In-person location: SID-US Office, 2300 N St NW, Washington, D.C.
Virtual location: via Zoom (link will be sent to all registered)
Journalists, aid organizations, and conservation groups have a long history of going into communities not our own and doing good work with good intentions. But the stories we tell about all this—which define what we know and believe about what’s happening there and what those communities need—are outsiders’ stories … because we are outsiders.
At best, this ignores the local peoples’ agency to tell their own stories and misses out on local and indigenous wisdom. At worst it can be misleading and perpetuate systemic dynamics that keep these communities out of the conversations about the future of people and nature, and their role in that future.
In 2023, USAID’s Biodiversity Division, along with implementing partners Fish Right (University of Rhode Island), AIDER, and ACDI/VOCA ran a series of Participatory Photography workshops in the Philippines, Peru, and Madagascar engaging nearly 20 local photographers in sharing their experiences with and perspectives on biodiversity conservation. This session will consider the importance of this approach, outline the basic methodology, and share some of the stories learned from these three workshops.
Registration will close at 4 PM ET on January 24, 2024. Meeting details will be sent to all registered participants shortly thereafter.