Loading ...
National Geographic Photo Camp to Mentor Young Syrian Refugees in Jerash, Jordan
A group of Syrian refugee teenagers will learn to tell their stories through photography during National Geographic Photo Camp Jordan, March 30-April 3, highlighting issues faced by young people in the region. During the five-day Photo Camp workshop in Jerash, Jordan, 20 participants ages 13-16 will be mentored by National Geographic contributing photographers Amy Toensing and Matt Moyer, National Geographic magazine editor Jessie Wenders, Photo Camp technical director Jon Brack, and National Geographic Emerging Explorer and cultural educator Aziz Abu Sarah.
The workshop, conducted in partnership with Abu Sarah, will train the students to document — through photography and writing — the reality of their lives as refugees from the conflict in Syria, which began four years ago this month. Since then, Syrian refugees have flooded into parts of Jordan, including Jerash, where there are now more than 60,000 Syrian refugees. According to the United Nations, nearly 4 million people have become refugees in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Abu Sarah and his Syrian colleague Nousha Kabawat founded Project Amal ou Salam, which has been supporting education programs in Jerash. Amal ou Salam will be providing support for Photo Camp Jordan.
“We hope Photo Camp Jordan will provide these young photographers with a creative outlet to share their unique perspectives,” said Terry Garcia, National Geographic’s chief science and exploration officer. “National Geographic believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world. We’ve found that Photo Camp inspires a new generation of storytellers as well as the members of the community who view their work.”
Source: press.nationalgeographic.com