SAY CHEESE! Minsk, Belarus, March 21-23, 2013
Photography in Eastern Partnership countries, challenges and solution was the theme of the international conference held in Minsk (Belarus), hosted in the local Journalism University on March 21 to 23. FEP was represented by the FEP CEO, Giuseppe Scozzi.
The entire program has been funded by the EU, under the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme. Partner countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The aims of the programme, called SAY CHEESE! are related to the capacity building, networking and promotion of Eastern Partnership photography. The project duration is 30 months and it will be practically devoted on several meetings, a search on needs and expectations (1,500 answers already received), building a common web portal for the associations, and finally publishing a Family album where the best of the photography around the involved countries will be included. As a practical result, people representing associations who did not cooperate since the soviet times, or countries which recently even fought, had the chance to meet within colleagues and start networking in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere . The presentations made by the single delegations and the collective photo exhibition opened in a Museum gallery during the event, showed an advanced technical and artistic standard by the local colleagues. Most of the exposed pictures where good reportages, with some landscapes, fine art pictures and a few portraits. 
On the second day, a round table was dedicated to the prospect for partnership between organizations, business and cooperation with western countries and the FEP. The FEP CEO illustrated FEP, its activities and membership opportunities, getting a lot of interesting reactions from the attending delegates. They are very interested in entering the FEP qualification system, in getting support about matters like marketing, branding, promotion, etc. and to meet in future with some of our best qualified photographers.
As a result of the meeting , FEP will be invited again for the next phases of the project. In the meanwhile, the single associations will discuss at their board level to possibly apply for a FEP membership in the very near future. With this in mind, a possible problem to face is that – so far- the national unions have mixed membership of professional photographers , school teachers, students, and so called pro-sumers and advanced amateurs. However, all associations are willing in case to adjust their constitutions, to found brand new bodies or to create fully professional sections within the actual ones, to become eligible as FEP members. FEP will send all attending delegations information about it and is to invite them to attend as witnesses our next meetings.
(C) Pictures by Pavlov Vladzimir
Photography in Eastern Partnership countries, challenges and solution was the theme of the international conference held in Minsk (Belarus), hosted in the local Journalism University on March 21 to 23. FEP was represented by the FEP CEO, Giuseppe Scozzi.The entire program has been funded by the EU, under the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme. Partner countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The aims of the programme, called SAY CHEESE! are related to the capacity building, networking and promotion of Eastern Partnership photography. The project duration is 30 months and it will be practically devoted on several meetings, a search on needs and expectations (1,500 answers already received), building a common web portal for the associations, and finally publishing a Family album where the best of the photography around the involved countries will be included. As a practical result, people representing associations who did not cooperate since the soviet times, or countries which recently even fought, had the chance to meet within colleagues and start networking in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere . The presentations made by the single delegations and the collective photo exhibition opened in a Museum gallery during the event, showed an advanced technical and artistic standard by the local colleagues. Most of the exposed pictures where good reportages, with some landscapes, fine art pictures and a few portraits. On the second day, a round table was dedicated to the prospect for partnership between organizations, business and cooperation with western countries and the FEP. The FEP CEO illustrated FEP, its activities and membership opportunities, getting a lot of interesting reactions from the attending delegates. They are very interested in entering the FEP qualification system, in getting support about matters like marketing, branding, promotion, etc. and to meet in future with some of our best qualified photographers. As a result of the meeting , FEP will be invited again for the next phases of the project. In the meanwhile, the single associations will discuss at their board level to possibly apply for a FEP membership in the very near future. With this in mind, a possible problem to face is that – so far- the national unions have mixed membership of professional photographers , school teachers, students, and so called pro-sumers and advanced amateurs. However, all associations are willing in case to adjust their constitutions, to found brand new bodies or to create fully professional sections within the actual ones, to become eligible as FEP members. FEP will send all attending delegations information about it and is to invite them to attend as witnesses our next meetings.
