Tool 17: Photovoice When to use Purpose Time Resources Stages 3 & 4 A tool that uses photography for identifying issues, creating community action and evaluating the outcomes of an activity. Various – usually over days/weeks Mobile phone and a way of presenting photos Photovoice Photovoice is a tool that works very effectively with a human rights community-led development approach. Through photos, sourced from multiple people’s views, the community can ‘map’ itself, building a picture about who it is - its assets, its issues, what its members may be experiencing. Photovoice enables a community to: • record and reflect on what matters – both positive and negative • hear from those who may often be overlooked and who would prefer to express themselves through imagery • develop consciousness about the community’s circumstances and the human rights issues that impact on them • identify what an ‘ideal community’ looks like and be able to work toward it • set a baseline against which comparisons can be made. Key steps when using Photovoice for HRCLD. Community members: 1. Photograph scenes that highlight those issues that most matter to them, recording in a notebook enough detail to recognise why the photo was taken 2. Share these photos with each other in small or large groups. 3. Better understand them through discussion – what, why, who, what if etc. 4. Collate them into themes. 5. Develop stories and understanding about what the photos are showing. 6. From this understanding begin to address the issues they have identified. APF HRCLD Guide 88