Canon has announced that it has launched a Canon Experience Centre in Kenya in partnership with Ishara Mara.
The centre is located at Ishara, a luxury tented camp, in Maasai Mara. The new experience centre by Canon Central and North Africa is dedicated towards providing premium camera equipment, video and picture editing facilities and printing services to tourists and the community in Maasai Mara.
The Canon Experience Centre will offer visitors a range of options to explore the captivating beauty of the national park. Canon’s touch and try experience at the centre will allow visitors to use the company’s premium cameras, lenses with lens bar experience, and binoculars with binocular bar experience along with official Canon Experience vehicles. There is a dedicated kid’s zone at the center will offer engaging opportunities for families with children to interact, engage and immerse in the world of photography with products such as Selphy, Zoe mini along with access to Canon’s creative park – Pixma. Additionally, a family photo-booth at the centre with exciting dress-up and back-drop options for adults and kids has been setup to turn moments into memories. Photography enthusiasts will also be able to get their own photographs printed at the print centre.
Visitors to Ishara can enjoy a tour that incorporates wildlife and nature photography lessons at the center or during game drives along with an option of a mentor assistance. Additionally, the experience centre will also be part of some guided tours provided by external agencies in order to ensure maximum access for general public. Visitors at the centre will also be invited to participate in Best Shot photography competition with the winning shots being displayed at Canon Mara gallery at the center. Furthermore, yearly Mara photography awards will be organized to recognize the best wildlife photographs taken during the year.
“We are extremely proud of this partnership with Ishara Mara that is rooted in spreading awareness and education as well as empowerment of the local communities. Through the Canon Experience Centre at the Ishara Mara, our vision is to create a space where each party be it the visitors or the local communities or even nature itself, can benefit in some way. There is something for everyone at the center and it is the true embodiment of Canon’s core philosophy of Kyosei which means living and working together for the common good,” said Somesh Adukia, Managing Director – Canon Central and North Africa.
The Canon Experience Centre at Ishara Mara will also educate and train local Maasai indigenous tour-guides with photography skills thus transforming them into Canon ambassadors and content creators. The first step of the program will see local Maasai guides get a thorough understanding of the basics of photography along with a comprehensive training on how to use Canon equipment to further enable and empower them to teach guests, photographers, tourists as well as local Maasai people.
The initiative also looks at encouraging the local community in the area to become content creators by creating content on various topics such as Human Coexistence with the Environment and Wildlife, Maasai Tribe and Culture, Wildlife Photography, Wildlife Beauty, Protection, Preservation and Environmental Conservation. Likewise, the initiative also looks at promoting and empowering women to become Maasai tour-guides by providing various training and educational opportunities. Canon will further support these trained guides to purchase official Canon equipment through its exclusive packages designed for the Maasai tour guides. A referral scheme from Canon will allow the Maasai tour guides to earn an added commission should a Canon customer visit the experience center.
The Canon Experience Centre at Ishara Mara is open to the public from 16th March 2022. For more details, please go here ishara.ke