Photograph of Rural and Urban students with instructors in Ogna Village, Rajasthan
Rajasthan : Sanjhi Sansthan, a sustainability focused NGO in Udaipur, commenced its 2011 photography and environmental training workshop in partnership with acclaimed photographer, Fredric Roberts and the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego on January 2nd. The first workshop runs until January 8th, 2011 and includes 18 urban and rural youth selected from regions around Udaipur and 2 children from New Delhi. Schools represented included Maharana Mewar Public School, Vidhya Bhawan, Bal Bharti, and Nehru Yuva Kendra. “At the beginning of this workshop I asked the students to use their cameras just as Gandhi Ji used his pen- to tell powerful stories that can change the world. I am thrilled at how each of them embraced this idea through this workshop and have been transformed into incredible story-tellers. This experience has changed their lives, and empowered them to change ours,” said Mr. Roberts.
Fredric Roberts’ photographic work across the Asian subcontinent has won him prestigious awards and exhibitions at museums worldwide. Roberts’ book Humanitas Volume One won the Book of the Year Award in Foreward magazine’s 2005 Book of the Year and his second book Humanitas II was featured in the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2007.
Sanjhi and the Museum of Photographic Arts utilize photography and new media as powerful tools to explore regional and global issues, to define and express selfconcepts, and to create meaningful dialogue within their communities. Both organizations are proud to have acclaimed photographer Fredric Roberts as the leader for these workshops. “Bringing together urban and rural children in a village setting and teaching them about environmental issues through the lens of professional photography by world-class instructors has been a truly transformative experience for these children. Sanjhi is extremely grateful to Fredric Roberts and his team of instructors for integrating our sustainability themes into their teaching curriculum-a unique teaching module that gets youth excited about communicating critical environmental issues through visual story-telling,” said Chhaya Bhanti, the Managing Director of Sanjhi.
Sanjhi will work closely with Fredric Roberts and MoPA to create a collaborative dialogue and joint projects between youth in India and the USA, allowing each to learn about the other’s environment and culture through the common language of lensbased imagery. A joint curriculum that explores on the origins, transportation, use, culture, and safety of basic natural resources (such as water) will be developed and
implemented in schools in each city, producing an exchange of ideas that raise environmental awareness to a global audience through online exhibitions. “This exciting new partnership leverages the power of photography to create environmental awareness and cross-cultural dialogue in a time when both our critical to our globalized society,” said Amber Lucero-Criswell, Director of Education and Public Programs at the Museum of Photographic Arts.
Sanjhi is especially grateful to the principal supporter of our workshops, Wonderful Pistachios, California and Gujarat based company that is committed to sustainability across its global operations and whose continued support, allows us to work on all aspects of sustainability within our communities.