Four Greenwich schools will work with professionals to showcase their local area through video and photography in a new multi-discipline education programme called Welcoming the World.
The programme was launched on 29 January 2008 by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) at James Wolfe Primary School.
The programme is designed to encourage students in the five host boroughs, who are living and studying close to the heart of the London 2012 Games preparations, to document their local area to showcase to the rest of the world.
Who is involved?
Around 523 pupils from twenty schools in the five host boroughs will be participating in this programme.
The four schools in Greenwich are:
- James Wolfe Primary School
- Windrush Primary School
- Plumstead Manor School
- St Ursula's Convent
Welcoming the World consists of two elements:
- My World - a photography and music project
- Our World - a film and music project
My World
In Greenwich, one class from James Wolfe Primary School will work on My World by creating a portfolio of 30 photographs that highlight places, people and objects that are important to the students.
The class will be working with the renowned documentary photographer Gideon Mendel together with photographers Crispin Hughes and Marysa Dowling.
Our World
A class each in the other three Greenwich schools will use James Wolfe Primary's photographs for inspiration to create a two-minute short film - with accompanying soundtrack - for Our World.
The film will convey the variety of cultural activities and interests of a specific community in their local area.
The students will be working with talented film-maker Pratibha Parmar (alongside D Fie Foe) and respected music director Mike Dixon.
Exhibition
The photography portfolios and films will be showcased at a celebratory event for participating schools in July 2008 and a schools event to mark the Beijing Paralympic Games handover ceremony in September 2008.
In August and September 2008 the Olympic and Paralympic Flags will be handed over from the Mayor of Beijing to the Mayor of London.
These two Handover Ceremonies officially mark the start of London’s four year Olympiad.
Activities
Workshops and creative activities will run in the participating schools across the five boroughs from 25 February to 27 June 2008.
Funding and purpose
Welcoming the World is funded by Creative Partnerships London East and South and has been devised by them, the London 2012 Organising Committee and the Five Host Borough Education leads for 2012 Games.
The project is designed to:
- further students' creative planning, photographic, story-boarding, filming and editing skills;
- engage students to consider what they, as residents of a host borough, want to show the world about their local area
- increase participants' understanding of the creative and cultural components of the London 2012 Games.
Cllr John Fahy, Greenwich Council cabinet member for Culture and the 2012 Games, said, "The prospect of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games has captured the imaginations of young and old across Greenwich. This project is a great way of encouraging children to reflect on what it means for them and their community to be hosting such an enormous world event."