Archive for October, 2013

In pictures: Celebrating the day of the girl

Today is the Day of the Girl. Since 2011 the United Nations has put aside this day to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges they face around the world. This year the focus is on “Innovating for Girls’ Education”.

It was also announced today that Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai won the EU’s Sakharov human rights prize. She is also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize which will be announced tonight. Malala was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban on her way back from school in 2012.

If you want to learn more about ways education can change a girl’s life here are some useful links:
~ Five ways educating girls can change the world (World Vision)
~ Theme for 2013: Innovating for Girls’ Education (United Nations)
~ Girl Rising: one girl with courage is a revolution (“a new feature film about the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world”)

The statistics listed below were taken from 10x10act.org

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Young girls with sheep, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

Women operate a majority of small farms and business in the developing world. (Focus on Five)

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Visited Planet to take part in Blog Action Day

Visited Planet will be taking part in Blog Action Day on October 16 with a conversation about human rights. Keep an eye out on October 16 for an update.

I’ve also been asked by Cengage Learning / Gale to post as part of my regular monthly contributions with them which will focus on girls’ education. So there will be actually be two blogs.

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Feel free to email Jo at [email protected] with your comments/thoughts/photo aspirations. See and learn more at www.visitedplanet.com

Cameras for Asia: Australia

For the first time Cameras for Asia actually ran a workshop here in Australia. This has worked out well as I have been grounded here in Australia for several months and it’s been fun to run a program with children here.

There were four kids aged 12-16 from Montrose Access that provide disability care for kids in Queensland. The children had varying levels of mobility but all had used a camera before and were very enthusiastic. Here are a few of my favourite images of the day. All photos are taken by the kids except for the very last one. Enjoy!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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Unplugged: Spring in the outback

Last week I raced out to Winton and back, a journey of about 1400km each way from Brisbane. It was 40 degrees out there and I didn’t have a lot of time for anything beyond photographing the festival, but as always I was often drawn to stop and photograph something along the side of the road. All these images were taken along the Warrego Highway or on a pre dawn bike ride out of town one day, showing just how much life and colour there is in Australia’s harsh, dry places. These images are available on the database here.

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Train tracks leading into the haze of sunset – it was close to 40 degrees out there last week and it’s only spring – Queensland’s hottest spring on record with temperatures 4-5 degrees above normal.

“And the sun sank again on the grand Australian bush – the nurse and tutor of eccentric minds, the home of the weird.”
~ Henry Lawson

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New images: Winton Outback Festival

The biannual Winton Outback Festival is listed as one of Australia’s top 100 things to see before you die. I drove 3000km last week to see it, and have to admit I agree with them. This is one of the best outback festivals I’ve been to with all the usual fun and mayhem of these remote, harsh areas with dunny races, roo poo shooting and ironman events that involve hauling tyres.

There were whips, cowboys, flies, beer, utes, hats, buckles and boots and plenty of good cheer and humour. Images are being uploaded to the database this week. See this link.

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Dr Poo from the BBC came all the way in a different kind of Tardis to compete in the dunny derby.

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Visited Planet's documentary and lifestyle photographic projects are designed to aid, equip, empower and educate people around the world.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter - Martin Luther King Jr.