Certiport names Adobe Certified Associate World Champion from Mexico

Salt Lake City, UTAH – August 15, 2016

Certiport (www.certiport.com), a Pearson VUE business and the leading test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, today announces the 2016 Adobe® Certified Associate (ACA) World Champions 2016 Adobe® Certified Associate (ACA) World Champions, culminating the annual competition designed to showcase digital communications skills and promote industry certification. Lourdes Gimena Anquiano Bermúdez from Mexico won the top prize out of 32 finalists from 19 countries. Bermúdez was sponsored by ETC Iberoamérica.

The 2016 ACA World Champions are:

• First place: Lourdes Gimena Anquiano Bermúdez, Mexico
• Second place: Ng Hwa Ee Nicholas, Malaysia
• Third place: Cheung Kuok Pan, Macauzzz
  - Fourth place, Loh Xin Yi Chrystabelle, Singapore
  - Fifth place, Flavio Gabriel Alvarado Valencia, Peru
  - Sixth place, Yolanda Barr, Caribbean
  - Seventh place, Satapron Malee, Thailand
  - Eight place, Amanda Galvan, USA
  - Ninth place, Marie Bailey, New Zealand
  - Tenth place, Un Tin Hang, Macau

Certiport and Adobe sponsored the ACA World Championship and the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) served as the client for student entries in Orlando, Florida from August 7 – 10, 2016. The fourth annual ACA World Championship attracted more than 230,000 entries in total.

“Digital design skills are in-demand worldwide, and the ACA World Championship recognizes and celebrates the impressive, career-ready competencies that students are developing all over the world,” said Bob Whelan, president of Pearson Assessments. “The number of ACA World Championship entries nearly tripled this year so we know more students are realizing the benefits of earning Adobe Certified Associate certification to validate their skills. We congratulate Lourdes on this distinguished accomplishment.”

Students were asked to create a digital marketing flyer for ICAF’s 6th Arts Olympiad using Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Illustrator CC and/or Adobe InDesign CC. They were judged on their creative and technical skills, as well as their ability to implement the client’s vision and message; preparing students for real world work assignments. All final flyer entries can be viewed here.

"We had been told about the high level of expertise the ACA World Championship finalists would bring to the table, but they exceeded our expectations," said Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, Founder and Chair of ICAF. "The competitors had an impressive mastery of Adobe products combined with some incredible creative talent. We enjoyed judging the projects – they were professional and inspiring.”

The first, second and third place ACA World Champions were selected based on design score and were awarded scholarship money ($5,000, $2,500, $1,000), Adobe software, and gold, silver, and bronze medals. Honorable mention scholarships of $250 were given to fourth through tenth place with an additional $250 for the People’s Choice Award as voted on by event attendees.

"We have supported the ACA Championship since it began four years ago because it is a terrific way to celebrate young, creative talent. I congratulate Lourdes and the other finalists for their incredible skills, passion and creativity,” said Tacy Trowbridge, Global Education Programs Lead, Adobe. “Students all over the world are earning ACA certification and demonstrating they have the creative and technical skills needed for both academic and career success. We can’t wait to see what they do next.”

Next year, Certiport will host the 2017 Adobe Certified Associate World Championship in Anaheim, California. Download high-resolution photos of the winners here and video interviews with winners are available by request. The hashtag for the event is #ACAWC.