Adobe Systems is hosting the 7th annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA). The program honors and recognizes the most talented and promising student designers, photographers, illustrators, animators and digital filmmakers from the world's top design, film, interactive and Web higher education programs. This year, the competition will accept entries from 30 participating countries. Now in its seventh year, this world leading design competition has been expanded to include more students from across the globe by adding Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. These students are invited to join students from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, U.K. and the U.S. in submitting projects. The nine submission categories include: animation, digital illustration, digital photography, interactive and Web design, live action, motion graphics, environmental graphics and packaging, multiple page print design, and single page print design. The designers of the 2007 ADAA marketing campaign were a collaboration of winners and finalists from the 2006 competition. A team of seven submitted the unique concept

ASIFA-East celebrates the best in animated short films, television programming and commercials. First, second and third place prizes will be given for overall excellence within each of the entry classifications -- Student Films, Commercial & Promos, Independent Films and Sponsored Films Over Two Minutes. All awards will be made by judges selected by the Awards Committee. The event will take place at 6:00 pm at the Parsons School of Design -- Tishman Auditorium, located at 66 West 12th St. For more information, visit www.asifaeast.org.

The 2007 DIY Book Festival will host its fifth annual program celebrating the success of independent authors and publishers. The DIY Book Festival will consider self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children's books, teenage, how-to, audio/spoken word, photography, art, comics, 'zines, fan fiction, poetry and e-books published on or after Jan. 1, 2005. All entries must be in English and have been self-published or issued by an independent publishing house that has published less than 50 works since the entry cut-off point. Please note that authors with iUniverse, Infinity Publishing and other print-on-demand outlets are eligible for the competition. The grand prize for the 2007 DIYBF Author of the Year is $1,500 cash and a flight to Los Angeles for the gala awards ceremony. Submitted works will be judged by a panel of publishing industry experts. The 2007 DIY Book Festival is part of the DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books, which also produces the DIY Film Festival and the DIY Music Festival. The 2007 DIY Book Festival is sponsored by Final Draft Screenplay Software; Imagic; Westside Websites; and the DIY Reporter.com. For more information, visit www.diyconvention.com/.

The seventh annual DIY Convention: Do It Yourself In Film, Music and Books features live music performances, special showcases, film screenings, parties and an extensive lineup of panels and keynote speakers focusing on creating, promoting, protecting and distributing independent film, music, books and other digital media.

This year, the event is producing several special lunchtime showcases in conjunction Bug Music and CDBaby. DIY Music Festival entrants and special guests will be featured at the events, which are open to DIY Convention VIP ticket holders.

Early-bird tickets to the event and film/music festival entry applications are now available online at http://r.pm0.net/s/c?31.ixd4.1.armp.8l6. Entrants to the 2007 DIY Film Festival and 2007 DIY Music Festival receive free admission to the 2007 DIY Convention.

The 2007 DIY Convention will be held at the Egyptian Theatre. For more information, visit www.diyconvention.com.

The 2007 e-Financial WorldExpo, organized by WowGao, is the annual global technology event for the financial industry, that covers all information technologies and enterprise solutions employed by the world's financial service sectors, including banking institutions, insurance providers, investment and brokerage houses, securities and mortgage providers Focusing on new, financial applications and solutions for corporate needs, this conference and exposition together explores many hot areas, including E-Banking / E-Business, Business Performance Management, Business Intelligence, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Security / Compliance / Fraud Detection, Identity Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), ATM Solutions, Straight Through Processing, Wireless & Mobile Solutions and more. To register for more information, and receive continuous updates about this event, please call 416-292-0038 ext. 812 or email us at attendee@wowgao.com Tel: 416-292-0038 ext. 812 Email: attendee@wowgao.com Submission Form Information Venue/Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Contact Name: Ronnie Sant Title: Attendee Care Specialist

Game Developers Conference provides educational, networking, and business opportunities for game development professionals driving the $11 billion videogame industry. It is the main global forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas, network and shape the future of the industry.

The GDC features more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. In addition, the GDC expo showcases all of the game development tools, platforms and services. More information can be found at www.gdconf.com.

The 2nd Annual Hollywood And Games Summit will unite Hollywood studio and videogame execs under one roof to exchange ideas in an entertainment-specific forum. The summit will also allow leaders from their respective industries to interact and discuss best practices for strategically marketing original intellectual property. This two-day event will include focused sessions, an exhibit floor and a networking reception. The event will take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, 1755 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, California. For more information, visit www.hollywoodandgames.com.

The next issue, PSIVT 2007, will be held in Santiago, Chile, at the Catholic University. Santiago hosted many large conferences in the past, and we would consider PSIVT 2007 as an opportunity to introduce this region to the image and video community. Santiago is Chile's capital. It has a population of about 5.5 million people and is one of Latin America's most sophisticated metropolitan areas, with a good balance between modern infrastructure and elegant 18th century Spanish Architecture. The city is also considered to be one of the most diverse and rich cultures to be found in South America. See more in http://www.santiago.cl This new symposium provides a forum for presenting and exploring the newest research and development in image and video technology by discussing the possibilities and directions in this field, a place where both academic research and industrial activities are presented and meet for mutual benefit. The symposium combines a conference with an exhibition (showing the latest products in image and video technology), and offers also tutorials, a show of digital art, demonstrations and tours to industrial sites. The symposium brings together technical issues, theory and practice, artistic and consumer innovations, and invites researchers, artists, developers, educators, performers, and practitioners of image and video technology from the Pacific Rim and around the world. There is PSIVT best paper awards for submitted conference papers, and a PSIVT Innovation Prize and special recognitions for products shown at the exhibition. The conference program includes plenary talks and sessions of technical presentations of reviewed papers. For more information, visit www.psivt.org/.

IFTA Production Conference brings together key players in the independent film and television industries to discuss the impact of the introduction of new distribution technologies and content formats on a global basis. The cost (which includes a continental breakfast & parking) is $60 per person for IFTA members and $90 for non-IFTA members. The conference will run from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. For additional information, contact Lezlie Brazil at (310) 446-1043 or e-mail: lbrazil@ifta-online.org, or visit www.ifta-online.org.

The 2007 International CES, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, will celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. Bill Gates, chairman/chief software designer of Microsoft Corp., will return to CES for his ninth pre-show keynote address on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007, at 6:30 pm. Ed Zander, chairman/ceo of Motorola Inc., will kick off the 2007 International CES with an opening keynote, immediately following a State of the Industry Address by Gary Shapiro, president/ceo of CEA, which starts at 8:30 am on Monday, Jan. 8. Robert Iger, president/ceo of The Walt Disney Co., will round off day one of the International CES with his company's first CES keynote address at 4:30 pm, Monday afternoon. All keynotes for the 2007 show will take place at The Venetian's Palazzo Ballroom. The 2007 International CES will feature the hottest product debuts from 2,700 exhibitors, covering more than 30 product areas, including the latest in wireless, digital imaging, mobile electronics, home networking and more. For more news on the 2007 International CES before, during and after the show, visit www.CESweb.org.