SOLOMON ISLANDS REPRESENTED AT UN PANEL ON POWER OF STORYTELLING IN DUBAI

Solomon Islands Deputy Commissioner General and Pavilion Director at the Expo 2020 Dubai, Mr Dennis Marita attended ‘The Power of Visual Storytelling Panel Discussion’ on Monday 25 October at the Spain Pavilion.

Visual Story Telling is a story told primarily through the use of visual media. The story may be told using still photography, illustration, or video, and can be enhanced with graphics, music, voice and other audio.

United Nations Director Outreach for the Division of Global Communications and the UN Commissioner General at Expo 2020 Mr. Maher Nasser was moderator.

Issues discussed focused on the experiences that UN seconded photographers and videographers experienced when documenting in major continents like Africa and the challenges that each one had experienced and how they were able to tell their story and as a result of the circumstances faced.

Commissioner General Nasser said that for Island countries like the Solomon Island, the approach adopted would vary as they were part of countries yet to be connected.

DCG Marita said that the UN organised Panel Discussion had ushered in new and innovative ways of approaching the challenges especially for the Solomon Islands where many people still do not know where we are located geographically.

“We live in a very much unexplored part of the world which is authentic and unique in many ways and in this I am referring to the Pacific of which Solomon Islands is a part of”.

Mr Marita added that “The use of photography and digital platforms will help to bring to light this obscure part of the world to a wider audience. Digital photography plays a vital role in creating greater understanding about our world and ourselves. Events like this Expo provides the very necessary platform to best utilise the art of photography to create better understanding about ourselves and the hidden wonders of this world. In every Pavilion in this Expo Photography plays a key role in telling the narratives about each country and Solomon Islands is not an exception in this regard”.

Discussions between DCG Marita and members of the panel also received positive responses as any future programs as such for the Solomon Islands will be considered a Pilot project.

-GCU Press