Facilitating youth participation in a context of forced migration: A Photovoice project in northern Uganda

This paper describes a documentary photography (Photovoice) project conducted in 2007 with young people (ages 12 to 16) living in an internal displacement camp in northern Uganda during a time of great transition following more than 20 years of civil war. Twelve students were randomly selected from three schools after several weeks of instruction in English and photography. Over the course of six weeks, students used digital cameras to document life in their communities. The students and the facilitators met weekly to discuss the images and to identify and reflect on community issues. The students' work was then used to advocate for community change and to raise support for their secondary school fees. This paper reports on the adaptation of the Photovoice method (Wang and Burris 1994, 1997) in a setting of internal displacement to be a tool for engaging youths in conversations about their communities and pursuing individual and social change. © The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Duke Scholars

Author Eric P Green Duke Global Health Institute