/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/PHOTOGRAPHY-LATAM: Young Artists ‘Click’ for Peace

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 15 2000 (IPS) - Adolescents from the Southern Cone of the Americas will be the stars of an artistic endeavour to be put on display this year in Madrid and Paris. For the project they must arm themselves with a camera – and something more.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OIS) have invited young people from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay to shoot photos contributing to the creation of a culture of peace and non-violence.

Though the six countries are not suffering from armed conflict, young people in some of the countries perceive violence levels as high.

In Argentina, a survey of teenagers by the Demoskopia Foundation found that 70 percent of those polled considered their society to be immersed in “high” or “very high” levels of violence, while only eight percent thought the level of violence was low.

When asked about the actions they saw as violent, the respondents cited government acts running counter to the public interest, police brutality, widespread indifference towards those who suffer, and lying officials as perhaps worse than mere criminal acts.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have successfully used photography projects to call attention to violent situations in which the amateur photographers themselves are often immersed without realising it.

In Brazil, for example, organisations working with problems of domestic violence and alcoholism offered cameras to family groups so that they could capture the images of situations they wanted to change. Merely viewing the situation through photos contributed enormously to the process of self-exploration and change.

But in the UNESCO and OIS project, the challenge will not end with the photographs.

Youths between the ages of 13 and 18 may take part as individuals or as representatives of schools or other institutions. Each photograph is to be accompanied by a title of 15 words or less.

The photos are to be sent to the OIS subregional office in Buenos Aires by May 31, and the pre-selection of photographs will be announced June 30.

The prize-winning photos will be exhibited at the UNESCO world headquarters in Paris in September, and the following month at the OIS offices in Madrid.

Alicia Talone, OIS programmes and projects co-ordinator, told IPS that the contest was based on the Manifesto 2000 for a culture of peace, drafted at UNESCO’s request by a committee made up of Nobel Peace Prize winners.

“Our goal is to encourage participation and commitment by young people to a culture of peace,” said Talone.

Manifesto 2000, which is to serve as the inspiration for the young photographers, calls for respecting all life and the dignity of all people, without discrimination or prejudice.

It rejects violence, especially inflicted against the weakest, such as children and adolescents, and issues a call to share time and material resources with all members of the community.

The document also emphasises listening as a way to create better understanding, and the need to defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, to cast fanaticism aside, preserve the environment and promote responsible consumption patterns. Lastly, the manifesto issues a call to “rediscover solidarity.”

Each photo is to somehow reflect one of the points of Manifesto 2000, and a winner will be named for each point, and awarded a plaque by UNESCO and the OIS.