National Constitution Center to Launch International Photography Exhibition Featuring...

National Constitution Center to Launch International Photography Exhibition
Featuring Work of Students in Philadelphia and Afghanistan
Project Made Possible by American Association of Museums Grant

PHILADELPHIA, July 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Association of
Museums (AAM) has awarded a Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad (MCCA)
grant in the amount of $105,000 to the National Constitution Center to support
a civic photography education program and exhibition titled 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, to 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.

"The MCCA grant is designed to enable students who live on opposite sides of
the globe to create and exchange images of freedom and democracy from their
respective lives," said Linda E. Johnson, President and Chief Executive
Officer of the National Constitution Center. "This international
collaboration reflects the Center's intent to spread its mission beyond
America's shores, promoting open discussion and educational exchange that will
ultimately enrich the experiences of Constitution Center visitors. We are
extremely proud of this initiative and look forward to seeing it flourish."

"The Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad program is emblematic of the
commitment to education and public service embraced by museums everywhere,"
said Ford W. Bell, president of AAM. "This initiative between the National
Constitution Center and the National Museum of Afghanistan illustrates the
essence of the work of museums: to make us think, discover, and celebrate the
common humanity of all the world's citizens."

To launch Being"We the People:" Afghanistan, America and the Minority Imprint,
the Center will provide students from Constitution High School and Marefat
High School with the education and equipment they need to conduct documentary
photography. The students will interpret, through photography, the role of
minorities in a democracy. The project is designed to explore how minorities
in different types of democracies perceive themselves as citizens, and how
they define the concept of citizenship. By documenting their interpretations
of civic themes through photography, the Center believes students in both the
U.S. and Afghanistan might transcend the language and cultural barriers
currently limiting the exchange of ideas between the two countries.

"I believe the proposal submitted by the National Constitution Center in
collaboration with the National Museum of Afghanistan exemplifies the MCAA
goals of engendering lasting ties between U.S. communities and their
counterparts all over the world," said Congressman Robert Brady (D-PA).

Throughout the process, students from both schools will share their progress
and ideas via video conferences, ultimately producing reciprocal exhibitions
to be displayed in Spring 2010.

Being"We the People:" Afghanistan, America and the Minority Imprint will
explore key civic concepts such as justice, liberty, and free expression. For
the exhibition, pairs of Afghan and American students will take pictures
representing one of the themes.

The students also will write accompanying essays explaining the circumstances
under which the photograph was captured, why it is a visual interpretation of
the particular concept, the history of the subject, and the photographer's
background.

"As a student body comprised of mostly minority pupils focused on the study of
active citizenship and democratic deliberation, our school community welcomes
the opportunity to interact with young people in Afghanistan," said Tom
Davidson, Principal of Constitution High School. "As the Afghan students
clarify their own rights and responsibilities in a fledgling democratic
nation, Constitution High School students can share their unique experiences
with American democracy. Through various forms of media, including digital
photography, electronic correspondence, and video conferencing, the world will
become much more intimate and familiar to its next generation of leaders."

"This project will open a window for the students in Afghanistan, giving them
a better understanding of the United States, as well as the changes that have
occurred in our own society," said Aziz Royesh, Director of Marefat High
School. "These students have traumatic memories from the time of the Taliban,
and they hear many negative things about their country. Being "We the People"
gives them a chance to understand and show that, while some things have gone
backwards in our country, Afghanistan has experienced positive change in many
respects. This project will give the students strong hope and optimism, and
the analytical tools to allow them to think for themselves, and then share
what they are thinking with their peers in the United States."

About the Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad Grant
Museums & Communities Collaboration Abroad (MCCA) is a program of the Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State in
partnership with the American Association of Museums. MCCA works to empower
museums to connect people in the U.S. with people abroad, while at the same
time, strengthening ties between the museums and their communities.

About the American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since
1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing
knowledge and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum
community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional and 300
corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital
part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest
achievements of the human experience, past present and future. For more
information, visit www.aam-us.org.

About the National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch St. on Philadelphia's
Independence Mall, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the
ideas and values it represents. The Center serves as a museum, an education
center, and a forum for debate on constitutional issues. The museum
dramatically tells the story of the Constitution from Revolutionary times to
the present through more than 100 interactive, multimedia exhibits, film,
photographs, text, sculpture and artifacts, and features a powerful,
award-winning theatrical performance, "Freedom Rising". The Center also
houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as the
hub for national constitutional education. Also, as a nonpartisan forum for
constitutional discourse, the Center presents - without endorsement - programs
that contain diverse viewpoints on a broad range of issues. For more
information, call 215.409.6700 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org.

SOURCE National Constitution Center

Ashley Berke, Senior Public Relations Manager of National Constitution Center,
+1-215-409-6693, aberke@constitutioncenter.org