02/03/2024
News incoming!
As some of you may be aware I have been working on an exciting project in collaboration with the Rwanda Film Institute, a mental health organisation called Uyisenga Ni Imanzi, the Ministry of Education and other partners. This has been part of the bigger 'Mobile Arts for Peace' project.
Following series of successful events in Rwanda, which gained significant national press and TV coverage, (yes we were on TV!) the Rwanda Biomedical Centre has committed to using co-produced creative arts approaches in their new national youth mental health strategy, a significant policy impact!
We are pleased to announce that the co-produced films, along with a toolkit for them to be used by partner organisations are now ready to view!
https://map.lincoln.ac.uk/2024/02/26/mental-health-film-series-and-toolkit/
A number of organisations in Rwanda have asked us for the materials already, so they can use them to run workshops on the themes of mental health, including:
The Rwanda Womens Network
The Ministry of Youth
Never Again Rwanda
Rwanda Biomedical Centre
Here's a short blurb on the project:
'Using film-making and art exhibitions to address the barriers young people face in engaging and influencing community members and policymakers….
In Visualising Peace, partner organisations UNM, the Kwetu Film Institute, and Never Again Rwanda are developing a participatory action research model that supports young participants to decode the barriers to their civic engagement, explore their political agency, and communicate their ambitions to community members and targeted policymakers.
Three participatory films were produced in collaboration with MAP school children in Rwanda and students and staff at the Kwetu film institute. The MAP school children chose to work with three themes on the topic of mental health. Mental Health in schools, Mental health in the family and street connected mental health.'
Here's some more info on the project if you'd like to know more:
https://map.lincoln.ac.uk/map_project/visualising-peace/
We're about to begin a process of distributing this material, but I thought it would be nice to share it with our colleagues first, as you've all supported Michelle and I while we've been running around getting on with all of this!
Thanks for your support everyone!
Using film-making and art exhibitions to address the barriers young people face in engaging and influencing community members and policymakers.
