A Participatory Action Approach via PhotoVoice: Inserting Community Residents’ Perspectives into Disaster Prevention and Response

Workshop Presentation
Eduardo Marques,  Jose Luis Fernández Pacheco,  Mieko Yoshihama  

The number of disasters with global impact triggered by natural hazards has steadily increased, including wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, storms, droughts, and extreme temperature events. Disasters affect human, natural and social environments, promoting social vulnerability and new migrations. Disaster management at organizational, community, and national levels are critically important, yet they often leave out the perspectives and needs of community residents. Participatory approaches are necessary in all phases of the disaster cycle: 1) Review and analysis, 2) Prevention, 3) Preparedness, 4) Response, 5) Recovery. In this workshop, we present participatory approaches to incorporate the perspectives of community residents using Photovoice. Combining photo-taking and repeated critical and dialectic reflections and explorations, PhotoVoice engages individuals and communities affected by social issue that is targeted for change. Participants share, record, analyze their environment, often identifying and exposing local issues neglected by outsiders, such as policymakers, administrators and researchers. Participants identify needs and plans for actions to improve their situations Placing participants at the center of discovery and analysis, PhotoVoice challenges the monopoly of knowledge creation by “experts.” Drawing on our collective work using PhotoVoice with disaster-affected individuals and communities as case examples, the workshop will discuss the possibilities and challenges of applying PhotoVoice to disaster contexts and beyond. Workshop participants will critically examine the benefits and unintended consequences of incorporating PhotoVoice in their work. The workshop will also highlight the safety and ethical issues, some of which are innate to participatory approaches, and others, more unique to the use of photography and PhotoVoice.