Canon Middle East, which is leading imaging and printing solutions, this year supported the FUNN Sharjah Media Arts for Children and Young People and the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFF2019), becoming the Guinness World Record for the largest photography workshop. Canon provided camera equipment to 400 students who provided and supported the session.

As the festivals exclusive imaging partner, Canon has underscored its commitment to youth and education in its 7th year of support. Held from October 14 to 18, the festival draws visitors from across the region and is dedicated to enhancing media literacy among young people and showing the best in filmmaking for children and young people.

Anurag Agrawal, managing director of the Canon Middle East and Canon Eurasia told: Congratulations to the entire team involved and to all participants who helped preserve the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS record title for the Largest photography lesson. Canon is excited to be the official imaging partner of this years festival, which aims to support the next generation of creative talents - which align very closely with our commitment to youth and education in the region and indeed globally. We hope this is an annual partnership as it will help young people develop their skills and nurture the next generation of story tellers, especially in the video graphy and film industry.

Sheikh Jawahar bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, Director of FUNN and SIFF, said: We are delighted to receive this award, as well as the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Record Title and Wide Festival, as it helps to ensure our status globally as a platform to support the creative development of children and young people.This admirable achievement has come with the Canon collaboration, which we are thrilled to have received. We hope that this partnership will grow stronger as FUNN & SIFF develops into a global hub, not only as a regional center for the promotion of media arts learning among children and young people.

Sharjah Media Arts for Young People and Children is an organization founded by the Sharjah Government in 2012 (under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikah Jawahar Al Qasimi, His Highness Wife, Ruler of Sharjah) Media Arts (Animation, Filmmaking, Graphic Design, etc.) For Sharjah and UAE youth.

FUNN's mission is to establish a leading media arts education organization that will make a long-term impact on new media and art education by organizing media events and educating children and young people in Media Arts in Sharjah and the UAE.

As part of the partnership, a group will be hosting Canon Academy workshops. In addition to providing capture tools, Canon is also helps preserve memories from the event with a photo station where visitors can print their pictures. Canon offers a scholarship to one of the festival winners, and special discounts are offered to all visitors with Canon e-vouchers.

This is the latest in a series of initiatives supporting Canon Middle Easts learning and wider education sector. Other initiatives include Canon on the Road, aimed at young people aged 11-14, providing solutions in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to increase access to quality, innovative education.

Following the philosophy of Kyosei, Canon will continue to build and strengthen its ties with the community through its Middle East environmental and social welfare programs as part of its CSR initiatives in the region and globally.