Documenting Climate Change at the Margins: Photojournalism Masterclass

Dr Neil Crawford

School of Geography, Faculty of Environment

Relevant ESRC Discipline:  Human Geography, Public Engagement

Climate change is impacting all people in Uganda. The diversity of impacts on different communities, however, is little understood, particularly how impacts - and environmental challenges broadly - are disproportionately felt by those already marginalised by their age, gender, sexuality, disability, and other social factors. To tackle this, the GENERATE project is partnering with the FOTEA Foundation to deliver a ‘Documenting Climate Change’ Masterclass. This builds on GENERATE’s ongoing gender and climate change work in Ugandan cities and FOTEA’s 2020 ‘Documenting Democracy’ Masterclass. We will invite photojournalists to examine and creatively communicate the myriad ways climate change affects everyday life in towns and cities, and how it intersects with gender, health, sexuality, urbanisation, disability, age, citizenship, and/or food security. With an explicit focus on marginalised communities, neglected voices, and a collaboration between social sciences and photojournalistic approaches, the Masterclass aims to raise awareness, trigger new conversations at multiple scales, and challenge individuals and policymakers to act and give focus to equitable and transformative responses to the climate crisis. Our Masterclass will deliver training in photojournalistic, documentary, and research skills, foreground African storytelling, and disseminate and exhibit findings through an open-access book, innovative and inclusive exhibitions and stakeholder knowledge exchange events.