femLENS' workshops for the most vulnerable and resourceless women will teach visual, technological and storytelling skills. femLENS encourages women from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds to tell their stories through documentary photography, empowering them and making them more confident, as well as helping them become role models in their communities. With the workshops we hope to raise global awareness on social issues through first-hand accounts.
Today's cultural and media representation of women is still not inclusive and diverse. Women in photography remain a minority even in Western countries. We also noticed that in many communities, workshops for women focus on crafts or cooking, which, while valuable, tend to reinforce traditional roles.
Through our high-quality documentary photography workshops (using mobile phone cameras and other cheap alternatives), we introduce women to technical skills usually reserved for professionals or those with privilege. These skills can be monetised. But, more importantly, our training provide women with skills to document first-hand accounts of their lives and communities, challenging stereotypes about underrepresented communities and what roles women can do.
By providing our photography workshops to women in underrepresented communities and promoting their work through our platforms (social media, We See magazine, exhibitions) we help women and girls become storytellers, activists, and agents of change. The impact is felt locally-through conversations sparked in their communities-and globally, as their stories inspire understanding and action.
