Canon Young People Programme restarts in 2021 with UAE project

Canon Young People Programme restarts in 2021 with UAE project

Canon's Young People Programme, which helps young people across EMEA to enact sustainable change through the power of visual storytelling, has returned in 2021 with the first of several planned projects taking place in the United Arab Emirates. Since 2015, the Canon Young People Programme has worked with charities across EMEA to give the next generation the tools and skills needed to create visual media which makes their views heard on the sustainability issues affecting their communities. After pausing due to the global pandemic, the initiative has now resumed in 2021 with the aim of reaching more young people than ever before. In partnership with the Al Ihsan Charity Association, ten young people from underprivileged backgrounds in Ajman, UAE, took part in a series of educational workshops led by local photographer Maitham Al Aboodi. The sessions taught the participants about both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and photography techniques which could be used to tell their own stories of what change is needed to fulfil the goals. "I benefited a lot from the programme,“ said Aya Madani, age 13, one of the participants who was loaned a Canon EOS 4000D camera. "I learned how to photograph using a camera, I