange Awards Presentation.

This year’s presentation took place on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Hawaiian Electric has been a sponsor for the competition for many years, supporting our future technology experts and storytellers from elementary to high school.

At the bruncheon, I watched snippets of the finalists’ videos that were scripted, filmed, and edited by students. In his introduction, Olelo Community Media President and CEO Roger McKeague also revealed that the entire video production of the ceremony — graphics, sound, camerawork, and all the above — was being handled by students this year for the very first time. I looked around and sure enough, there were young professionals behind every piece of equipment.

The videos entered in the competition covered current world issues and offered plausible solutions to minimize risks and negative impacts. Topics consisted of “A More Resilient And Sustainable Hawaii,” “Food Systems And Access To Healthy Food,” “Creating Peace,” “Traffic Safety,” and many more. Public and private schools competed from all over the state including Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Molokai, and Kauai.

Great job to all the students and thank you to all the teachers and parents for their mentorship in Hawaii’s future leaders in video and storytelling. Can’t wait to see what they come up with next year!

To see the winners and the highlight reel of Olelo’s 20th Youth Xchange, visit their website at https://olelo.org/yxc2023/.

Michael Choe is a digital communications and social media specialist at Hawaiian Electric.