“Some of us have had the fortune to spend days, times, moments with people from different cultures. From these experiences we can learn so much. So much about how what we read or what we are told by the media is so disjointed and coloured by political agendas and do not speak for the everyday person. Mouth That Roars aims to bridge this gap, to bring people closer to understanding and celebrating our differences. We believe we are only able to do this if we enable the real people who are experiencing the situation to tell us how it is for them.” – MTR
Our Everyday Lives (OEL) is a project that produces films and resources by young people living in areas of disadvantage especially in the Middle East, North Africa and India.
This project does not aim to show a rose tinted view of people’s lives but to represent the reality of their lives & expand people’s knowledge. In addition the counter-effect of this is to hopefully enable us to look at our own lives in a different way. Therefore the aim of this project is to challenge our views and offer another point of view, and most importantly provide a platform in which young people can represent their own lives.
Our opinions of other cultures are generally formed and influenced by what we see in the media rather than from first hand experience. Our values and norms evolve from information fed to us on a daily basis via different mediums. Often we describe other people’s lives, without even having met them. Depending on where we have gained our information, these perceptions can be wrong, misguide, and fuel prejudice and discrimination. In recent years, MTR has recognised the need for young people in Europe, regardless of cultural background, to be more aware of the lives of young people from other countries. In particular, to challenge some of our young people to see beyond designer labels and gadgets’ and recognise that success and quality of life isn’t based on material objects.
‘Our Everyday Lives’ invites us to explore how real our perceptions of different cultures is and aims to increase global awareness by provoking dialogue about local and global identity; our own and that of others.
Projects so Far
OEL has produced many films made by young people in countries like Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Kurdistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and India. OEL is looking to expand this work and develop sustainable media projects in certain areas within these countries and throughout the Middle East and South Asia in order to develop networks between these young people to share knowledge and experience.
Please click on the countries for project details and watch our international films on
Funding and Donations
As there is no external funding for our international work, all our overseas projects are solely funded by MTR. As MTR is a not for profit organisation we need funding to continue our work internationally.
If you would like to offer a donation and support an international project please contact Denise Rose at MTR or visit our donation page.
By helping towards the costs of a specific production you will receive a credit at the end of the film and be featured on any publicity if you wish.
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