Behind the Blackboard
Behind the Blackboard Project is a socially engaged project that consisted of workshops in schools for 12-16 year olds students in different countries. The workshops lasted 1–3 months, giving young people a creative space to re-imagine their surroundings and turn their visions into reality. Participants studied and analysed problems within their school communities, developed solutions, and put them into practice through artistic and activist methods. In some of the productions youth documented the workshop processes on video, which were then edited into documentaries.
The project has been implemented in Helsinki City Kaisaniemi- and Keinutie Primary Schools in Finland 2015; Ambition Ideal School & College in Chattogram, Bangladesh 2016; Shree Rajeshwori Higher Secondary School in Sipapokhare, Sindhupalchowk and Dibya Joyti English Medium School in Bungmati, Lalitpur, Nepal 2017.
In Keinutie Primary School in Helsinki, for example, students used participatory video to resolve conflicts within their class community. On May Day, they launched a campaign by distributing a thousand balloons with printed messages highlighting the school’s problems to raise awareness. This artistic intervention was carried out both within the school and at a bustling Helsinki University metro station in the city.
In Bangladesh, for example, students at Ambition Ideal School & College sought to address the lack of communication among their peers by creating a social space for students that functioned also as a library. At Dibya Joyti English Medium School in Nepal, students faced difficulties hearing their lessons due to poor soundproofing in their temporary shelter school, which had been set up after their original building was destroyed in an earthquake. To rectify this, the students designed and constructed soundproofing using local materials, improving the acoustics of their classroom.
The project has been implemented in Helsinki City Kaisaniemi- and Keinutie Primary Schools in Finland 2015; Ambition Ideal School & College in Chattogram, Bangladesh 2016; Shree Rajeshwori Higher Secondary School in Sipapokhare, Sindhupalchowk and Dibya Joyti English Medium School in Bungmati, Lalitpur, Nepal 2017.
In Keinutie Primary School in Helsinki, for example, students used participatory video to resolve conflicts within their class community. On May Day, they launched a campaign by distributing a thousand balloons with printed messages highlighting the school’s problems to raise awareness. This artistic intervention was carried out both within the school and at a bustling Helsinki University metro station in the city.
In Bangladesh, for example, students at Ambition Ideal School & College sought to address the lack of communication among their peers by creating a social space for students that functioned also as a library. At Dibya Joyti English Medium School in Nepal, students faced difficulties hearing their lessons due to poor soundproofing in their temporary shelter school, which had been set up after their original building was destroyed in an earthquake. To rectify this, the students designed and constructed soundproofing using local materials, improving the acoustics of their classroom.
Work info
JP Kaljonen, Lauri Ståhlberg (Behind the Blackboard Helsinki); JP Kaljonen, Abu Naser Robii (Behind the Blackboard Chattogram); JP Kaljonen, Abu Naser Robii, Rabin Maharjan, Muna Bhadel (Behind the Blackboard Siphapokare & Bungamati / production: Rebuilding Recaptured project), socially engaged project, 3 x 1-channel video installaations, 30 min / 16:9 / HD, Finland, Bangladesh, Nepal 2015-2017.