This website follows the journey of eight young artists from Lebanon, UAE, Oman and Bahrain as they travel across the UK, in search of a unique portrait of British life. Having won a regional art competition coordinated by HSBC, Local Ministries, and the British Council, the students were invited to take part and develop their ‘creative potential’ as artists, film makers, photographers and writers.

From the bustle of East London to the remote Highlands of Scotland, the eight students and four accompanying teachers will travel to a series of specially chosen locations in England, Scotland and Wales from 6 – 20 July 2008.

“The aim of the project is to give students from the UK and Middle East the chance to communicate and learn from each other in a positive and creative way,” said Offscreen director Stephen Stapleton.

He added: “We are so used to seeing the Middle East through western eyes and I think it will be exciting and deeply insightful to see how young people from the Middle East see us.”

Offscreen hope this journey will be followed closely by students and teachers across the Middle East and the UK as the expedition uses the latest satellite and web technology to communicate from the field to the classroom.

This expedition follows the success of Offscreen’s first student expedition http://www.offscreened.com/expedition/2007 in February 2007.