RAMALLAH, West Bank — A West Bank project uses cinematography to create awareness of a wide range of gender issues, from the barriers faced by girls to practice sports to underage girls dropping out of school to get married.

The project, launched in August 2018, focused on state secondary schools in the marginalized areas in the West Bank under the slogan “local communities spearhead defending women and girls’ rights by using audiovisual production.” Carried out by the Teacher Creativity Center in Ramallah, the project was implemented in coordination with the Italian GVC organization as part of the regional, European Union-supported Medfilm project in 11 schools in the West Bank. Another part of the project is underway in nine schools in the Gaza Strip.

Amal Barghouthi, coordinator of the project at the Teacher Creativity Center, told Al-Monitor that the project sought to raise gender awareness among students ages 14-16 by using a camera to highlight a problem and even seek a solution. The project is part of the vision and strategy of the Teacher Creativity Center to use new and modern tools in teaching values such as equality and justice.

In the first phase of the 100,000 euro ($112,600) project, teachers received basic training for several days days on gender equality and how it could be tackled through audiovisual methods. A team from the members of the center and professionals from the Departments of Gender Equality and Arts at the Ministry of Education trained the teachers.