"Through the Eyes of Childhood"

("Regards d'enfance")

… Thoughts of children from the first and third worlds,

on wealth, poverty and the future

expressed through photographs and captions…

The association Enfants du Monde is the creator of this intercultural photographic project. More than 100 children from 7 Southern countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, India, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Madagascar) and Switzerland became photographers for a day to reveal what poverty and wealth meant to them, and their dreams for the future.

More than 300 photos with captions were collected. The results of this process started in 2002 were extremely successful:

• an exhibition of photographs for public display in Switzerland

 

• an on-line photographic exhibition to which youngsters can contribute

• a teaching pack to enable teachers to tackle the subject in the classroom

 

In Central America, children from “poor” rural communities symbolised wealth by taking photographs of flowers, water, or perhaps one of their friends… An example of one of the thoughts expressed after reading a child's caption.

Staged many times in Switzerland, the exhibition has always stimulated a great deal of interest. After seeing the exhibition, the visitors often gain a fresh understanding of the concepts of wealth and poverty, and think more about things they take for granted: a roof over their heads, ample food, the opportunity to go to school, access to health care, and the importance of having friends and a family.

You can make a booking to have the exhibition in your classroom, school, neighbourhood youth centre, company , cultural venue or another exhibition venue, for between one week and one month.

Enfants du Monde would like to invite any class or organised children's group to take part, by taking further photographs expressing their own ideas on these themes and sending them to Enfants du Monde for display on its website.