Young voices of Peru expressed through photography in Warwick exhibition

The Our Voices project was put together by Otra Cosa Network, an non-governmental organisation based in Warwick and Huanchaco in northern Peru, where people are living in an environment made challenging by coastal erosion, violence, poverty and politics..

The exhibition, which opened on Wednesday, shares the real life stories and testimonies of the nine photographers involved, who live in Huanchaco.

Otra Cosa’s international relations assistant Eva Enyedi said: “This is a unique project that attempts to amplify marginalised youth voices and empower them to share their experience through photography.

“We would like to create new means of communication using social photography to give voice to the young people.”

The exhibition features images taken this summer, during Eva’s latest trip to Peru. She and the young people took part in photography workshops and attended presentations about sustainable development, so that they could express their ideas about how they can improve their situation through the medium of photography. The training was provided by FairMail.

Eva said: “Impressive encounters and places, from the rubbish damp to colourful photos of happiness, are presented in this exposition to share and record their feelings and make their voice heard.

“We would like to show their life, their determination, their resilience and how eager they are to learn that they can inspire many other young people.”

The exhibition will also move on to the Pump Room in Leamington. For further details, call Juany Murphy on 07481 767407 or email [email protected]

The Otra Cosa network provides placements to volunteers to work with various Peruvian charities, with roles including teaching English, working on women’s projects and carrying out environmental work. Most are based in Huanchaco.

To find out more about the network and see a full list of projects, visit www.otracosa.org