Wide Angle

Photograph by Sean Duggan

With a snap of the shutter, children in Tibet have photographed the elders in their village, and youngsters from Kenya have captured footage of the games they like to play.

With help from Bridges to Understanding, a Seattle nonprofit group, they can share those digital stories with children from other countries and cultures.

Bridges was founded five years ago by Phil Borges, a photographer who has shot images of indigenous people around the world. The charity leads international workshops to teach schoolchildren how to use cameras and software to compile digital videos about their heritage.

With locations in Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, and South Africa, Bridges has little trouble finding American volunteers who are willing to pay travel and training costs to participate in helping the charity’s staff members guide the cultural projects. The group also relies on local teachers in the countries in which it operates, who are found through the International Education and Resource Network, in New York.

Bridges also hosts seminars in the United States, to allow American students to make their own videos and watch the work of their peers overseas, and to encourage the young filmmakers to communicate directly with each other online.

“This is the first time that we have the opportunity to not just study about the world, but with the world,” says Greg Tuke, executive director of Bridges.

About one-third of the charity’s current budget of $280,000 is derived from membership fees from schools and the training and travel fees paid by the volunteers for their trips abroad, with another one-third raised from individuals, and the remainder from grants. Some companies have pitched in: Getty Images, the stock-photography company, donates office space, and Adobe and Microsoft have provided software and equipment, and encouraged their employees to volunteer their time to the group.

Here, Mr. Borges gives photographic tips to a participant during a workshop in Peru.