The first “PhotoVoice in post-Katrina New Orleans” workshop took place the last weekend of February, 2009. Health promoters and advocates from the Kingsley House and Catholic Charities attended and began familiarizing themselves with the concepts of PhotoVoice and Participatory Action Research.
M. Brinton Lykes, an experienced PAR researcher and community activist designed and facilitated the first workshop. Attendees engaged in discussions about the history of similar research processes and shared their own stories through pictures they brought with them to the workshop. As significantly, in describing why they sought to participate in a cross-community documentation and action project the group began crafting the particular research focus for Phase One. Dramatizations and individual and collective drawings facilitated the learning processes. Holly Scheib, Project Manager and an experienced photographer, introduced the group to digital cameras and shared a range of its features with all participants. Ethical issues related to the research process were also discussed and participants reviewed the informed consent forms that they will use as they photograph family, friends, and community members. Subsequent workshops are planned for April, May and June.
