Tread Lightly and Staples Foundation for Learning Announce Winners of the Imprints Art Contest

Online, April 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Toronto, Canada - TakingITGlobal (TIG), an organization that operates the world's most popular online community for young leaders, and Staples Foundation, the private charitable arm of Staples, Inc., commemorated Earth Day by announcing the winners of the global Imprints Art Contest. The contest asked young leaders to express their views on environmental issues through their artwork. lmprints is a component of the Tread Lightly program, a free climate change education and engagement initiative available to students around the world.

Contest winners were announced during a international video conference, which brought together students and teachers from various regions to commemorate Earth Day by sharing and discussing their artwork. The featured speaker was Canadian eco-artist and art teacher Jill Price, who shared her personal insight on using art as a platform to express her views on environmental sustainability. Price was impressed with the talent and leadership of the participants, commenting that "being involved in the Tread Lightly project let me know that people all over the world are working together to address environmental issues." The participating students and teachers used an interactive online platform to share their artwork and engage in discussions around the role of creativity in addressing environmental issues. Four classrooms from Canada, the United States and China participated in the conference.

A judging panel of eco-artists reviewed the submissions from 14 countries, and chose ten winners who best represented the theme of "storytelling." The first prize was awarded to Anjali Chandrashekar from India, for her piece entitled "The Carbon Footprint", which depicts "the massiveness of the carbon footprint." Chandrashekar was excited about being chosen as the grand prize winner: "I feel immensely happy that I have been able to spread my message about the carbon footprint through a medium as powerful as art." The second prize went to Thai Soe Thaw from Edmonton, Canada, and the third prize winner was Teresa di Curzio from Italy. Submissions were accepted from youth between the ages of 11 and 30, in the form of digital images, videos, photographs, theatrical performances, sculptures, drawings or any other creative medium. "We are excited to have submissions from young artists around the world who are clearly passionate about environmental issues, and are using their talents to make a difference," says Jennifer Corriero, Executive Director of TakingITGlobal. All entries can be viewed at http://gg.tigweb.org/tig/imprints-art-contest.

As the world's leading online learning community for young global citizens, TakingITGlobal is aware of young people's concerns about climate change and their desire to take action on environmental issues. In response to their membership's interest in environmental sustainability and with the support of Staples Foundation, TIG developed an innovative climate change education program, Tread Lightly, which provides educators and youth with opportunities to learn about and take action on climate change.

About Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly is a free initiative offered by TakingITGlobal and Staples Foundation for Learning that provides educators and youth with online tools and resources that expore climate change issues at local, national and international levels and inspire environmental responsibility and stewardship. Resources for educators include an interdisciplinary secondary school teacher's guide and safe, customizable, and content-rich virtual classrooms, designed to support classroom-to-classroom collaboration. Initiatives for youth include The Tread Lightly Challenge, which encourages participants to engage in a friendly competition to reduce their ecological impact. The online portal allows participants to challenge classmates and family members, and provides an online forum for the sharing of best practices and experiences. The program is now available in nine languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Danish and Dutch. Learn more at www.treadlightly.me.

About TakingITGlobal
A "social network for social change," TakingITGlobal utilizes technology to empower youth to understand and act on the world's most pressing challenges. Its vision is a world in which young people everywhere are actively engaged and connected in shaping a more inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable world. Since launching in 2000, over 20 million people have accessed www.tigweb.org to learn, grow and realize their potential.

About Staples Foundation for Learning
Founded in 2002, Staples Foundation for Learning has contributed to nearly 1,000 global, national and local charities that provide educational opportunities and job skills for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. Staples Foundation for Learning builds lasting relationships with world-class organizations including TakingITGlobal, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Ashoka, Earth Force and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. The foundation is the private charitable arm of Staples, Inc. and is an integral component of Staples Soul, which recognizes the connection between long-term business success and the impact Staples has on associates, communities and the planet. For more information about the foundation and Staples Soul, please visit www.staplesfoundation.org and www.staples.com/soul.