Lens on Life Project provides photography and digital literacy training that enables systemically excluded youth to overcome trauma, reclaim their narratives, and expand their opportunities to realize their full potential and become catalysts for change in communities around the world.
Lens on Life works with systemically excluded young people who have experienced conflict, extreme poverty, displacement, incarceration, and homelessness. Youth in the places we work are faced with common challenges; 1) Lack of extracurricular resources to explore the creative arts and develop skills to enter the globalized workforce, 2) concentrated and continued adult mentorship and professional guidance, and 3) connection to a world outside of their neighborhoods and camps.
Lens on Life programming has been sought out by communities across the world where the global skill deficit remains immense and even reaching basic skill levels is rare. By hiring local teachers who can provide technical skills and mentorship, and safe spaces with cutting edge technology, our programs have helped to heal trauma, increase confidence, and establish a sense of purpose amongst beneficiaries. Lens on Life courses and resources remain 100% free for beneficiaries.
A 2023 survey by Beyond Conflict found that participants who complete Lens on Life programming show significant improvements in self-esteem and feelings of social power, often translating into gainful employment for our graduates. Upon completion of the program, students are gifted a canon DSLR camera to continue their growth. Graduates have moved on to become professional photographers and journalist, being featured in the NY Times, Aljazeera and Washington Post. We aspire to scale this impact.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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