Beyond Vision, Ecuador
Photography by street children in Ecuador
In 2005 two photographers, Lara Kay and Lynn Weddle, established the Beyond Vision photography project in partnership with Juconi, working with street children in Ecuador to provide them with photographic skills to document their situation, challenge public perception, and to give them valuable opportunities for employment in the future. In 2008, PhotoVoice is working in partnership with Juconi for the second stage of the project, generously funded for three years by Insight Investment.
Photographic courses with street children are currently being run in partnership with the Chantal Fontaine School of Photography in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
On completion of the beginner’s course an advanced programme will run for some of the most enthusiastic and talented young photographers. They will learn not only photographic skills but transferable IT skills such as website design, and will also have the opportunity for tutorials and portfolio reviews with professional photographers. Four month internships within the photographic industry in Ecuador, alongside encouragement to enter photographic competitions and exhibitions, will help raise their profile and professionalism and broadening their opportunities for employment.
Participants on the advanced course will also be trained as peer educators. During the final project period they will establish a workshop schedule and run photographic workshops to other young people recruited through Juconi’s programmes. These workshops will concentrate on photography as a creative outlet and enable to the children to speak out about the issues affecting their lives.
A travelling exhibition of images will be produced and launched first in Ecuador (Guayaquil and Quito) and go on to be shown around Latin America. An international exhibition will also be launched with opportunities to exhibit in both the UK and USA. The exhibition will focus on images in which the young people document their lives and communicate their opinions to public audiences and policy makers.
“Giving children who literally have nothing access to the luxury of cameras and images of themselves and their lives is a significant contribution in itself. From Juconi’s perspective the lasting impact of Beyond Vision has been bringing to the children a realisation that what they choose to photograph is a communication from them. This has led to the children thinking about what it is they are saying both within and beyond this project. These messages are found and put into words and are then available not only to communicate to others but also to communicate to themselves.”
Sylvia Reyes Director of Juconi, Ecuador, 2005 (feedback after Beyond Vision’s first workshops)
Partners
JUCONI (Junto Con los Niños or Together with the Children) was founded in 1995 as an Ecuadorian not-for-profit organisation that provides specialised educational and therapeutic services to street-working children and their families.
Juconi's educational methodology is internationally recognized. It provides highly personalized services for the child and family based upon an individually designed education and therapeutic plan addressing all four areas of human development: physical, emotional, cognitive and social.
The Chantal Fontaine School of Photography is a prestigious establishment based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It is run by Chantal Fontaine, a professional photographer, and provides key commercial photographic services, running a digital studio, an agency and production services. In addition The Chantal Fontaine School runs an acclaimed educational programme – co-ordinating short-term to degree level courses.