Being We, the People at the Center and Beyond

Welcome back to another exciting year of civic learning with the National Constitution Center!

To begin the 2009-2010 school year, the National Constitution Center proudly announces a new education program and exhibition focusing on civic photography entitled, Being “We the People:” Afghanistan, America and the Minority Imprint.

Students from Constitution High School in Philadelphia, PA and Marefat High School in Kabul, Afghanistan will collaborate on the exhibition that will be hosted at the National Constitution Center and the National Museum of Afghanistan, as part of the Center’s International Engagement Project. The Project is dedicated to establishing international exchange and promoting constitutional principles to emerging democracies through educational and civic learning initiatives.

To launch Being “We the People:” Afghanistan, America and the Minority Imprint, the Center has provided students from CHS and Marefat High School with the education and equipment they need to conduct documentary photography. The students will use photography to explore how minorities in different types of democracies perceive themselves as citizens, and how they define the concept of citizenship. Students are guided by six themes, which they can interpret how they choose. The themes are: work, religion, participation, expression, commerce, myself. The themes were drawn from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and sections of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Each day this week we will introduce you to different contributors to the project. Beginning September 4, you can follow the project's progress each Friday here on the Civic Learning Blog and on Shutterfly, where many of the students’ pictures will be posted.

This is an exciting educational endeavor and we hope that you will be as interested as we are to discovering what these remarkable students will produce. Tomorrow, we will meet Marefat High School in Afghanistan.

To learn more, visit the Center's press room by clicking here.