From January 23rd through 25th, 32 educators from seven underserved schools and youth organizations in Qurgonteppa, Khujand and Dushanbe participated in a professional development workshop in Dushanbe for the Photojournalism 2.014: Heritage, Hunger and Food Security program.

The program, which is made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of State and sponsorship from the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, seeks to foster positive and productive interaction among students and educators in Pakistan, Tajikistan and the United States to promote a stable, prosperous and integrated region. Specifically, it engages participants from these three countries in cross-cultural collaboration to help youth develop photojournalism and media skills; gain awareness of issues surrounding local and global food systems and the power of photography and technology to address them; and increase the number of educators in participating countries who can equip students with modern communications, job skills and knowledge to enhance their employability and make positive contributions to their communities.

The three-day workshop provided participating educators with high-quality comprehensive photojournalism education training, as well as an introduction to online collaboration and using photojournalism to explore local and global food systems. Trainers included experienced journalists, experts in digital storytelling and food ethnographers.

The workshop concluded with field trips to a teahouse, a green market, a food market and a fast food establishment, where participants learned about healthy food choices and applied their newly acquired photojournalistic techniques to document their visits.

The workshop was the first step in preparing educators to implement the program with their students. Upon completion of the educator workshops in Tajikistan, students will participate in workshops as well, and participating educators from all three countries will participate in an online course together this spring.

To see more images and videos from the workshop, please view the album below: