Our photography classes in the seaside village, Buho Buho, took students outside the classroom and into their communities and nature. The workshops addressed the interdependent links between our health, our communities, and the planet. Students learned how to use a digital camera for the first time in their lives. They documented daily life in their villages and closely examined the biodiversity in their backyards in light of the threats climate change, marine degradation, and development is currently posing to Morotai.
Together with our local partner, a Liquid Future, our Action Communication Program in Morotai, Indonesia made ample strides. Learning a new language - spoken or visual - is power stuff. It changes perceptions of reality and lends itself well to self-discovery. Through our combination of English language, audiovisual storytelling, and creative arts classes, local youth began expressing themselves - through language and images - with greater confidence and awareness. We strived to provide students with alternative style of education that champions each students' unique abilities and creative approach. The program strived to enabled students with tools to be stewards of their own lives, the lives of others around them and their island.
8TH & 9TH GRADE'S WORK: PANTAI (BEACH)
Another aspect of our photography workshops was to highlight the cultural-social memory of Buho Buho as an ancestral fishing village. As small-scale fisheries are facing significant challenges due to social and environmental stressors, often sustainability policies overlook the sociocultural well-being of coastal villages. Emphasizing the interrelated elements of a community's cultural landscape and the conservation of the physical landscape is an added-value in management of coastal areas. Students documented the daily life of Buho Buho.
8TH & 9TH GRADE'S WORK: DESA (VILLAGE)
VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' WORK: PANTAI (BEACH) & DESA (VILLAGE)
