GNOYO is currently a semi-finalist for the 2006 President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities, Coming Up Taller Award.  Each year the President’s Committee for the Arts and Humanities recognizes 15 organizations from across the nation providing outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people.

Check out some of the other amazing semi-finalists for this prestigious award:

WNYC Radio, Inc.
Radio Rookies
Radio Rookies is a WNYC Radio program that trains young people from underserved neighborhoods to use words and sounds to tell true stories about themselves, their communities and the world.  Through workshops running for six months, each conducted in partnership with a community-based organization in a different New York City neighborhood, the teenage rookies learn the tools to become radio documentarians whose stories inspire conversations and action about important and difficult issues.  

Latin Arts Association of Fort Worth/Teatro De La Rosa
The 1440 Experience is an after-school theater outreach program that meets weekly at the Rose Marine Theater in Fort Worth, TX.  The program teaches all aspects of stagecraft from acting to technical theatre to young people ages 8-18.  The year-round program is offered in the Spring and Fall for three months, and an intensive one-month theatre camp over the summer.  Together, the staff and students touch upon relevant social issues and often highlight aspects of Hispanic culture.

Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center
Tlingit Language and Cultural Program
The Sheldon Museum's Tlingit Language and Culture Program offers activities and instruction in the Tlingit culture throughout the school year.  Tlingit language classes are offered free of charge to young people K-12, and many of the activities feature elders, guest artists and speakers who use traditional materials for art projects.  One of the primary goals of the program and of the Tlingit elders in the community, is to pass on the Tlingit culture to young people along with many of its important moral lessons, including respect for others, self-confidence and leadership.

View the complete list of the 2006 Coming Up Taller semi-finalists.