Press release

The two photo exhibitions Youth Visions of Jerusalem and Through the lens of Refugee children will open in the Peace Center of Bethlehem on the 5th of October,  5pm.

Combined in a unique event, the Peace center of Bethlehem hosts two exhibitions which show the creativity and the vibrant work of Palestinian youth during workshops which were held in Al Aroub refugee camp and in Jerusalem in 2009.

“Youth Visions of Jerusalem” is a unique program of digital video, photography and storytelling

workshops conducted by Voices Beyond Walls. The program supports Palestinian youth in expressing their cultural identity, personal narratives, and creative visions of Jerusalem, the

Arab Cultural Capital in 2009. For Yasser Quos, the Director of the African Community Society  “exploring information and experiences , are the most important issues gained by children through this project , it was the travel of life inside themselves.”

The program was held over a 6-week period in June-July 2009 through trainings and workshops  conducted with youth in the Old City of Jerusalem and in the Shu’fat refugee camp.  The finished program from the workshops conducted consists of 6 youth video shorts and a unique exhibition, curated in partnership with the Al-Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Old  City, Jerusalem that combines a selection of the photography taken by the youth with a collection of photographs documenting the workshops process as well some large storyboards and hand-drawn maps created by youth. The video shorts will be screened on the day of the opening.

The project was conducted in partnership with the Woman and Child Centers in Shu'fat Refugee Camp, the African Community Youth Center in the Old City, Jerusalem, the Al-Ma'mal Foundation for  Contemporary Art, Old City, Jerusalem, and Les Enfants, Le Jeu et l’Education (EJE) in Bethlehem.

“Through the lens of Refugee children” is the first photo exhibition presented by Al Aroub Play and Animation center, located in Al Aroub refugee camp. For months, a group of 10 Palestinian children aged 11 to 16 year-old had followed a photo workshop which had allowed them to explore their environment in a different way.  The main trainer of the youth, Nehaya Ismael Al Rai, insists on the significance of the project: “this photography project is the first project of this kind in Al Aroub refugee camp. It contributes to build a generation of young Palestinian leaders able to express their messages in life, through the lens of the cameras.”

Through their work, they offer us a stunning collection of  photographs which provides a unique and moving insight into the lives and minds of Palestinian children in a refugee camp.

The exhibition was supported by Les Enfants, le Jeu et l'Education (EJE).

The young participants from both programmes will be attending to present themselves their work. In total around 100 hundred  pictures will be shown and 6 shorts will be screened.