By Diana Weggler 

The Photovoice Worldwide team is still basking in the after-glow from all the interactive engagement that took place during our first ever worldwide virtual conference: “30 Years of Photovoice: Past, Present, Future”, on October 20-22. The excitement generated by interfacing with so many photovoice enthusiasts from all over the globe was both palpable and inspiring. It is safe to say that an incredible amount of learning took place, along with a healthy dose of community building, as many participants voiced their intention to keep in touch with speakers, presenters, panelists, and each other.  

Our staff is indebted to all of the track leaders, speakers, presenters, panelists, and volunteers for their hard work in bringing this dream to fruition, and wish to thank everyone who participated for making it such a rich and truly memorable experience. Just a reminder, recordings are available to registrants by logging in to the events.zoom.us site through November 30. They are also accessible on our Youtube channel.

As we had hoped, the conference was truly worldwide in scope, with a total of 181 registrants tuning in from 27 countries, with every continent except Antarctica represented. As for participation within the conference itself, an impressive 661 participants attended 82 individual sessions, panels, and presentations—not including the social “networking” lunch! Keynote speaker Claudia Mitchell

Comments from participants throughout the three-day conference revealed, in real time, the value of photovoice as a research method. 

• “We are so desensitized to numbers. [Photovoice] brings the humanity back into research” -S.L. 

• “Joy is often missing from immigrant research. We didn’t have numbers, but we were able to show [that joy] through photovoice” – R.S. 

• “The fire that photovoice sparks in people is priceless—you can’t undermine that!” -S.L. 

Attendees and facilitators alike came away from the conference with feelings of deep gratitude, renewed energy, a wealth of ideas, and a true sense of community. The following comments are by PVWW staff.

“As a student in my first semester for my master’s degree, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to learn from you all and gain new ideas as I begin my research for my master’s thesis.” -L.T. 

“As I listened to different presentations and followed the chats, I realized that the conference was serving as a forum for the sharing of knowledge between experienced practitioners about various photovoice resources, for example, where to find qualitative data analysis software, or what platform to use to host a virtual exhibition. Participants were also suggesting readings, websites—even links to their own research online—where people could delve into topics in more depth. You can’t put a price on that!” -D.W.  

“I left the three days invigorated by the conversations, ideas, and sense of community. It was humbling to see practitioners from all over the world attending the events. Listening to their experiences provided so much insight into the practice and renewed my passion for photo-based participatory action.” -E.B. 

“My staff and I are humbled by the positive response to the “30 Years of Photovoice: Past, Present & Future” conference. We thank you for the generosity and sharing you brought to the three days of activities. We are grateful for all of your contributions towards a global community for peer-to-peer continuing education in photovoice. I am so appreciative of all that you do with photovoice—and all that you are sharing with the rest of us!” -L.L. 

“To me, the conference was a team effort and success. So many of us here at PhotovoiceWorldwide were involved, and it really showed the strengths of our small team. To know that we can deliver on whatever we set our intentions to, has made me believe the future of both our small social enterprise, and photovoice, is all to be written, together with the amazing community we found waiting for us. -E.B. 

Finally, in the evaluations we received from conference attendees, participants pointed out the value of the small discussion groups, the high quality of the content, and the interactive nature of the workshops, panels, and other events.  

As one attendee stated, “It was evident the organizers did a great deal of work to make the conference successful – thank you!”  

As far as room for improvement, several attendees wished there had been more time for Q & A following oral presentations, and more time built into the schedule for networking. The PVWW staff is grateful for this feedback and is looking forward to incorporating your suggestions into our next photovoice conference!