ISLAMABAD:The British Council on Thursday announced as many as five winners of its Gender Ecologies Grant Project which was aimed at supporting the development and delivery of those projects which explored the intersection of women, climate change and arts.
The grants, which support collaboration between Pakistan and the UK, were open for applications from October to November 2022, said a news release.
The five winners included “The Way We Ate” by SOC Films and Legacy West Midlands, “Breaking the Waves: Stories of Women from the Indus Delta” by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan and Film London, “Understanding Indigenous Theory on the Environment through the Female Lens” by Marvi Mazhar & Associates and University of Westminster, “The River’s Daughter” – a multilingual theatre musical by ALL4ONE Communications (Private) Limited and Insaan Culture Club Limited, and “Permaculture Gardens of Resilience” by Apnakam and Adrian’s Croft.
“The five winning grants represent the best of Pakistan and UK collaboration and feature some extremely innovative ideas,” said British Council Pakistan Head of Arts Laila Jamil.
She said from a virtual ‘Museum of Food’ to theatre musicals and community kitchens teaching permaculture, there was a real diversity of platforms and ideas. “I cannot wait for the projects to get underway so they can be shared more widely,” She added.
“Climate change is one of our main priorities at the British Council as it is one of the most urgent global challenges we face, particularly affecting the Global South,” she maintained.
Through artistic engagement, she said the projects were aimed at communicating climate issues and promoting sustainable practices, highlighting the essential role women play in mitigating the impact of climate change.
British Council Regional Head of Arts for South Asia Mariya Afzal said “the Gender Ecologies Grant is the final legacy project of our Pakistan/UK: New Perspectives programme which celebrated the 75th anniversary of Pakistan.”
“Through the programme, we were able to partner with 55 organisations, engage face-to-face with over 31,000 people and reach over 80 million people through online, print, radio and television media in Pakistan and the UK,” she added.