Meta Osaka Inc. (CEO: Hideaki Mori, hereinafter "Meta Osaka") will establish the "Digital Creative Award 2026" in the third term of its entrepreneurship program for middle and high school students, "YOUNG IMPACT," to recognize young people who tackle social issues with digital technology. In addition, NANKAI Corporation (President: Nobuyuki Okajima, hereinafter "NANKAI"), which promotes the "Digital Entertainment City Concept NAMBA" to evolve Namba into a hub for next-generation entertainment, and e-stadium Inc. (CEOs: Hiroshi Ikeda, Hiroyuki Kato, hereinafter "e-stadium") will participate as special partners for "YOUNG IMPACT." NANKAI will provide venue sponsorship for the final competition to be held on November 21 (Sat) at Namba SkyO Convention Hall (Chuo-ku, Osaka), and will also provide judges and presenters for the "Digital Creative Award 2026." e-stadium will serve as a judge. Background for the Establishment of the "Digital Creative Award" Digital technologies such as AI have become commonplace, and it is now an era where even young people can deliver their ideas to the world. However, there are still insufficient places to discover and nurture such talent. According to IPA's (Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan) "DX Trends 2025," 85.1% of Japanese companies report a shortage of digital human resources. There is a strong demand to nurture the next generation of talent from an early age. Therefore, "YOUNG IMPACT" has established the "Digital Creative Award 2026" to recognize young people who tackle social issues with digital technology. This award will call for submissions of works using digital technologies such as games, AI, XR, web applications, video, and music, on diverse themes including education, disaster prevention, tourism, diversity, and regional revitalization. This award also inherits the "Metaverse Creative Awards 2025 EXPO," which attracted approximately 15,000 visitors at the Osaka-Kansai Expo. The stage is Namba, Osaka, where the "