The Little Art launches “Equally Loud”, new platform enabling young minds from marginalized societies to express and share their experiences through creative mediums. The new platform was launch an evening of open discussion with creative minds showcasing thought provoking films made by children and youth with an aim to be Equally Loud.
The event was be attended by participants belonging to professional, media, arts and educational backgrounds including children and youth whose film will be screened along with their parents. Principals and teachers from each school also attended the evening. The evening commenced with a welcome note, followed by a panel discussion on the screening of films made by children and youth.
Moderated by Founder/Director The Little Arts, Mr.Shoaib Iqbal, the panel discussion included Asghar Nadeem Syed – Pakistani play & drama writer, Muneeza Hashmi – Director Lahore Arts Council, Sohail Warraich – Women Rights’ Activist, Member of the National Commission on the Status of Women and Co-ordinate Commission’s Committee on Law and Policy, Iftikhar Mubarak – Executive Director Children Advocacy Network Pakistan andSajida Vandal – Vice Chancellor Institute of Arts and Culture (IAC).
During the panel discussion, Asghar Nadeem Syedsaid “After witnessing the work through these films, I would like to highlight and appreciate few things. All the children who created these films were from underprivileged backgrounds and I’m very happy to see that you have inspired and mentored them to come out and express themselves as no one has ever given them this opportunity because of absence of such facilities. Secondly kudos to the TLA team for creating awareness and enabling children to express matters that are usually ignored”.
Also, part of the panel, Muneeza Hashmi said “Equally Loud by the Little Art has started a great debate as usually these topics are seldom discussed or are left unaddressed. In such cases, continuity iskey and I would urge the team to take this even further ahead”.
A product of the Lahore International Children Film Festival (LICFF) calendar workshops, ‘Equally Loud’ aims to transform the narrative of Pakistani women and girls from a purely rights-based discussion to a more personal and impactful dialogue. For this, The Little Art is conducted filmmaking workshops which are designed to explore gender experiences of children as well as equip them with basic filmmaking skills.
The workshops are being held in 10 schools in Lahore and Faisalabad. 4 Trust School campuses, 2 Garrison schools and Dreamland Public School in Lahore and UmulMadaris Model School, Dar-e-Arqam, and St. Catherine’s Girls High School in Faisalabad were also part of the workshops.
A total number of 340 children, boys and girls, took part in the workshops. Children are divided into groups of four, and each group produces a short film inspired by stories shared during the workshop. Some of the themes of films include breaking gender stereotypes, gender equality, issues of transport and access, body shaming, and equal opportunities.
The workshops are conducted by filmmakers and trainers Ammar Aziz, Fazal Ahmad, Abdul Basit and trainers and gender specialist Nida Mushtaq and Sehyr Mirza.
The Little Art is a non –profit organization working for promoting arts education and providing creative learning opportunities to children and young people in Pakistan. www.thelittleart.org
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