Young People Speak Out Media Project – FORWARD
FORWARD’s youth programme ‘Young People Speak Out’ completed a film project with 15 young women from Haringey. This 6 month project was funded by Mediabox and enabled FORWARD to foster a new partnership with the African Women’s Welfare Group (AWWG).
Through weekly sessions, young women aged between 11-23 who originate from Somalia, Yemen and Cote d’Ivoire explored the realities of FGM, understanding the myths and facts as well as the impact FGM has on a girl’s life. Guest speakers and professionals were invited to develop participant’s creative skills including a drama therapist, drama student, film and editing crew, TV presenter and PR consultant.
This project had a significant impact on participants and, as one 12-year-old girl put it, “we feel comfortable and confident in talking about [FGM].”
The film, entitled Think Again follows a 12 year old’s dilemma as she discovers her mother plans to take her home to have FGM. It captures the cultural context to FGM and the implications of the practice, based on real-life experiences from FORWARD’s PEER research interviews.
On February 19th the girls organised a film premiere ‘Together We Can’ to educate their community, bringing together friends, family, local journalists, the Government Coordinator of FGM and the Mayor of Haringey. They prepared and presented poems, speeches, an interactive quiz show and held a Q&A with an audience of 150, breaking the silence of FGM and inspiring change.
