I Spy With My Little Eye: An Interfaith Photo Contest
As a storyteller, I have taken words and woven them into language intricacies to create a story. My hope is that my words create a picture in your head and that I either inspire or entertain you or both. It may be that the people who hear these stories see themselves in them, too. Overall, I want to know that the story touches people.
As I work in interfaith, meeting and sharing with people of faith different than my own, I find myself. Interesting isn't it? I actually reach something inside myself when I listen to someone's story, learn of them, their hopes, dreams and aspirations--witness the strength of their faith or tradition. And I get inspired to be more, create more, do more, for the world.
Over the past 7 months I have worked with a young man from the Middle East. I'm so grateful for the technology afforded through SKYPE. Morad shared his story with me and over time, he shared his visions for peace not only in the Middle East, but the world. I am Christian. He is Muslim. I'm an almost-old lady and he's a young man, and he lives in the Middle East, while I leave in America. That sums up our interfaith, intergenerational and intercultural connection of experiences as we shift through the ways to communicate and share. Such wonder, it has lead to a project that we believe on this last day of World Interfaith Harmony Week, will help others share their stories as well.
The "I Spy With My Little Eye"
Based on the popular car game I Spy With My Little Eye, the 2011 NaYA CC project is designed to bring awareness and increase knowledge about interfaith, intercultural and spiritual relationships through photographs and essays. The I Spy With My Little Eye project captures stories of faith and culture through brilliant imagery and gives photographers (beginners and experts) an opportunity to share pictures that tell a story; real stories of real people, places and times. The mission of this competition is to create an exhibition of inspiring photographs that help us understand the Faiths of the World’s Religions, the world’s traditions and culture. The idea that “a picture is worth a thousand words” can work wonders in helping others to understand the complexity of an interfaith world.
A Picture and 1000 words (1000 Kalema)
The theme behind this competition is interfaith cooperation: offering groups and individuals an opportunity to share a story of communities organizing an event, religious traditions and rituals, women and children’s activities; imaginative photography that supports religious and faith traditions, supporting philosophical, sacred and spiritual texts, or illustrative images of people, places and times. There are no limits to the number of submissions, and the body of work presented and photographic entry must be a singular image. Telling a story with each image can be supplemented with quotes or an essay (limited to 150 words).
I Spy With My Little Eye is a peace initiative of Think Peace Media and Communications and NaYA CC. We are United Religions Initiative Cooperation Circles. URI has used appreciate inquiry to help people learn about each other. You can consider this project an appreciate inquiry remake of sorts, where pictures and words can shape how we learn about one another, and how we can learn to appreciate our diversity through that sharing. For guidelines and information, go to www.1000kalema.org.
Peace, P.K. McCary
Committee for 1000Kalema.org
P.K. McCary
Morad Al-Jarrah
Barbara Hartford
Don Free
Rachael Watcher
Please click the following links to view an invitation from myself and Morad Al-Jarrah "To Live in and Interfaith World" and to see the presentation about the competition.
For Guidelines and Information, download the PDF or DOC (Word) version and visit our website at: 1000Kalema.org
