Thanks to our contributors, PHOTOVOICE IRAQ: Picturing Change  has met its crowd funding goal and is now fully in development mode as we prepare to take the project into the field.

---

Picture this:

PHOTOVOICE IRAQ: Picturing Change will teach twenty young Iraqis (ages 10-25) to use the power of photography and their own voices to raise public awareness and reach decision makers about the issues that they care most about.

Picturing Change will use photovoice, a method that combines photography with community-based, grass-roots social action and written reflections. Primarily used in community development, public health, and education, photovoice has transformed lives and empowered youth in the United States, China, Brazil, and a dozen other countries around the world.

For 8 weeks, a diverse group of Iraqi youth will use cameras and personal narratives to explore how Iraq has changed, and how that change is affecting their lives and future aspirations. Then, they will photograph and write about the positive change that they hope to see within their lifetimes, and how they see themselves being a part of that change.

The young Iraqis picturing change will help EPIC better understand the needs and aspirations of Iraq’s youth, supporting the development of programs that best serve them.  We will present the youths’ findings at a public exhibition in Iraq, inviting top policy-makers, education officials, youth organizations, and local and regional major media like al-Jazeera.   We will also gain valuable knowledge and experience about how to advance innovative ideas in the field of education.

Photovoice has already transformed lives and empowered youth all over the world. With Picturing Change, EPIC is taking photovoice to Iraq.

 

Ready for the Close-Up?

What is the plan for Picturing Change? Click to read more about how the program will be implemented.

 

---

Special Thanks to our friends and partners!

The Tiziano Project provides community members in conflict, post-conflict, and underreported regions with equipment, training, and affiliations necessary to tell their stories and improve their lives. With funding from the Knight Foundation, The Tiziano Project developed StoriesFrom.us, an open platform for digital storytelling and community documentaries. We are excited to be working with our friends at The Tiziano Project, and we’re exploring opportunities for further collaborations.

Freelance photographer Henry Arvidsson spent five years in Iraq during the early ’90s, and returned in 2011 to document life in Baghdad.  He was kind enough to let us use some of our favorites of his photos as our campaign imagery.  You can find his collections at www.henryarvidsson.com.

Like the photography that you see in the video? Many of the photographs are the work ofMetrography, Iraq’s first independent photo agency. Learn more at www.metrography.photoshelter.com