" There's really no such thing as the 'Voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard."
Arundhati Roy, 2004 Sydney Peace Prize Winner
The above quote speaks volume of unheard voices and unseen pictures depicting the true state of oppressed and unprivileged.
Inspired from Photo Voice, a participatory research method that uses photography and group dialogue as a means for less privileged people to voice their issues or concerns in the community, this post highlights the strong impact of visual imagery accompanied with meaningful dialogues. The marginalised groups might be limited in their reach due to gender, caste, age, poverty, culture, language barriers or any other reason. This form of photography has been used for past two decades to reach to policy decision makers.
"The lesson an image teaches does not reside in its physical structure, but rather how people interpret the image in Question."
The process of Photovoice could be used to address a variety of concerns ranging from wellbeing, health, skills, value and character building, racial discrimination, food assessment etc.
This method can be applied to classroom settings to ask open - ended questions, raise critical thinkers, influence policy and decision makers, and most importantly to bring a social change.
The process itself might require some planning and collaboration.
What does courage look like ?
Courage looks like wobbly knees, parched throat, tummy upside down. Yet it feels like we can make it to the top of the world.
What does Self Care look like?
How important it is in our busy lives to stop and pause for a moment, to just breathe and just take SELF CARE breaks.
What does Happiness look like ?
Happiness looks like a doughnut in the mouth and eyes laid on another one.;
What does Resilience Look Like?
Resilience look like playing Ukelele, developing sore fingers yet bearing the pain to advance and hear the soothing music after.
Few things to consider before you may organise a Photovoice campaign with teachers, students or your community.
1. Photovoice should be participatory and a collaborative process. All stakeholders should be involved in planning and implementation. This will call for responsibility and action.
2. Participants might need training in handling the camera and related equipment, recording a documentary and the photograph ethics.
3. Participants need a safe and encouraging environment to show and discuss their photos.
4. Photovoice is not just about taking images. It about contextual meaning to the photo and the perspective.
5. Action is vital as an end result of this process. Action can mean of number of things from a small change in positive thoughts generated from imagery to start of new initiatives in the organisation.
Photovoice promises to be a significant tool in making unheard and unseen prominent. The part of the process is effective when those photos are seen and are integral in decision making. It is an integral tool built on individuals and communities images and words expressing needs, concerns and changes.
References :
Rabinowitz, Phil. “Section 20. Implementing Photovoice in Your Community.” Chapter 3. Assessing Community Needs and Resources | Section 20. Implementing Photovoice in Your Community | Main Section | Community Tool Box, ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/photovoice/main.
“PhotoVoice Project.” Empowering the Spirit, empoweringthespirit.ca/photovoice-project/.
Nykiforuk, Candace I J, et al. “Photovoice as a Method for Revealing Community Perceptions of the Built and Social Environment.” International Journal of QualitativeMethods, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4933584/.
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