Canon partners with Mathare Foundation to nurture photography skills among disadvantaged youth

Canon Middle East, a world leader in imaging solutions, has partnered with the Mathare Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya in support of the Silent Stories photography project aimed at nurturing the photography skills of youth based in East Africa.

The Mathare Foundation is a community based organization established to train and create opportunities for children and youths in photography, performing arts and football, while also enhancing leadership skills through their 40 committed and passionate trainees. It was established to help disadvantaged children nurture their talents and make them engage in productive initiatives. Silent Stories is a series of photography workshops conducted in Mabatini area in Mathare slums. The children who attend the training will be able to tell unknown stories in their neighborhood through their captioned photographs. Each story will be presented by a series of photographs and written summary.

The workshop will focus on both theory and practical classes for a period of three months to give children a platform to develop their talents and restore hope. Canons donation of 30 digital cameras will be used to teach children how to use a camera and bring them together to tell stories of their own community. The narratives will then be captioned and printed for a photography exhibition in the local community.

Anurag Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East said: Partnering with The Mathare Foundation in Kenya is in line with Canons Kyosei philosophy to live and work together for the common good. We believe that it is of the utmost importance for businesses to engage with the communities they operate in and facilitate in the creation of an environment that nurtures the talent and innovation of our future generations.

Eric Omwanda and James Mwihaki, co-founders of Mathare Foundation, added: We appreciate Canons contribution to the Mathare Foundation and the Silent Stories photography project. We look forward to providing youth with a platform where they can express themselves in a positive and encouraging atmosphere while learning new skills.

Recent community initiatives by Canon include the training of young Emiratis on photography equipment to showcase their abilities during the Have-a-Go competition of the 2014 Emirates Skills exhibition. Also, as part of its long-standing partnership with GEMS Education in the UAE, Canon supported the second edition of the Student Voice Short Film Competition to enable young aspiring filmmakers to hone their skills.

Canon was recently awarded for its CSR efforts by the Dubai Chamber and received the CSR Label for the third consecutive year. In addition, Canon was recognized at the GEC Awards for its wide range of community activities that addressed the environment, healthcare, sports and personal development.

Canon Middle East serves as an active partner in the communities it operates in, by working with governments, scientific, academic, humanitarian, and arts and culture organizations, to integrate corporate social responsibility across all elements of the business.

For further details of Canon Middle East, global operations, products and services visit www.canon-me.com