Going-Ons at the Inaugural Meeting for Photopower Nigeria

As the project launch drew closer, it became necessary for the team to meet, plan and discuss the modalities of the project as well as get to know each other face to face. The meeting was held at the Dunes Café in Maitama, Abuja. About 20 people attended. This group of selfless young men and women included some photographers and volunteers from different walks of life. The objectives of the meeting were three fold, to introduce the group to each other, to familiarize the group with the project and answer any questions and lastly to streamline the planning for the project.

As with most projects in the information age, most of the communication to the group was electronic and this would be the first time the whole group were meeting each other face to face and as such the meeting was kicked off with the obligatory introductions where everyone around the table introduced themselves and gave a little blurb about themselves, what they did and their volunteer interest and or experience as well as if they had any interest in or experience with photography. This was followed by a Skittles ice breaker session to help people relax and learn interesting tid bits about their fellow volunteers.

The meeting then proceeded to a discussion on the mission and vision of the project. It was stated that the project will involve 10 teenagers within the age range of 15-19 who are resident at the orphanage. They would be taught the basics of photography and proceed on photo walks to spur creativity and help them tell their own stories. The goals of the project were clearly stated as to empower, create awareness and generate revenue for the hope for survival orphanage in Gishiri and the Gishiri community at large. The project would culminate in an auction of the photos taken by the teenagers in an exhibition open to the general public.

As the discussion continued and the orders for drinks were taken and received, the discussion moved on to the format the exhibition would take. It was stated the expected attendance for the exhibition would be around 100 people. The gallery to be used after the exhibitioom was also discussed by the group.

The meeting then moved along to a review of the project schedule and the availability of each member of the group. It was decided that each group member would fill in the dates they were available and forward it to the core team. It was also decided that the photographers who would be taking the classes would decide amongst themselves what days they would take.

One of the group members, Taye shared his experience teaching photography to youth. He gave some tips to the group on working with youth. The group was advised to make the teaching process interactive, give the kids incentive to learn and keep them interested, make the process fun and engage in positive reinforcement.

The discussion then went in the direction of the need list for the project. It was during the review of the need list that some group members pledged to donate their cameras for use of the project as well as help in finding a projector. Farida and Daniella pledged to bring some cameras, Chime pledged to help in finding a projector.

The meeting wrapped up with an agreement about the project launch on Sunday 29^th of July 2012. Everyone interested in the project would meet at Drumstix, Wuse 2 at 2:20pm (except photographers meeting at 2pm). It was agreed that the group would proceed to orphanage together by 2:40pm and arrive at orphanage by 3pm. The importance of punctuality was stressed. People were asked to feel free to come with anything that they may want to give to the orphanage or come with someone that may be interested in visiting.

On a final note everyone was encouraged to distribute the sponsorship letter to at least one person who might be interested in supporting the project. With the meeting all done, everyone proceeded to disperse to meet again on Sunday, for the visit to the orphanage.

In sum, the inaugural meeting was successful!