Canon Raise Creative Communities Across Africa

Posted by Eric Ojo Europe, Featured, Latest Headlines Wednesday, June 16th, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) is a division within Canon Middle East FZ LLC (CME) and a subsidiary of Canon Europe has reaffirmed its commitment to building closer ties and collaborations with its customers in Africa.

CCNA on Wednesday invited film and photography communities to get closer and announce collaborations with creative communities in Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria. The move aims to inspire and enrich the next generation of image-makers

The formation of CCNA in 2015 was a strategic step that aimed to enhance Canon’s business within the Africa region, by strengthening Canon’s in-country presence and focus. CCNA also demonstrates Canon’s commitment to operating closer to its customers and meeting their demands in the rapidly evolving African market.

Meanwhile, the first three creative industry players unveiled include, are SYNC School in Cairo, Egypt; Peexoo, a Nigerian photography hub, and the Photographers’ Association of Kenya (PAK).

According to a statement distributed by APO Group on behalf of CCNA, more are welcome as the global imaging leaders would like to develop creative collaborations in every country in the region.

Canon has been a long-standing supporter of film and photography education groups. These relationships can now go deeper by sharing Canon expertise, knowledge and technology, with regular masterclasses, training opportunities, photo booths and competitions.

Sales and Marketing Director at CCNA, Amine Djouahra said CCNC’s mission is to empower people to see the bigger picture, on a grand yet local level.

“In this rapidly changing, image-based culture, we want to explore new and innovative ideas with a wider audience. We believe in enriching local creatives and welcome the opportunity to connect and support the next generation of visual storytellers. By investing expertise, technology and opportunities in them, we hope to enhance their art, skills and future careers”, he said.

SYNC’s founder and creative director, Mustafa Sharara noted that there has been an enthusiastic response to the collaboration with CCNA, adding that SYNC is a community based school of 94,000 for creatives in Egypt with photographers, filmmakers and content creators.

“We are thrilled to build this relationship with Canon and learn, grow and create together”, he added.

Peexoo Co-Founder, tech-preneur, Steven Kelechi Nwadike said Peexoo, a photography hub powered by artificial intelligence, brings together 2,000+ photographers and videographers from across Nigeria.

“We change perceptions through film and photography. We are ecstatic that Canon is joining us on this journey”, he stressed.

Similarly, PAK Treasurer, Victor Otieno said his organization is the leading photographic society in Kenya, representing professionals, amateurs and hobbyists. “We are proud to partner with Canon at this time, a collaboration which will uplift, inspire and encourage our photographic community”, he further stated.

Through the collaborations, community members will gain exclusive access to masterclasses with Canon ambassadors including Emmanuel Oyeleke and Yagazi Emezi who will present a masterclass to Peexoo members and Menna Hossam who will present “Fine art and fashion photographer: Challenges of this genre and the future of creating enchanting images in the era of social media”, to SYNC School members.

In addition, regular competitions will be used to challenge and inspire with exciting prizes such as Canon’s mini phone-to-printer Zoemini, the portable Selphy and the G-Series printers, as well as a compact Powershot SX720 and mirrorless M50 cameras.

Moreover, hands-on ‘touch and try’ sessions with cutting-edge Canon R system technology, EOS cameras and lenses are in the plan with special, members-only discounts available on Canon equipment.

Canon’s interest in developing and recognising excellence both in amateur and professional photographers goes beyond this. The Canon Future Focus programme for students is in its fifth year and the inaugural Redline Challenge for amateur photographers received great response in entries from African region.