Chris McCafferty MP (far left) and Jim Knight, Minster for Education - Schools and Learners (far right) help launch the MSI Zoom In! exhibition at Westminster, with young participants for Bangladesh and the UK.
London - Global sexual and reproductive health organisation, Marie Stopes International (MSI) launches the The Zoom In! exhibition and education pack at Westminster yesterday.
The exhibition, which runs until July 12 at the Upper Waiting Hall in the House of Commons, features the work by young participants who took part in the pilot stage of a unique and creative educational project developed and lead by global sexual and reproductive health organisation, Marie Stopes International (MSI). The aim of the project has been to encourage young people to learn about and share their thoughts and concerns about sexual and reproductive health and rights both in the developing world and in the UK.
Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Jim Knight MP, who was present at the launch, said, “Zoom In! is exactly the sort of thing we want to see going on in schools, not only in terms of young people understanding the world and being able to exchange ideas and show shared problems, but also in terms of delivering what we want in community cohesion. The way the project helps highlight the shared problems we have in respect to sexual health and education is really important.”
A unique element of the project is the inclusion of photographs and stories from adolescents in the developing world. In all, MSI worked with eight developing country partners - Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Pakistan, Uganda, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe - who in turn worked with adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18. These adolescents were given disposable cameras so that they might express their feelings through photography and story writing. In this way, they have been able to reach out and share their thoughts with people in the UK.
The Zoom In! project uses these photos and stories as a key resource in an education pack that encourages discussion of the issues. Young UK students are encouraged to replicate the photography project as a way of involving them in the sexual and reproductive health issues raised, allowing them to highlight similarities or differences between their own experiences and those of their peers in the developing world.
“It helps bring us together and allows us to celebrate our differences in a really positive way and the linking together of countries is a key part of that,” said Mr Knight.
MSI is delighted to have been behind the development of a project that not only encourages young people in the UK to understand and engage with the issues of sexual health and rights for their own benefit, but also helps broaden their understanding of the world around them so that they can appreciate that they are, in fact, global citizens.
For more information and copies of the Zoom In! Facilitator’s pack, contact
Diana Thomas, Communications Manager, Marie Stopes International
diana.thomas@mariestopes.org.uk