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To learn more about this ambitious international award, read
the PDF version of
"JUDGING
A
WORLD
OF CHILDREN'S INTERACTIVE
MEDIA" from the May/June
2003 issue of Children's Software Revue
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Bologna, Italy (March 24, 2003)-- The Bologna Children's
Book Fair is pleased to announce the winners of the 2003
Bologna New Media Prize, a juried award honoring excellence
in children's "new media" products. The task this year was
ambitious-- select only six winners from 2002's total
entries of 538 products from twelve countries.
- Number of titles considered for this year's prize:
538 from twelve countries
- Number of Winners: 6 (3 Winners, 2 Citations for
Excellence, 1 eBook)
- Number of Jurors: 6, representing England, France,
Germany, Italy, South Korea and the United States.
A group of six editors and reviewers representing Asia,
Europe and the United States were asked to make their
selections without regard to language, country of origin, or
size of publisher. Six winners were named, consisting of
three "Winners," two "Citations for Excellence," and one
eBook.
THE PEOPLE
BEHIND THE PRIZE: THE BOLOGNA CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR AND
CHILDREN'S SOFTWARE REVUE
The Bologna
Children's Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair
dedicated to books, textbooks, and new media products for
children. The annual fair, held in Bologna, Italy in early
April of each year, is attended by 1,400 exhibitors from
over 75 countries. Children's Software Revue (CSR) is
a New Jersey, USA-based publication designed to assist
educators, librarians, and parents as they find and use
software. The newsletter editors were recognized by the
Software Publisher's Association with the Codie award for
"Best Software Reviewer". For further information about the
Bologna Children's Book Fair, contact the Secretariat
in Bologna, 39-51-282-242 (phone), 39-51-282-333 (fax). To
learn more about CSR, contact Pat Sevchuk 1-908-284-0404
(phone), 1-908-284-0405 (fax)
ELIGIBLE
SOFTWARE AND INTERNET SITES (NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO PRIZE
FOR 2004)
All
commercially available software (including Internet sites)
for children ages 2 to 15 except video games or shareware.
There
is no entry fee.
Beta
and pre-release copies are welcome as long as they are in
workable condition.
All
children's software released between January 1 and December
31 of the current year will be eligible for consideration
(significant upgrades of an existing product will also be
eligible for consideration).
For more
information, please visit the Bologna
New Media Prize Home Page.
THE JURORS (2003)
- Warren Buckleitner, USA
Editor of Children's Software Revue, a bi-monthly
publication covering children's interactive publishing.
http://www.childrenssoftware.com
- Caterina Cangià, Italy
Teaches new technologies at the Salesian University of
Rome, and is the Director of La Bottega d'Europa, a
communication school for children.
http://www.labottegadeuropa.it
- Thomas Feibel, Germany
Author of the "Guide to Children's Software", the "Guide
to Educational Software" and "Good Sites, Bad Sites - the
Best Websites for Children." http://www.feibel.de
- Georgia Leguem, France
Librarian at the children's multimedia library of the
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris.
http://enfants-du-net.org/takalir
- Bob Hughes (UK)
Author of Dust or Magic: Secrets of Successful Multimedia
Design. Visit http://www.dustormagic.net
- Kyung Woo Lee, South Korea
Professor Emeritus of Education at the Ewha Women's
University in Seoul, Korea.
ABOUT THE PRIZE
The annual prize, established in 1997, was designed to
encourage excellence and innovation in children's
interactive media, as well as to make children's software
publishers more aware of the resources available at the
Bologna Children's Book Fair. A panel of reviewers from
Europe, the United States, and Asia met in Bologna, Italy
each year to select the prize winners. The winners were
announced at opening ceremony of the Bologna Children's
Book Fair.
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THE
2003 WINNERS
Fritz & Fertig' Learn to Play
Chess (Germany)
Terzio (www.terzio.de)
A most innovative and child-friendly chess tutorial, this
program has children moving through an adventure and series
of exercises to learn the rules and strategies of the
game.
Bygg hus med Mulle Meck (Sweden)
Levande Bocker (www.levande.se)
A delightful adventure that gives children a sense of
"limitless playspace". The game requires problem solving and
creativity while offering prosocial messages of cooperation
and comradery.
Zoombinis Island Odyssey (USA)
Riverdeep - The Learning Company (www.zoombinis.com)
Original characters combine with compelling logic puzzles to
make this program both educational and addictive. The
introduction of ecological concepts is effortless and
witty.
CITATIONS
FOR EXCELLENCE
Animal Crossing (USA)
Nintendo of America (www.nintendo.com)
Notable for its innovative real time design, and emphasis on
reading and communicating (exceptional for a video game),
this simulated community of animals is cleverly executed and
extremely addicting to play. The game requires perseverance,
logic and an understanding of the social relationships
between the characters.
I Spy Challenger (USA)
Scholastic Consumer Software (www.scholastic.com)
The first worthwhile educational game for the Game Boy
platform, this set of puzzles requires memory, visual
acuity, creativity and logic. Based on the I Spy book
series, the games present rhymes to children, who must
ultimately solve the riddles by looking for clues and
images, and applying Venn diagram and other types of
classification logic.
BOLOGNA
CHILDREN's eBOOK WINNER
Domicile D'Ange Heureux (France)
DADA Media (www.dadamedia.com)
Mischievous Little Angel stars in this lovely ebook designed
to help prevent accidents in the home. Concepts are
delivered through short, funny stories and entertaining
games. Highly and interestingly interactive, the program is
notable for its responsivity and appealing, picturebook
graphics.
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