DigiFest South has been historically broken down into four targeted components, which contributes to strong economic development and its ability to prompt cultural transformations: the Expo, the Competitions, the Symposium, and the Concert.
This is the highlight of our festival!! During this 2-day event we invite students from the surrounding parishes to participate in a memorable interactive experience, aimed at inspiring them to pursue STEAM-based careers, introduce them to the post secondary opportunities available, and give local businesses and organizations a chance to showcase their services and products.
DigiArt showcases digital artwork from local artists and students. This competition is broken down into several categories, such as Digital Photography, Graphics, 3D renderings, Illustrations, Photoshop, Web Design, Logos, and Advertisements. This event is sponsored by the Bossier Arts Council, and the judges include art educators and professionals from our regional colleges.
DigiCode is a 48-hour game-jam competition where students team-up to create a playable videogame. The winners receive monetary prizes and have their games made available during the expo for participants to play. This event is sponsored by local software development businesses and is judged by both academic and industry experts.
DigiPitch is a business venture competition that grants high-school and college entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their idea or product before a panel of investors from across the region. It also grants competitors access to hands-on training with reputable mentors to refine their pitch. Our overall objective is to give all participants the cutting edge to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.
DigiTalks is an educator symposium provided by educators, for educators. It features civic, academic, and business leaders discussing opportunities for STEAM education enhancement. The goal is to provide teachers and schools the appropriate tools for STEAM-based education and seek out extracurricular education program initiatives. Discussions focus on practical applications that can be achieved in Bossier, Caddo, and Webster Parishes with regional resources, and the panels will help establish action items to be carried out and tracked.
DigiFest South concludes with the DigiMusic outdoor electronic music concert that is free and open to the public, taking place in the East Bank Plaza in downtown Bossier City. By offering the concert for free to people of all ages, we aim to celebrate the long-term potential of our modernized future while enjoying digital entertainment in a lively social setting open for all ages.
Each year, DigiFest South becomes a reality due to the dedication of our staff, educational institutions, private organizations, and volunteers from within our local community. This expo would not be possible without financial support from individuals and organizations in Northwestern Louisiana. We thank all who dedicate their skills and resources each year to make DigiFest South a successful endeavor.
Our goal is quite simple: by reaching students, educators, the general public, and local officials, DigiFest South intends to demonstrate how STEAM leads to the innovations that shape our modern way of life. There are many ways you can contribute to making this another successful year, and we would appreciate if you can help in one (or more) of the following critical roles:
The main purpose of the two-day DigiExpo is to expose our middle-school and high-school students to the STEAM opportunities available in this area, which includes booths from academia, businesses, and related organizations. This would be an excellent opportunity to highlight what your organization does and how our youth can enter the applicable STEAM career.
Exhibitors typically have a booth providing interactive displays, activities, or demonstrations that are meant to entertain and educate our students during the expo. We will provide you with a booth location within the expo floor, along with electrical and wireless connectivity (if needed) and daily lunch & snacks at no cost.
You can help us by dedicating your time during the expo by assisting exhibitors and event organizers, greeting students, tutoring, providing tours, event set-up and/or take-down, daily cleanup, administration, etc.
As a volunteer, you will receive an official t-shirt and snacks/lunch on the days you are volunteering. By volunteering, you and your organization can show where students, city officials, business owners, and other community members can get involved with a cause that aligns with their values and helps strengthen community ties in our area.
We need people willing to share their vision and experience in STEAM with others, by providing valuable resources to our local educators and administrators.
You will be helping attendees disseminate the potential of STEAM careers, preparing them with valuable insights on the latest trends, and expose them to like-minded professionals who are doing great work in their respective fields.
We're asking regional businesses and academia to provide short video presentations (5-10 minutes) that demonstrate how they use or contribute to STEAM education and employment in the local community.
If you want to provide a video showcasing how you use STEAM and what skillsets a person would need to perform this type of work, you can submit a video that we will distribute using our official website, marketing channels, and social media.
Besides having students attend in person, we intend to provide virtual “tour guides” where anyone can visit local businesses or college campuses and perform live interactions with the students through the use 360° cameras.
These virtual tours can assist schools experience the conference from within their own classrooms. We plan on having about a dozen tour guides walk around during the different expo events and relaying live questions from the students to the staff, and even perform any activities that the students can observe in real time.
We will create and package a number of STEAM activities that students K-12 can pick up free of cost at designated locations, such as Bossier Libraries and the Bossier Arts Council.
These packages would be a step up from our traditional activity books that are distributed during the expo, as they would also include illustrated instructions and a materials list required to perform the particular activity. These printed materials also include information about DigiFest South, the Bossier Arts Council, and all our event sponsors.
We cannot accomplish this expo every year without the generous help from our sponsors and volunteers. Sponsors help with funding the entire expo. DigiFest South costs approximately $20,000 to produce every year, using a combination of sponsorship fees, earned income, and in-kind donations. All funds collected for the event go directly into producing the event.
Here is a breakdown of the sponsorship levels available:
