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Question: I am on a committee that would like to use Photovoice concepts to explore one particular zip code in Reno, Nevada. We want to use 'at-risk' youth, all of them have smart phones. We were thinking of having them upload images directly to a shared site or platform. Does anyone have any experience with this versus digital/traditional cameras??

Answer:

Hello Stacey, such an interesting question to ask. It is important to use modern tools to reach the youth and gain their interest. In my experience both methods can be effective. The pictures can be shared on a website or an online platform such as Instagram or facebook. In that way the youth's pictures can be exposed to the group as well as the rest of the local and international online community. That can be a great boost of moral for the youth, motivating them to take more pictures and be more involved. We used this approach once for a social cohesion project between refugee and local youth, and the outcomes were positive; each picture included a small phrase of what that picture represent to the youth. While the Digital more traditional allows the youth to have more human interaction. the digital/traditional required the youth to be physically there, which can help in boosting their confidence and improve their communication skills, with the right guidance. You can find more about Youth Mentoring inChapter 22. Youth Mentoring Programs and communication tools in Chapter 6. Communications to Promote Interestif you are interested.

Good luck with the project, let us know how it goes.

Question Date: Mon, 01/25/2016