ONGOING PHOTOVOICE ACTIVITIES

Participatory photography, or photovoice, has been at the centre of RYVU’s work in Uganda over the past few months. This is an exciting part of the project’s methodology which required the development of particular tools and strategies to engage with refugee youth in participatory and creative ways.

Refugee youth participants were selected in each of the four project locations (Bidibidi, Kampala, Nakivale and Rwamwanja) and provided with cameras, training and local support. They have since taken pictures in their own locations to explore different themes across four weeks, such as volunteering spaces and the impact and change of volunteering (see also this RYVU Snapshot about the work). Overall, the method has been carefully designed to gather rich and meaningful visual data on the lived experiences of volunteering amongst refugee youth.

With the important support of the Youth Advisory Boards in each setting, the photovoice activities are currently in the final stage of data collection. Preliminary data and commentary is revealing new insight into the overlaps between volunteering and paid work, the diverse forms of engagement by young refugees in community activity, and the ways volunteering is imagined and understood by different young people.