UNICEF launches virtual tour of photo exhibition "Lives on the move"
International Migration Day
On the occasion of International Migration Day, UNICEF launches a virtual tour of the photo exhibition "Lives on the Move. Dreams and Challenges of 16 adolescents in Italy."
The photo exhibition was inaugurated by UNICEF in Italy last Dec. 10, on the occasion of Human Rights Day, symbolically choosing a train station to host the exhibition, showing the paths, dreams and challenges of migrant and refugee girls and boys who have recently arrived in Italy.
The photo exhibition, organized in collaboration with Grandi Stazioni Retail and with the support of Accademia Italiana, is the result of a workshop involving 16 girls and boys from 6 different countries carried out in collaboration with Giacomo Pirozzi, a professional photographer who has been working with UNICEF since 1991 in contexts of vulnerability.
Girls and boys were guided through technical training, given a camera with which they documented aspects of their reality, and commented through compelling story-telling.
The shots, collected in 14 panels, tell stories that are different but linked by common characteristics: a past leading – for different circumstances - to a journey, with specific challenges of migration paths and shared ones related to adolescence, future dreams and hopes.
Each panel also highlights the key words that emerged during the workshop - such as nostalgia, movement, journey, life, hope, dream and normality- thus revealing the experiences behind the more or less voluntary choice to embark on their journey.
Among the stories told is that of Nika, 15, from Ukraine. She leaves Kharkiv after the bombings begin and arrives in Rome. In her shots she recounts scenes of everyday life, people with a migration background and a path probably similar to hers, "perhaps in search of a new normality," the girl explains. She photographs a cathedral with a background of a blue sky and her dream of finding the same free sky again once she returns to her country.
Among the stories told through the panels is that of Mamoudou, 16, from Guinea Conakry. He left his country post-COVID-19 because of the difficult conditions his family faced. His photos tell the story of his dream to complete his studies, become an engineer and return to his country soon.
The photography workshop, through the method pioneered by Giacomo Pirozzi - and taken to more than 60 countries - thus becomes a tool aimed at overcoming a difficult experience through the expression of pain and the revelation of future hopes.
The virtual tour of "Lives on the Move. Dreams and Challenges of 16 Teenagers in Italy" can be viewed here
