An Arabic language DVD about saving water and energy has been produced by Granville Youth and Community Recreation Centre (GYCRC) of Parramatta City Council as part of a community outreach project.
Participants in the Arabic environmental DVD project.
The project completed over five days included a one day energy savings workshop run by the Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW (ECC) and the Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW .
This was followed by four days of film making workshops run by TAFE Outreach and facilitated by Johnnie Tran, a professional film maker from Western Sydney. On completion of the program the students representing a wide range of ages (19 to 50) and six different cultural groups received a TAFE statement for the film making activities, which included script writing, acting, voice over and other elements of film making.
GYCRC Team Leader, Bonnie Hittmann says that the Arabic language DVD with English subtitles is a great tool to engage communities in energy conservation that may otherwise be hard to reach.
"The nine participants in the project have increased their understanding and appreciation for saving water and energy and have become activists and educators in their own communities, as well as developing their skills and interest in film making.
"Through the project, friendships were developed, cross cultural understanding was achieved and self esteem was improved,"
Ms Hittmann said.
DVD copies of the eight minute short film are being distributed to community service providers who work with Arabic speaking communities. The project was funded by the Local Community Services Association (LCSA) as part of the Sustaining Eco-friendly Communities program funded by the NSW Government's Our Environment - it's a living thing Integrated Sustainability Education Program.
Watch the Arabic Language Energy and Water Conservation film for free now.
For more information or to order a copy of the DVD: