CALGARY - May 5, 2008 - Thirty two schools across Canada and the United States have made it to the semifinal round of Quantum Shift TV's "Be the Change! Share the Story!" contest.

These thirty-two teams of students have made a difference on an environmental or social cause in their community and documented their projects in two short videos posted on the web at http://www.quantumshift.tv/schools. As semifinalists, they have a chance to win up to $50,000 in prizes for their school, including an earth-friendly skateboard park designed and installed by celebrity athletes from the Action Sports Environmental Coalition.

A panel of celebrity judges will rate the teams to pick three finalists. Then, like on American Idol, the public will vote to determine the order, and the grand prize-winner. The winning schools will be announced on June 1, 2008.

"Web video has a powerful ability to engage audiences, particularly youth, around the world. Quantum Shift TV is using this power to inspire students to take action on the social and environmental issues of the day," says Leif Utne, vice president of Marketing at Quantum Shift TV.

The semifinalists include students in grades 1-12 at schools in 12 US states and 4 Canadian provinces, from Florida to British Columbia, and Vermont to California. The projects these students took on represent an impressive range of issues. For example:

The celebrity judges will rate the semifinalists by May 14, based on community involvement, project execution, video quality, student involvement and learning, and overall social and environmental impact.

The judges include actresses Daryl Hannah and Amy Smart, bestselling author and environmentalist Paul Hawken, skateboarder Bob Burnquist, executive-with-a-cause John Wood, and Nigerian women’s rights activist Hafsat Abiola, plus two dozen other leaders in business, sports, education and the arts.

To provide project ideas and resources for both students and teachers, Quantum Shift TV partnered with key organizations like UNICEF, Free the Children, Room to Read, TransFair, NAAEE, TakingITGlobal, The Pembina Institute, New Global Citizens, Sierra Youth Coalition, Rainforest Action Network, Care and Oxfam.

Quantum Shift TV is a 21st Century storyteller renewing the cultural values of community, care and interconnectedness through the use of leading edge technology and citizen journalism.