Creativity for life:  A photo exhibition about how the power of creativity can change the world

MANN – National Archaeological Museum of Naples
15th September – 12th December 2022

  • Videndum Media Solutions’ CSR projects in support of the Jonathan Association, in 81 snapshots
  • Since 2014, these projects have been sponsored by the Department of Juvenile Justice at the Italian Ministry of Justice
  • Helping disadvantaged children and promoting environmental sustainability
  • The company received the Amato Lamberti Award for Social Responsibility

Naples, 15 September 2022 – How can a more sustainable and inclusive future be captured through the lens of a camera? The answer is provided by Videndum Media Solutions, the largest division of the UK-based Videndum plc. With its headquarters and seven production facilities in northern Italy, the Division designs, manufactures and distributes hardware and software solutions for content creators via world-leading brands such as Manfrotto, JOBY, Gitzo, Lowepro and Rycote.

The retrospective “Creativity for Life, a photo exhibition about how the power of creativity can change the world” opened today at MANN – National Archaeological Museum of Naples and will continue until 12th December.

The Videndum Media Solutions social responsibility programme began in 2014 under the name “Picture of Life”, founded as a joint venture between the not-for-profit Jonathan Association in Naples and the Department of Juvenile Justice at the Italian Ministry of Justice. Now known as “Creativity of Life”, the project offers the chance for rehabilitation to young people who have been and are experiencing social hardship, via an educational course in photography and video-making. It does so by offering its expertise, products and vast community of content creators who currently work with Videndum Media Solutions brands around the world. Videndum Media Solutions has also launched CSR projects internationally, in the UK, USA, South Africa and more recently in Asia.

Videndum Media Solutions received the “Amato Lamberti” Award for Social Responsibility, organised by the not-for-profit Jonathan Association and the Gesco group of social enterprises, with technical co-ordination by Exit Communication. On 10th September at the European Study Centre on Nisida, Videndum Media Solutions received its award, in the Enterprise category.

“Incorporating a social purpose into our business forms an integral part of our strategy to contribute to value creation for all internal and external stakeholders. At Videndum Media Solutions, we’re convinced that economic value and social value can be pursued and can be of mutual support to each other. Creativity for Life is the tangible proof of this winning synergy”, said Marco Pezzana, CEO of Videndum Media Solutions.

“This commitment has led us to extend social responsibility projects to an international level, on the basis of the experience gained in Naples, and to develop an ESG strategy in line with the objectives of the United Nations”, he added. “We now have over 50 active projects alongside our CSR work, with ambitious goals in terms of diversity and reducing CO2 emissions (Carbon Neutral by 2025).

“Our CSR programmes are aimed at making a positive impact on society via our plans for communications and community participation, although they also focus on value creation in the local area. We can do so courtesy of the collaboration of local authorities, NGOs and our associates, who make up the true engine of these initiatives. We also create value in the local area via the industrial strategy – a clear example of re-shoring some of the production from Manfrotto and JOBY in China to our manufacturing facilities in Feltre (Belluno province), where we have made investment to add value in this local area. The Feltre plants are ISO-certified for their quality, environment and safety”, Pezzana concluded.

A strategy focused on change, the same way as the young people at the not-for-profit Jonathan Association taking part in photography and video-making courses, to tell their stories of sustainability and recovery in the local area, to build a better future for themselves too.

PROJECTS

  1. Shots for a New Life, Change, Invisible Cities, Beauty (Naples, Jonathan Association, 2014-2015-2016-2017). In Naples, the Jonathan Association is dedicated to marginalised young people; its services include training in photography and video-making techniques, made possible by its collaboration with Videndum Media Solutions. The youngsters therefore have the opportunity to overcome their hardships and make a new start towards a better future, by gaining professional experience. To support the project, Videndum Media Solutions has set up a permanent photography studio, to provide the participants with the photo equipment they need throughout the programme, and takes care of every aspect of the courses. The courses held from 2014 to 2017 were entitled “Shots for a New Life”, “Change”, “Invisible Cities” and “Beauty”.

  2. Change (Vicenza, Donna Chiama Donna, 2015). The project's course in Vicenza was attended by people helped by Donna Chiama Donna, an association to assist female victims of violence. The theme for 2015 was the power of Change to create new opportunities in life. Photography training enabled these women to use creativity to express their feelings and help them deal with difficult times in their lives.

  3. Change (Birmingham, BID Services, 2016). Following the success of the first courses in Naples, the project was revived in Birmingham (United Kingdom) and in New York. In 2015, the first Creativity for Life project in Birmingham involved a group of young people with hearing impairments who were having trouble finding a job. The option to learn the techniques of professional photographers and to learn how to use photography equipment represented a real opportunity for them to change, in line with the name of that year's project.

  4. Invisible Cities (New York, NYC Salt, 2016). The project run in 2016 in New York, entitled Invisible Cities, was aimed at teenagers from the city’s immigrant communities. Often underrepresented, these young people were in the best position to take a fresh look at the urban environment. Even a city photographed as often as New York conceals aspects that almost always remain invisible to most people’s eyes.

  5. The Gold of Naples (Naples, Jonathan Association, 2019). The word ‘gold’ in the title (recalling the 1954 film of the same name) refers to the typically Neapolitan ability to make do with the resources available, and the pleasure of sharing them with others. The socially excluded young people involved in this project, focused on sustainability, were tasked with capturing stories to illustrate “The Gold of Naples” in the city at the time.

  6. Street photography: "The New Normal" (Naples, Jonathan Association, 2020). Organized after the first national lockdown in Italy, the 2020 photography project at the Jonathan Association took place on the streets of Naples, in order to document the “new normal”. The course participants – once again a group of disadvantaged young people – were invited to capture a variety of scenes from everyday life during the pandemic.

  7. A Sustainable Future (Naples, Jonathan Association, 2021 & 2022). The project for disadvantaged children in 2021 and 2022 focused on the theme of “A Sustainable Future”. In 2021, landscape photography was intended as an invitation to preserve the beauty of nature, as part of a project consisting of snapshots to illustrate the beauty of Procida, a plastics-free island, and the work done by volunteers on the beaches of Castel Volturno there. Staff from Videndum Media Solutions were also involved, together with the beneficiaries of the Jonathan Association. Conversely, the 2022 project was aimed at training participants in video-making, to document the work done by three Neapolitan companies strongly committed to sustainability: the bag manufacturer Le Zirre, the creative recycling laboratory S'Arte and Pizzeria Martucci. The Association's project was aimed at building a more sustainable future for the young participants, and likewise these three organisations are committed to creating a better future on a daily basis, via their respective sustainability strategies.

  8. Chicago, 100cameras, 2019. New York, 100cameras, 2021. 100cameras is a not-for-profit organisation, working with teenagers from all over the world to teach them how to process and tell their stories via content creation. 100cameras provides young people with a platform to sell their photos. It returns 100% of the proceeds to local communities, so young people realise their contribution is making a real difference. In 2019, Videndum Media Solutions’ JOBY brand joined forces with 100cameras at DRW College Prep, a school in Chicago's North Lawndale neighbourhood whose former students face the challenges of a lack of resources on a daily basis. The programme let the participants experiment with the camera in the new iPhone 11 and with JOBY solutions for smartphones. Pursuing the same goal, the 2021 project involved the Theodore D. Young Center in White Plains, New York state.

  9. Empowering Women Photographers (South Africa, Wild Shots Outreach, 2021-2022). Wild Shots Outreach involves and raises awareness among young people on the theme of environmental and nature conservation through photography. The programme was aimed primarily at high school students growing up near the Kruger National Park. The participants – destined to become the activists of tomorrow – developed new skills and learned about the natural world around them. The 2022 edition was designed specifically to involve female students – via a photography project for the Lowepro Pro Trekker line of backpacks, a Videndum Media Solutions brand – in content creation in this field.