34 Photo Voice for Exploring Community Issues
“According to Wang and Burris, creators of the process, a Photovoice project should aim to: empower individuals to document and reflect on community assets and concerns, and invite critical dialogue and create knowledge about important community issues while using photographs as a medium for group discussion.” –Photo Voice
Purpose
Photo Voice was developed as a participatory action research method that encourages community citizens to explore their perceptions of different aspects of their lives through photography and narratives.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Document aspects of their reality with photos or video.
- Discuss the personal significance of the chosen images.
- Write captions explaining the meaning of the images.
- Create a gallery event to share their findings and insights.
Here are two case studies of Photo Voice being used to explore community issues.
Case Study #1 Selkirk College, British Columbia, Canada, Classroom and Community Service Worker Students
Students from a CCSW class were exploring issues of diversity and inclusion on their campus and community. Their instructor assigned a photo voice project to examine their own experiences and then use the photos and narratives as launch pads for critical analysis of issues on campus. Students were asked to walk around the campus and take pictures that responded to the following question:
What has contributed to your sense of belonging or isolation as a Selkirk student?
Trying out this approach for themselves, gave the social service students another tool that they could use with community groups wanting to share their lived experience of assets and challenges. Class findings were displayed in the campus community area and throughout the week the photo-voice artists facilitated dialogues about “belonging and isolation” with other students, staff and faculty who passed by the display.
Follow-Up to Photo Voice Event
Following a photo-voice event, it is important for the group of citizen photographers to debrief the overall themes that were gathered and brainstorm next action steps that might address some of the concerns raised. For example, the follow-up to this photo voice exhibition, included dialogue about the campus assets and challenges and the group decided to present their findings to a Deans and Chairs management meeting. They proposed practical initiatives that could improve inclusion and belonging on campus.
Video Photo Voice
The Selkirk photo voice exploration was inspired by a workshop from educator and film maker Amy Bohigan.
Here is one of Amy’s videos that captures allows a group of youth to share their experiences of substance use.
Voices from the Margins: Photo Voice
Case Study #2 Youth Engagement Project, Khorog, Tajikistan
In the remote town of Khorog in Tajikistan, the Ismaili education committee was concerned about the behavior and mental health of their youth. We were approached to work with the highschool