News

Students winning ideas to become mountain documentaries

09.04.2021

Two students from the Centro Regional Universitario de Tierras Altas (CRUTA), Edwin De Gracia and Yeferson Martínez, are the winners of the Stories from the Summit contest. Their proposals will be produced into documentaries in 2021.

Mountain Partnership member Fundación CoMunidad, jointly with the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí, CRUTA and Drindod Studios, launched the Stores from the Summit initiative to raise awareness of the important role that the mountains of the Chiriquí Province play for all of Panama and the country's food security in particular.

Tierras Altas and Renacimientos are two municipalities located in the mountains of the Chiriquí Province, an important agricultural area for all of Panama. The soils there are fertile, and most of the food consumed in the rest of Panama is grown there, including potatoes, tomatoes, lettuces, carrots, beets, onions, peppers, coffee, beans, legumes and vegetables.

CRUTA university students were to submit examples from Tierras Altas and Renacimientos that address environmental and socio-cultural issues affecting the area, and highlight sustainable productive activities. Over 200 submissions were received for the contest.

Along with having their proposals turned into documentaries, winners De Gracia and Martínez will receive a cash prize. Pre-production of the documentaries – to discuss a range of topics, including the cultural heritage of Tierra Altas, local government and the mountain biodiversity of the region – will begin in April 2021, and shooting is planned for the second half of the year.

Alberto Pascual, Director of Fundación CoMunidad, said, “Through storytelling we can show the key role that mountain ecosystems play in providing vital goods and services for people in the highlands and downstream.”

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