Canon has partnered with Nafham, a free online crowdsourced educational platform, to create an innovative photography and film making online course, ‘Hekayet Sora.’ The e-learning course, which falls under the Canon Academy’s umbrella, will offer Nafham students in Saudi Arabia aged between 11-18 practical training for photography and film making through a series of instructional videos.
Mai Youssef, Corporate Communications & Marketing Services Director, Canon Middle East and Central and North Africa, said “Our partnership with Nafham is an opportunity to support youth explore and gain the latest knowledge in the art of photography and film making. Our objectives with this campaign is to equip the next generation of creative talent with new practical training methods and understanding of the latest technologies and innovations. The campaign will ultimately create additional growth opportunities for them and continue to support the evolution of the larger industry. Through this partnership, we are also supporting the objectives of Vision 2030 by implementing an initiative that focuses on quality e-learning to promote aspirations of a knowledge-based economy in the Kingdom.”
The ‘Hekayet Sora’ online course will be delivered by photographers Hossam Atef and Mohamed Khairi. The programme, which will be structured in four modules, is aimed at helping students begin their first step towards developing their imaging skills through several video lectures, electronic tests and practical projects. With the right knowledge, training and talent, the students can be inspired to perhaps start a career in the industry.
The partnership, which commenced on 18 April 2019, will also include a competition where the first fifteen students who achieve the highest scores will get a chance to win a Selphy printer. The top three performers will also win an EOS M50 camera.
“Nafham is committed to maximizing Arab youth potential through enhancing their learning experience starting from school studies to career development needs. We’re proud to partner for the second year with Canon, the leader in imaging solutions, which translates our commitment to support young talented future photographers and guide them through “Hekayet Sora” an online photography course, which will polish school students’ skills and help them take their first steps towards shaping their own future,” said Mostafa Farhat, CEO & Co-Founder of Nafham.
The partnership with Nafham is part of Canon’s Young People Programme (YPP), which seeks to contribute towards the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by giving young people a voice through harnessing the power of positive visual storytelling to drive positive change.
The programme uses the SDGs as a framework to give young people the opportunity to talk about the global issues that affect their futures and by providing the right tools and coaching, it aims to bring participants’ stories to life. Canon Europe, which includes Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, has been delivering visual storytelling workshops for young people to date in 23 countries and has run events reaching more than 3,000 students.
