Children of Photo Youth

Photo Credit: © 2012 Delmi Alvarez/www.photoyouth.org All Rights Reserved. This picture can be used by bloggers and media without commercial purposes.

Greetings from Pskov!

Welcome to Pskov – the ancient russian town!

Hi all community of Photo Youth greetings from Pskov, we live in a very beautiful city and we invite you to come and visit. We have our own blog of Photo Youth  where we will publish our posts with photos and text of the project working with children of our schools. In August we will proud to host near Pskov the Photo Camp with children and teachers and actually we are working on it.

Vyborg the last city of the journey

Students of Photo Youth in Vyborg

Today is the last visit for consultations in Russia and the last place where Photo Youth is living. More than thousand kilometers on the road with a lot of friends that we made starting in Riga Monday 7th May. For Ilmars and me it was so fast, and so short, willing to have more time to be with the children and the teachers working with the photo cameras and macbook. Vyborg is a quite place where Olga Kareva lead the project Photo Youth. The Centre of complex social services citizens “Vyborg” is a place where children get many education in different levels and ways and our visit was plenty of friendship and lovely people working hard for people with special needs. Personally I would like to stay more time and Vyborg have this air of mystery that any journalist and photographer wish to discover. Lets see what happen after august because they deserve a more long visit.

St.Petersburg Photo Youth photographers with Dayra and Svetlana

Museum of artillery

One more intensive day in St. Peter with the Photo Youth photographers commanded by teachers Svtelana and Dayra in the route of visit consulations. We went to the artillery museum and spent a nice time walking and shooting pictures.
Take a look to the pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.355762164478081.83006.212685208785778&type=1

Monday will be the time for meeting and consultations with Vyborg photographers, a russian city with many cultural connections with Finland.

Yesterday all teachers and project managers received a new monthly assignment before to go summer holidays: “My city, my country” is the title of the new theme to be photographed by Photo Youth photographers till the Photo Camp in Pskov the last week of august. In the Photo Camp professional external experts photographers will work with 40 children in one more step in the improvement of the project.

Mother's day in deaf school

A new post from Photo Youth students of deaf school. Visit the blog of the schools of the project in Riga: http://photoyouthriga.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/mothers-day-celebration-in-riga-boarding-school-for-deaf-children/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog

Visit consultations in Riga, Pskov, St. Petersburg and Vyborg

We are on the road visiting schools of the Photo Youth project, shooting pictures, talking with children and teachers and improving the project more and more. Daily we upload pictures in the Facebook social network page http://www.facebook.com/photoyouth and our partners from St. Petersburg created as well one page in a russian site by Photo Youth project manager Lena Lashkova:  http://vk.com/projectphotoyouth
The visit consultations is a time for meet with project managers, teachers and students to create a good ambient of photography and discuss to how improve and achieve goals.
The weather is very good, warm and only yesterday Friday 11 May the rain don’t allow us to walk in St. Petersburg streets.
More pictures in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=354674477920183&set=a.307113016009663.73645.212685208785778&type=1&ref=nf
Follow us and you will support Photo Youth photography project for integration to the young people with special needs in the society and in the world photography network.

140 years teaching to blind and impaired children in Latvia: Blind school of Riga

May 2 the Strazdumuiza Boarding School – Training Centre for Blind and Partially Sighted Children (Strazdumuižas internātvidusskola - attīstības centrs vājredzīgiem un neredzīgiem bērniem ) celebrate 140 years of education of visually impaired in Latvia. The blind school for children is integrated in the Photo Youth project with three teachers.
Here is its website: http://strazduskola.lv/. Check more news and follow us in https://www.facebook.com/photoyouth

Photo documentary: http://delmialvarez.photoshelter.com/gallery/Blind-school/G0000s69micr.qpA/

Cooperation day

The INTERACT II Programme has recently launched the communication action called European Cooperation Day to raise the general awareness and improve the understanding of European Territorial Cooperation, highlighting the added value of cross border cooperation and its impact on European territories and beyond and their populations.

The idea is to have a joint action named “European Cooperation Day” in 21 September 2012.
The JTS of the ENPI Estonia-Latvia-Russia CBC Programme initiated and Joint Monitoring Committee in the beginning of April 2012 supported OPEN DOORS or PROJECT EVENTS in 21 September as local actions of the European Cooperation Day. Actions may take place whole September, if they are already planned so. The Action will have to be supported by communication and information actions at local level by project staff, in the area the Project is covering.
Using the Common image (LOGO), joint messages (OUT FROM COMMUNICATION STRATEGY) and common target groups the impact of cross-border cooperation on the daily lives of the citizens in your Project territories will be showed.
Baltic States agreed to cooperate for this action, so action Open Doors can be performed together with other Programmes operating in the same territory.
The Joint Monitoring Committee of the Programme also supported 6 FLAGSHIP STORIES, which means visible achievements of Projects will be included in the Stories.
3 Flagship Stories will be promoted at European level and all 6 at national and local levels. Flagship stories will be prepared for the media in local languages, and local spokespeople will be assigned. Flagship Stories includes 9 Projects and Project Managers of chosen Projects will be contacted separately by appointed Information Manager of the JTS.
Local Press packs will be elaborated in local languages by JTS staff in all Programme countries. INTERACT will finalise their communication strategy in June, after their meeting in 12 June in Lisbon.
JTS also will organize INFORMATION DAYS or LECTURES in educational institutions in ALL Programme countries in September. Projects might be invited to participate too.
In the territory of Russian Federation this action will be organized together with Finnish CBC Programmes and Network among Programmes with involvement of Russia is established.
All Programme Information Managers from Branch Offices in Russia are involved.
The main target groups are the people residing in the eligible areas as well as local and national media. The message must be simple, easy to comprehend and meaningful to the target groups. To make cooperation across borders more comprehensible to the relevant citizens through their own media, a local approach is required.

To Project activities JTS will provide supporting souvenirs as balloons and small flags. Depending on the type of action other promotional items will be provided.
ALL PROJECTS are invited to be ready to participate in the EUROPEAN COOPERATION DAY PHOTO COLLAGE EXIBITION during the Annual Event of the Programme, which will take place this year in Narva, October 2012.

This means, that each Project is kindly invited to take photos of any European Cooperation Day actions during September or in 21 September 2012. ONE – in your opinion the best – PICTURE you will put for the competition to receive European Cooperation Day award!55 European Territorial Cooperation and Cross-border Programmes have confirmed their interest to participate in this event and this list is expected to grow. WEBSITE of the European Cooperation day is to be launched in May 2012.

Mentoring photographers

PHOTO YOUTH have professional photographers in the management and as a external experts with a wide international career in press photography, including aerial, fashion, political, sports, portraiture. Our project include a mentoring programme online by Skype to support the teachers that works directly with the children with special needs.