Beyond the classroom: working together to create lasting impact

If you want to see an example of the ripple effect in action, look no further than your nearest university. Beyond the obvious economic advantages, their cultural and social impact can be significant – and important. We were able to experience this first hand when, in conversation with Norwich University of the Arts, the team identified some of the challenges faced by secondary schools in their local area.

We’ve had an excellent commercial relationship with Norwich University of the Arts for a number of years, and it’s a shining example of the important role a university can play in local life. And like it, we, too, regularly reach out beyond our own walls to work in partnership with our customers on activities in their communities. In the case of Norwich University of the Arts, this involves the sponsorship of its annual, highly respected ‘Beyond the Frame’ photography competition. And it was James Smith, the university’s photography course leader, who reached out to us when he observed a worrying trend after the latest competition launched.

“We engage with a vast network of schools and have an ongoing commitment to support schools which lack the funding and resources to increase the opportunities for their students to get involved in photography,” he explains. “So, we spoke to Nathan Dua and the team at Canon about the opportunity of holding Beyond the Frame workshops, supporting local schools that would like their students to enter.”

Now in its 8th year, the competition can only be described as a ‘spark’ for so many young people, inviting them to submit creative photography on a theme for a chance to win an EOS R50 camera. “We’ve been a Canon customer for quite some time,” explains James. “We started with the EOS 5D Mark II, but we now have Mark IIIs, IVs and DSs. And we've just bought five EOS R5 Cs."

Combining our own expertise with our customers on such a project was a no-brainer for us. And, upon being shown the university’s newly acquired 20 Bank Plain – a huge, Grade II listed former 18^th Century bank – we realised this would be a perfect setting to host a Canon Young People Programme event. We then began working together to organise three days of workshops. Over a hundred youngsters, aged 15-17, were invited through their nearby schools and for most of the aspiring photographers at these workshops, using such professional kit was a first – and a truly exciting prospect. Because, while everyone joining studied photography, the simple truth is that the kind of cameras, lighting and computer equipment routinely used at the university are out of reach for the vast majority of secondary schools.

Canon Ambassador, Elisa Iannacone, was their key tutor for the workshops and ideal to position Beyond the Frame as the perfect opportunity to spread their creative wings. But let’s not forget the power of free skills training and access to industry and higher education professionals. This takes the workshops from a targeted activity to a potentially career-defining moment for these young people, who are at the point of thinking about the future.

And this is why, for us, social impact is more than just a tick box exercise. In England and Wales, where the Social Value Act is law, all public sector business contracts are required to demonstrate this kind of commitment. But we take the wider view and consider our relationships with customers, partners and NGOs across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As in Norwich, we work together to design activities with rounded, useful and long-term impacts.

For example, ahead of the workshops at Norwich, each student received an environmentally focused brief to consider, inspired by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. This gave the young people plenty to think about in terms of their own social and environmental impact and this would form the basis of the work they would undertake, transforming their ideas into powerful visuals. This takes the sessions past photography, and even visual storytelling, into considering the world around them in a new way, analysing these thorny issues and offering their opinions, experiences, hopes and aspirations.

This also translates equally as well in our world of professional print, where we can demonstrate its power to show how social issues can be elevated in new and surprising ways. Or to talk about the future of the industry and inspire young people who are at a career crossroads.

The initial impact of the three days at Norwich University of the Arts left the young people, their teachers and everyone who contributed feeling inspired, excited and creatively fulfilled, which is surely reason enough to take a hundred children out of their classrooms? But we know the secondary ripples will last much, much longer, in careers and the stories these young students may go on to tell with their cameras, or through their learnings from the Sustainable Development Goals.

“We use the word ‘empowering’ quite a lot, but there is no other way to describe the outcomes of these kinds of activities,” explains Nathan Dua, Education Segment Manager at Canon UK & Ireland. “100 students learning real-world skills to explore important environmental and societal issues puts the power to create change in their hands. It’s something we’re incredibly excited to play a part in and proud to partner with Norwich University of the Arts to enable.”James agrees, adding, “It’s been fantastic to have collaborated on this and to engage with schools in our local community in a completely different way.”

But importantly, everyone involved has learnt what can be achieved when we work together. This is something that we strive to do wherever possible, working with our customers and partners to support their initiatives as they – and we – serve our communities. It’s something that is so embedded into Canon life that we even have a word for it: Kyosei – living and working together for the common good.

Learn more about the Canon Young People Programme.