The 6th Digital Ehon Awards Ceremony (Continued)
Thank you very much for the many entries we received from both Japan and abroad this year.

As the organizer, I gave the closing remarks, and as this event continues year after year,
I can see the progress that Digital Ehon has made.

In the first year, a digital adaptation of a famous picture book won the Grand Prize. We started by digitizing paper books
.
In the second year, a middle school student’s work won an award. It made me realize that anyone can be a creator of Digital Ehon.
In the third year, we received numerous entries from overseas, making us realize that Digital Ehon transcends national borders.
In the fourth year, a winning entry combined cardboard with a smartphone. Digital
Ehon began to break free from tablets and smartphones and merge with various other fields.
In the fifth year, we received many entries that foreshadowed a new era by making full use of cutting-edge technologies like AR, and
the scope of their application expanded from the home to educational settings.
This year, the sixth year, we saw many works that invite viewers to experience them with their whole bodies, and Digital
Ehon has expanded into three-dimensional space.

As a result, a debate over the question, “What is a Digital Ehon?” arose once again among the judges and the organizing committee.
However, this may simply be because we are still being influenced by the expressive techniques of traditional media.
I believe that the very fact that this debate arose is proof that the “Digital Ehon” as a new realm of expression has come of age.

Now, if
I were to add a few more highlights from this year, the first would be the sharp increase in the number of art projects created by the children, along with a marked improvement in their quality. Perhaps this is due to the introduction of mandatory
programming education.

Another point worth noting is that we saw a large number of submissions featuring works unlike anything we’ve seen before, created using cutting-edge technologies such as AR and AI.

Back when tablets and smartphones first came out, an “Alice in Wonderland” app attracted a lot of attention.
Since the story lends itself well to interactive elements, it makes perfect sense that someone would create an Alice app.

This year, yet another Alice app won an award.
It’s a project in which players use a tablet to search for a rabbit that has jumped out into the real world as they progress through the story.
I felt that the technology had taken another step forward.
Going forward, I hope to contribute to the growth of this medium so that it continues to spark children’s curiosity without being confined to existing boundaries.

I’m looking forward to discovering many more exciting Digital Ehon books next year!
*Pictured here is Grand Prize winner Ryan, who came all the way from Australia.