The Picture Justice Program was developed in 2014 by New York based non-profit organisation PROOF: Media for Social Justice in collaboration with the United Nations International School. The five day program was brought to Australia in July 2019 For the first time, delivered by Charles Sturt University, Swinburne University, The Whitlam Institute, Port Macquarie Hastings Council and the Posify Group.
In a nutshell, Picture Justice is about lifting the voices of young people in our communities. PJA focused on the themes of Community, Citizenry and Processes of Democracy. For it’s participants, it included workshops on civics, design thinking, photography, ethical interviewing techniques, narrative development and story editing. It was also an ongoing joint research project between Charles Sturt and Swinburne Universities to learn more about how young people think and engage with their community, and if this program can give them new tools to participate.
I was fortunate enough to not only participate in PJA, but also assist in the logistics of running the five day program. Alongside Dr. Willhemina Wahlin and Jess Green, I then worked as co-curator and exhibition designer to transform the findings of the program into a two week exhibition that was launched at the Port Macquarie Hastings Library.