OR EDU

Sarah,

first, I am really glad to be part of this workshop! Thank you. Here is my story proposal, the same idea that in the application but I thought of it more precisely with your advices and organize it in title and topic sentence.

In Egypt, some committed youth
If the majority of the 20 millions Egyptian youth doesn’t show a lot of civic engagement, a small part of them are involved in different activist groups fighting for change in Egypt.

It might still be too wide, not specific enough. I am waiting for your feedback, to ameliorate more. Also, do you need more details about the story then the sentence or information on how Im planning to proceed?

Thank you!

Best,

pauline

2010-11-24 00:04:50 UTC

proposal/

New Year one of the most popular holiday in the world and in Russia too.
I want to do the story about New Year's сelebration in Russia.
People hope that the advent of the year will change their lives as in the fairy-tale and they are doing everything possible to comply with "the ritual". Tangerines, Olivier, champagne, Christmas tree, the president into the TV, Santa Claus, Snow Maiden and other fairy-tale characters and dressing are an applicable attributes of Russian New Year.
My story should include all these attributes and must make a general overview of the New Year celebration.

2010-11-25 20:49:33 UTC

Dear Sarah,

I want to say thank you, first at all for be selected to participate in this workshop. I am so glad for that, and really excited to explore for first time this experience trough the OR foundation initiative.

I apologize for any mistake or misspelling you can notice on my English during the workshop, since is not my mother tongue and I am in continuous process of learning. Sometimes is really difficult for me to express my ideas since I don’t have all the words I need in my mind, but I will try harder to deliver my best, specially since I am managing a difficult subject, where the misuse of words can create controversy or offend people.

In reply to the assignment, I have worked following your scheme of the NYT headings, trying to be as concise as I can to describe the elements of the story in a very reduced paragraph. I am sure it can be better done, but start is really hard, and at this point seems really difficult to put the ideas together and focus correctly.

I didn’t work on a title yet. I think I prefer to wait for that, and with time think in something smart, poetic but with sense. I mean, I hate works that as you say refers to the subject in a bad and non-specific manner like “The Homeless” or something simple like that. For instance, clever titles like Nina Berman’s “Purple Hearts – Back from Iraq” for her story on wounded marines seem to me a pretty much interesting choose. This title use an abstract paradox for those who are not familiarized with the military slang but that is the focus of the story and you will discover after reading, and a short and brief sentence that explain who and where (Soldiers back on US). Following this scheme is how I expect to title my work, but I though it will make more sense to discover at the same time I start knowing better my subjects, for example a personal thought, desire of one of the guys that can be used for that purpose will be a really sweet way to title it followed by a short sentence that give information and context.

And for the topic sentence, I have written the following:

“Forbidden by their law, religion and the vast majority or their fellow citizenships, the practice of sexual options other than the specified in the Quran is one of the several restrictions to freedom that the homosexuals face in the Islamic states such as Pakistan. In a society where queer precepts collide with faith, is not common to find stories of gay surfacing like Ali’s, an open minded youth who couldn’t deny whom he is, even if he has to contradict God's word.”

I have tried to be concise, make a clear path for work but without draw a straight line since I haven’t think yet which direction should I take to do that. I am waiting to hear from you!

Best,
Eduardo

2010-11-25 23:05:41 UTC

Hi Sarah,

I’m also so glad to be able to participate in the workshop! Here is the title, topic sentence and full proposal. I'm actually not sure if we are supposed to turn in the full proposal, but since I worked on it, I'm submitting this, as well. Thanks!

Title: Kazakhstan's Gas and Oil Money Heats up the World Second Coldest Capital

Topic Sentence: Kazakhsttan's gleaming, spacious city Astana is the second coldest capital in the world, but the oil and gas money has been heating up the city with the growing nightlife culture scene and modern (or futuristic) buildings including a facility with a small inner tropical resort to attract more businesses and tourists.

Proposal:

Residents of Kazakhstan's World second coldest capital Astana go through the severe winter each year. The city's temperature sometimes reaches -40 during the winter. Since the city became the capital in 1998, the oil rich country has been investing in a number of construction projects around the city, where many gleaming buildings have been springing up. As a result, Astana became know for its “futuristic” look. Meanwhile, the city has been working on the creation of the "tropical" atmosphere to attract more tourists and businesses, as many have been shying away from Astana due to the cold winter. A tent mall called Khan Shatyr was completed in this year, and the building has a floor with tropical looking. The city is planning to a bigger scale of Khan Shatyr in the future. The growing Nightlife scene has also been heating up the cold capital. The financial crisis also hit the country, but Kazakhstan is one of the countries overcoming the crisis quickly, as its GDP grew by 7.5% from January to September 2010. Yet, despite the economic growth, The city's population has not reached 1 million partly due to the harsh winter, and the city still appears a little empty at first glance - even emptier during the winter. The city also has a number of migrant workers from central Asia, and many work in construction, confronting daily with the cold during the winter. The collection of photographs will show how residents of Astana live in the blooming, futuristic city during the harsh cold winter.

best,

Ikuru

2010-11-25 23:37:51 UTC

Sarah, hello!
It is very pleasant to participate in this seminar! It is good stimulus to work.Here's my idea for the project.

Pop-corn generation.
There are a lot of cinemas even in small towns today. They can form a commercial network and they can be part of a great shopping mall. Seldom, a cinema can be unique and distinct from others unlike 20 centuries. In 21 century a strong consumer society was formed in a flash, and a cinema became his part. A cinema was a work of art for directors and spectators earlier. Today, the one is the product like a half-finished product or convenient furniture. It is sadly, that in 21 century for directors and spectators the cinema is the product which can be satisfied requirements for cultural rest. Nowadays, for the spectator it is more important to buy coca-cola and pop-corn than to know who is the director of a film and it is important to play automatic machines near a cinema hall after a film. Therefore, modern spectators demand a lot of actions, special effects and fun from a film. More than that, everybody has a nice opportunity to descend on non-stop where show 3 or 4 new films successively. And directors, businessmen, producers satisfy requirements of the modern person with pleasure.
The idea of the project in showing, how the consumer society has affected cinema and has transformed him from art into a product. And as it has affected culture of people, for which today there is no difference how to spend evening: to eat a good hamburger in cafe or to descend in a cinema.
I have corrected primary idea of the project. My visual language will be documentary. I plan to spend much time at cinemas, observing that people before a session do, during cinema and after. Probably, to talk to people that for them the cinema means, more deeply to understand the theme.

2010-11-26 05:22:47 UTC

Dear Sarah,

I'm also glad to take part in this workshop. I thought about the title of my story. In the beginning I wanted to title it "Lost millionaires" but now I should have more time to think.

Topic sentence
What has changed in the lives of those people who having worked for Arcelor Mittal companies for many years, has agreed to leave the job voluntarily in return for monetary compensation.

Proposal
People worked for many years at Arcelor Mittal plant and coal mines. Two or three years ago Arcelor Mittal invent the scheme of voluntarily dismissal. It was dealing with the world economic crises. According the scheme people who are under the pension age could take money any moment as monetary compensation and leave their job. The only condition was no one of those who had taken the money will never work at Arcelor Mittal’s industries.
They were paid about 1 million tenghe (about US $6500). How they are living today. I heard some of them began drink alcohol still being in permanent depression. But there are some who live happy doing what they were dreamed about during many years while working at industry. Also there are those who bear different things they have never done before, just for surviving because they need to feed their families. Leaving their job voluntarily most of those people were not looking forward for the nearest perspective and now having no ideas how to live being unemployed.
What happened with those people? What are they now? How they spent their money?

Thank you!

Best,
Valeriy

2010-11-26 14:36:50 UTC

Hi Sarah/Patrick,

Thanks for being chosen for the workshop, i also salute the other photographers.

I intend to do a simple and intimate portrait of a family i know. Composed by a single mother, unemployed but struggling to find work and survive with her 4 children, and how they manage to go along and face the very hard economic measures that the portuguese economy is currently facing. I call them "A turma do funil" a kind of funny - but gentle - name that adresses their semi-state of poverty but at the same time trying to live like a normal family.

Title: Turma do Funil

Topic sentence: Dulce, mother of four, and the daily routine of trying to find a job and surving in this economic upheaval.

Best

Joo

2010-11-26 16:59:22 UTC

hello, Sarah and Patrick!
thank you for adding me into this course and sorry for not answering
finaly i`ve got uae. trying to organize everything. it will take more time than i thought, becouse of national hollidays (and local people are so lazy).
i`m thinking about contrast it might be using mobile phones drinking cola ... hovels on the background of skyscrapers.. (some of them lived close to the city, i have to check how it`s going now)
my focus is on the Bedouin in uae in. how changed their behavior after uae had found oil and got a lot of money
going to tell you more as soon as i now
thank you very much and sorry for my english
victor

2010-12-02 13:15:40 UTC

My first pictures from small new ecovillage on north of Russia. Two families, 10 people in one house. They lived in abondoned village far from small city. This is first attempt to make color not black and white photos =)

ooopps! no chances to make captions to photos here =(

2010-12-21 11:09:37 UTC

hello!
its my first pictures from new ecovillage on north of russia.
name of ecovillage is JOY. it's located 45 km from very small city Vitegra. 3 families (10 people) live in one house.

its my first attempt to make color pictures.
all pictures are need to write caption.

2010-12-23 21:29:55 UTC

Dear Masters!
Merry Christmas!
I wish inspiration in work and happiness in a family. These are the most important things in life:)

Russian Christmas and new year still ahead)

2010-12-23 22:50:53 UTC

Sarah and Patrick,

I post here new pictures with a very much larger edit so I can get more from your advices. I also put in this project file all the pictures I have shot so far. So we can have a idea of the whole thing.

And again merci for your last comment and advices.

Best,

pauline

2011-01-16 14:05:15 UTC

Patrick and Sarah,

I am trying to post again here some of the last pictures. More will follow in an other post because I have the impression it can not take so much at the time. I am posting this before of posting my final edit to get help editing each shoot. Also, I will post the final edit on the 26th, coz they are planning here a big protest on the 25th so I have more to shoot with the guys Im following getting ready for that and on the big day. Thanks.

2011-01-23 09:58:14 UTC

Im trying a new way to post images. Sarah and Patrick, can you give me your opinion on those new images... to do my final edit. Also, like I was saying, I think I am in the right moment with this story coz following what happen in Tunisia. Activists in Egypt are moving a lot lately and they organize a big protest on the 25th. So, Ill give my final edit on the 26th if it is ok. Thank you.

2011-01-23 12:03:46 UTC

my second and third parts of pictures are here:
http://edu.objectivereality.org/ru/workshops/assignments/assignment.html?a=1827

2011-01-24 12:55:44 UTC