Young Migrants Share Experiences Through Photography in GRABS Project

The GRABS Project: Understanding Youth Migration

• 🎯 The GRABS project, funded by the European Research Council, aims to understand the experiences of young people (ages 15-25) crossing borders, both physical and social.
• 🌍 Working in five countries (Greece, France, UK, Canada, South Africa), the project uses participatory methods to capture these experiences on the young people's own terms.
• 💡 The goal is to fill a knowledge gap regarding how migration impacts the transition from childhood to adulthood, as this demographic is often most affected but least heard.

Participatory Research Methods

• 🔬 Traditional research methods like interviews can be extractive; GRABS prioritizes working with people, not just on them.
• 🤝 Participatory and creative methods, such as photography and podcasting, provide a space for restitution and allow participants to express difficult or traumatizing experiences in their own voices.
• 🗣️ These methods are well-suited for giving a platform to young people who may not otherwise have a voice.

Personal Experiences Through Photography

• 📸 Israel Wabikamba, a young photographer in the project, shares his experience of migrating to South Africa as a child.
• 🇿🇦 While growing up in South Africa felt like home, recent challenges related to hospitalization, education, and job opportunities, often stemming from discrimination and xenophobia, have made it difficult.
• 📚 A photograph of him in a library represents his love for books and finding peace, but also highlights the lack of opportunities for foreign nationals to finish their studies.
• 🎨 Another abstract photograph, which was sold at the exhibition, visually represents his anger and emotions that he struggles to express verbally due to his quiet nature.

Impact and Future of the GRABS Project

• ✨ Participating in the GRABS program has provided a platform for individuals like Israel to speak up for others and visually represent their situations.
• 💪 The program has also fostered personal development, improving communication skills, photography techniques, and boosting confidence.
• 🚀 As the project enters its second year of a five-year plan, it will continue to mobilize creative methodologies with young people, with future exhibitions planned in Paris and the exploration of other tools like filmmaking, theater, and poetry.