Is this course academic?
In parts, yes. We scrutinise the thinking around participatory engagement, considering its ethics and role within the sector. But you don’t need to have any academic background to engage. For academics wishing to attend, the courses tend to talk about the practicalities of running a participatory photography course rather than the academic theory behind participatory practices.
Is this course about PhotoVoice the organisation or photovoice the methodology?
A bit of both. We talk from our experience of having run participatory photography projects for over 15 years, based on the things that went well, and the things that we’ve learnt from.
I’ve completed the PhotoVoice training course. Can I describe myself as a trained PhotoVoice facilitator?
We’re afraid not. We reserve that for members of the core PhotoVoice team, who all contribute to the development of the methodology and its application. You can, however state that you’ve completed the relevant training course. This is to ensure that any subsequent projects you may deliver or work on are not mistaken as being run by PhotoVoice.
After I attend the voice, can I call my project a PhotoVoice project?
We’re afraid not. The word PhotoVoice (particularly with a capital P and V) is protected for projects run by us as an organisation. Some people use photovoice to describe the methodology, but this can cause confusion between us and other organisations, so we encourage people to describe their projects as ‘participatory photography’ projects.
Will the course cover how to fund my project?
Given the international range of attendees at our courses, we cannot provide specific advice about how to fund individual projects, but may be able to help in considering some of the ways in which you might describe or develop your project to funders.
I’ve completed the 1-day/3-day training. Will the other course offer new content?
The 1-day course is an overview of key concepts related to participatory photography. The 3-day course goes into much more detail, and includes additional content too. However, some aspects of the 1 day course are repeated in the 3-day course.