London, UK – 17 May 2018 – Canon Europe, leader in imaging, is celebrating three years of Miraisha, one of the brand’s core sustainability programmes. 2017 saw the programme deliver more activities than ever before, with over 3,000 participants taking part in training sessions and workshops since the programme’s inception. The programme aims to promote job opportunities in Africa by offering workshops to photographers, videographers, film-makers and print business owners.
This month, the programme will see a new venture opened in collaboration with ‘The NRB Bus’. Launching in the city of Westlands in Nairobi, Kenya, a static London double decker bus will be the home to a host of workshops focused on creativity training. These will also be taken further afield with a roadshow planned to take place across Kenya.
Stuart Poore, Director of Sustainability at Canon Europe commented, “The Miraisha programme has really progressed in the last 12 months and we are so proud of all the participants and what they have achieved. We’re excited to carry out further training in collaboration with The NRB Bus, which will be an inspiring place for workshops to take place. The programme truly embodies our corporate philosophy of Kyosei: living and working together for the common good, and we are committed to continuing our work in Africa.”
Key initiatives that took place over the last year included:
This month, the programme will see a new venture opened in collaboration with ‘The NRB Bus’. Launching in the city of Westlands in Nairobi, Kenya, a static London double decker bus will be the home to a host of workshops focused on creativity training. These will also be taken further afield with a roadshow planned to take place across Kenya.
Stuart Poore, Director of Sustainability at Canon Europe commented, “The Miraisha programme has really progressed in the last 12 months and we are so proud of all the participants and what they have achieved. We’re excited to carry out further training in collaboration with The NRB Bus, which will be an inspiring place for workshops to take place. The programme truly embodies our corporate philosophy of Kyosei: living and working together for the common good, and we are committed to continuing our work in Africa.”
Key initiatives that took place over the last year included:
Canon’s train the trainer programme
A recent initiative which has had great success is Canon’s ‘Train the Trainer’ programme. For the various Miraisha workshops, Canon used to regularly fly experts from Europe to Africa to run the training. However, Canon wants to make the Miraisha programme self-sustainable and has therefore invested in a number of local trainers, as this is much more beneficial for the workshop attendees as the local trainers can act as role models, giving current, previous and future participants a knowledge source within their country. Canon currently has 15 people in the train the trainer programme, six of which have now qualified as accredited trainers. Many of the trainers are successful photographers or videographers in their own right and Canon has hired one of the trainers full time to work in the local sales office in Morocco.
Canon story telling workshop success
Following attendance of a Canon story telling workshop with Canon Master Gary Knight, last September, Anthony Obayomi won the National Geographic Photography Portfolio Review as part of LagosPhoto festival. This original workshop took place in December 2016 where Anthony used the EOS 650D and a variety of lenses. Entrants to the review submitted a portfolio of work from the past year and a panel of top Nigerian and international judges critiqued the portfolios. Anthony, the winner of the best portfolio, won a prize of $10,000. He is now on the radar of National Geographic and will also be noted to other international photo agencies. Anthony’s portfolio focused on the shortage of student accommodation at the University of Lagos.
In addition to this, photographer Nneka Iwunna took the skills she learnt in the same Canon story telling workshop, to go on and win a Magnum Foundation Fund which will support her work in documentary photography.
To learn more about the Miraisha programme, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sq9IarcqYA
A recent initiative which has had great success is Canon’s ‘Train the Trainer’ programme. For the various Miraisha workshops, Canon used to regularly fly experts from Europe to Africa to run the training. However, Canon wants to make the Miraisha programme self-sustainable and has therefore invested in a number of local trainers, as this is much more beneficial for the workshop attendees as the local trainers can act as role models, giving current, previous and future participants a knowledge source within their country. Canon currently has 15 people in the train the trainer programme, six of which have now qualified as accredited trainers. Many of the trainers are successful photographers or videographers in their own right and Canon has hired one of the trainers full time to work in the local sales office in Morocco.
Canon story telling workshop success
Following attendance of a Canon story telling workshop with Canon Master Gary Knight, last September, Anthony Obayomi won the National Geographic Photography Portfolio Review as part of LagosPhoto festival. This original workshop took place in December 2016 where Anthony used the EOS 650D and a variety of lenses. Entrants to the review submitted a portfolio of work from the past year and a panel of top Nigerian and international judges critiqued the portfolios. Anthony, the winner of the best portfolio, won a prize of $10,000. He is now on the radar of National Geographic and will also be noted to other international photo agencies. Anthony’s portfolio focused on the shortage of student accommodation at the University of Lagos.
In addition to this, photographer Nneka Iwunna took the skills she learnt in the same Canon story telling workshop, to go on and win a Magnum Foundation Fund which will support her work in documentary photography.
To learn more about the Miraisha programme, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sq9IarcqYA
Canon News Source: Canon Europe