LAMALERA AND BOTI PHOTO EXHIBITION, KUPANG, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2008
Conservation Nature and Culturefrom People’s point of views
For more information, please contact:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->Ann Mcbride Norton, Photovoices Director - 0812-38-7840, annmcbridenorton@yahoo.com Photovoices Project office: Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No 121X Denpasar-Bali - 0361-285-298
Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur (5/11/08 ) – The Traditional Culture Museum of Kupang, Photovoices International and WWF-Indonesia will hold an exhibit on November 5 and 6 of photographs produced by local people from the traditional whaling village of Lamalera, Lembata and from Boti, Timor, a village kingdom high in the mountains that still practice an ancient religion and culture and lost elsewhere. Photovoices International with its slogan: Empowering People through Photography, is a partnership program among WWF-Indonesia, National Geographic,and Ford Foundation.
The opening of the exhibition in Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur, is attended by spiritual figures, religion figures, the Head of Education Agency of NTT, Photovoices Director, Ann Macbride Norton, and the Director of WWF-Indonesia Marine program, Wawan Ridwan. The exhibit “Lamalera and Boti Through the Eyes of Local People” featuring more than100 stunning photographs taken by men, women and children from these remote places in eastern Indonesia who had never before used a camera.
“To comprehend tradition and belief of a community is very important in order to help us to formulate the strategies of continuing development in protecting natural resources”, stated Ann McBride Norton, the director of Photovoices.
Village photographers from Lamalera and Boti will attend the event and talk about their photographs and the stories behind the pictures, including the state of the environment, what they value about traditional culture, their community strengths and challenges and hopes for the future.
“WWF-Indonesia places high value on bringing local voices into conservation decisions and Photovoices is one of the tools used to involve local people in planning for the future,” said Wawan Ridwan. “We also want the traditional people to be proud of their resources and preserve their rich biodiversity and culture in the end.”
Two days of discussion groups will be held among academics, conservationists, government officials and villager photographers to talk about the important issues raised by the pictures and stories and other topics facing the region. During the two day event, the village photographers will also demonstrate their traditional weaving, music and dance.
Pictures generated by the people of Lamalera will be published in a book which will be launched soon. The book is not for sale, it will be used to teach the young generations of Lamalera, to preserve its culture and tradition, and to transfer the values within.
| Photo Strips |
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| Boti Musician © WWF-Indonesia |
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| The Exhibition © WWF-Indonesia |
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| The Exhibition © WWF-Indonesia |
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Whale hunting dancing © WWF-Indonesia |
WWF, a conservation organisation, with a mission to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. WWF works in more than 90 countries and is supported by almost 5 millions supporters around the world. WWF started its works in Indonesia in 1962. For further information about WWF, visit www.wwf.or.id or www.panda.org
Photovoices is funded by The Ford Foundation in Indonesia and National Geographic and works in partnership with WWF-Indonesia.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->A concrete way for local people to document what they value about nature, culture and village life and to record community concerns and strengths;
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->An participatory method to empower local people with visual community-based information to inform and influence decisions;
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· <!--[endif]-->A visual art form to educate people around the world about the value of biological and cultural diversity in a rapidly changing world
Photovoices has a special project focus called “Voices from the Archipelago” for local people to document the rich and varied nature and cultures of Indonesia in a rapidly changing world.
Photovoices is a public participative project that provides digital cameras for local people in order to document their values of nature and culture, it is a way to give information and influences the conservation decisions that would be taken by the government. Photovoices produces visual documentation which will give new perspective to conservation organizations and decision makers, moreover, Photovoices will help local people to express their ideas of nature and culture, so their voice could be heard by the government. In China, Photovoices project provided 300 digital cameras in 60 villages that were still natural and strong in culture. Their pictures had helped the government to make decisions, published by famous newspapers, and exhibited at American Museum of Natural History in New York. The project of Photovoices in Boti is the second project in Indonesia that cooperates with WWF-Indonesia. For further information on Photovoices, visit www.photovoicesinternational.org
