"During the map my story activity
where students shared high and low points of their lives, it showed them how important their journeys have been and how to visualize the stories they want to tell.”
— Trixie, Program Educator, Boston, USA
THE WHY BEHIND OUR EVERYTHING
Humanity deserves more than the right to survive. We all deserve to thrive.
100cameras believes that every kid – no matter their background or circumstances – deserves the right to process their experiences, understand their feelings, connect with their surroundings, and to tell their own story.
At our foundation is the commitment to uplift youth around the world and to amplify their perspectives and voices through a platform that teaches self-expression in a way that positively impacts both their view of themselves and their role in their community.
Our curriculum utilizes photography to provide a clearing where youth can process and tell the stories of their past, present, and future with no judgment or expectations.
From the USA to India to Cuba to Vietnam to Iraq, Uganda, Venezuela, and more, youth are learning how to process their experiences, express themselves, and tell the stories of their lives through our custom curriculum that teaches storytelling, self-expression, and photography skills.
Program participants recognize the power that their perspectives have through learning that it has always been their own story and their own voice - and that their participation is very much needed in the bigger picture.
“Students said in the beginning of the program that they ‘don’t have anything to take pictures of,’ and I worry that this may be a manifestation of a deep belief that their experiences and their voices are not valuable.
But, as time has gone on, students have become more comfortable in the validity of their own experiences. Throughout various lessons I have noticed that students seem eager to share their past, in some cases particularly eager to share painful experiences that I wouldn’t normally ask about during class time. Peripherally through sharing name stories and in response to other prompts in the curriculum, students shared about loss, heartbreak, and change they had experienced and were in various stages of healing from.
It seemed almost as though they had been waiting for someone to ask them to share these experiences, and I’m grateful that they were able to share through this program.”
Photo by Naomi (San Jose, USA)
Photo by Emiliana (Caracas, Venezuela)
Photo by Eukierra (Chicago, USA)
IMPROVING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE + COMMUNITY-BUILDING SKILLS
Through listening to Educators and Community Leaders, we recognize that youth often have difficulty using language alone to process and share their experiences. They may feel isolated, without a wide set of options for how to express themselves, and genuine connection with others can be missing.
Feelings are often left unexpressed, and collaboration suffers when youth are in silos and have difficulty discovering and creating opportunities for supporting each other. Additionally, resources and bandwidth are increasingly stretched in the education sphere.
The 100cameras program addresses these obstacles by providing a turnkey enrichment program. Our curriculum and methodology improve emotional intelligence, well-being, resilience, and community-building skills. Photography becomes a new access to self-expression, connection, and youth experiencing themselves as leaders.
Designed to be inclusive, accessible, and educational, our robust platform has options available that work in partnership with local organizations or with youth individually.
“I walked in thinking everything was in black and white. But I walked out seeing that we can all have different emotions and that we can see and interpret differently.
[Shutter Speed] helps because a lot of times I feel like I’m alone so it would help reflect my feelings since a lot of times, I can’t say how I feel. Or when I try to say it, I end up stumbling over my words, or, it just doesn’t sound right.
So if I can take a picture, I don’t have to speak, and you can know what I’m feeling.
”
Photo by Kiden (Kajo Keji, South Sudan)
Photo by John (Austin, USA)
Photo by Mahmud (Istanbul, Turkey)
RESEARCH LEADS US
Through their perspectives and community contributions being uplifted, youth are showing themselves that today and always, they can be a leader in the bigger picture. Every time you see and listen to what youth worldwide have to show and say, you are lifting them up, too.
As showcased in the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research’s report, “Cradled by Conflict," renowned research supports our specific approach and programming, proving that youth who have experienced difficulties and were given an opportunity to process and share their past challenges were impacted positively over time. They felt heard and valued and were more likely to become effective contributors to their communities. Our method and approach were included as an example of an enrichment program that could come alongside communities and local development organizations by providing this opportunity to their youth.
Further academic research ties this exact link between the provision of visual arts to the impact it has with youth who have experienced challenges or difficulty in any way. Across the spectrum of challenges that youth face today, research supports that those who have been given the platform to process, tell, and feel heard are more likely to engage versus disengage. The 100cameras curriculum has historically been designed around this research, and it continues to follow along and evolve accordingly.
“It’s important to help them communicate, to overcome what they have been going through. And to just listen to each other and help them move through their problems, not just cover them. That’s the real impact, that you can share your feelings and even your words and put it in one picture. That’s the impact that I think is going to be changing these kids. The impact is also for the community.
This program is helping kids. You’re teaching them a skill for how to be a photographer and also how to express yourself at the same time.
They will never forget that. This impact personally will help them to overcome the trauma. Each one of them was very excited to learn, and by just helping them learn that there is a hope, respecting them, and treating them actually as kids - that’s enough. They will remember that. ”
Photo by Nishanthi (Madurai, India)
Photo by Amaya M. (White Plains, USA)
Photo by Youth Participant (Q’ochamoqo, Peru)
Established in 2009, 100cameras is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization in the United States of America and funded by programming partnerships with schools, districts, and local nonprofits as well as donations from corporations, foundations, and individuals.
Tax ID Number: 26-4692506