Ready to compete for awesome prizes while learning new skills and inspiring action towards social justice? Time to get creative, code, and put your entrepreneurial spirit to the test.
2024 Contest Winners
Your Voice is Power is a national competition for middle and high school students designed to teach the fundamentals of computer science, entrepreneurship, and social justice. Using the EarSketch platform, students get creative to remix songs from Indigenous artists and use what they have learned from the provided course outline.
Four nationally recognized Indigenous artists are taking part in the competition. Students will remix songs from Dakota Bear, Jayli Wolf, Samian, and Twin Flames while taking inspiration from the social justice themes demonstrated in the work of these artists.
Check out our exclusive Amazon Music Playlist, with recurring themes of perseverance, the power of will, and steadfast determination toward a better future when faced with obstacles from a bleak past. It also showcases foundational moments in music across North America spanning 30+ years of music making.
Dakota Bear is a Saskatoon-bred, Vancouver-based Indigenous Hip-Hop artist and activist. His passion for social justice and music are a powerful blend, using his platforms to create changes and spread positive messages. His message has been shared in large and grassroots news, media publications, and blogging websites. His online videos amass over 1 million views collectively,
Raised in a doomsday cult. Forged in the wild. Jayli Wolf lost everything and everyone for renouncing her childhood faith. That is when she discovered herself, began to heal through music, and started the work of reclaiming her Indigenous heritage. Jayli is an Anishinaabe/Cree artist, songwriter, actor, and filmmaker based out of Toronto, Canada. She works to be a role model in
Originally from Pikogan, a small Aboriginal community in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Samian has conquered by proudly wearing his colours; those of an entire people for whom he claims respect and recognition. Discovered in 2004 thanks to the Wapikoni Mobile project, he has since released three albums, one of which, Face à la musique, won a Félix Award at the ADISQ Gala for hip-hop al
Twin Flames build bridges across cultures, continents, and styles, and have been celebrated internationally. This, alongside their substantial body of work, make it clear that they have something special going on. In just seven years of recording and performing as Twin Flames, the duo has accumulated 41 music awards and nominations. Twin Flames offer a memorable show with the p
The Your Voice Is Power competition is an opportunity to remix beats while learning to code. Yes, code! Your students will use EarSketch, a free online code editor, to compose a unique song while learning computer science. No experience is necessary to participate. Students can also participate in the curriculum experience to develop an understanding of social justice themes to include in their song.
The Competition is open to receive your entries! Students develop and submit a unique song that a panel of industry experts will judge. Songs should be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, including five unique music tracks and one or more sound clips from the highlighted artists above. Entries will be judged based on the quality of music, code, and inclusion of social justice themes.
Submissions for the Spring 2024 deadline are closed and under review. 2025 submissions are due by Monday, June 30th! Ready to submit to the 2025 contest?
See Competition Entry Requirements and Official Rules for more details.
Two students will win $5,000 to go towards college or to start a business.
Runners up will win $200 Amazon gift cards and $25 for honourable mentions!
One excellent teacher will receive $1,000 for their remarkable instruction.
The curriculum is split into eight modules where students learn how music, computer science, and entrepreneurship can be tools to fight for social justice. Each module's learning experience includes a lesson plan, slides, student notes, and exit ticket. These modules are integrated into respective web pages for you to follow along with your students.
(See the contents 'At a Glance' here.)
In Module 1, students learn about the connections between coding and music, create an EarSketch account, learn about the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), and have a little fun with tempo!
.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&w=53&h=59)
.png?ixlib=gatsbyFP&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&w=180&h=67){kind=logo}
