What is it like to teach Generation Z to use a disposable camera? With a smile, Vanessa Molina, a Community-Engaged Fellow, will tell you that it’s enough to make you feel old. You might be curious about what the modern function of a disposable camera is, unless you’re familiar with Photovoice. Photovoice is a process by which participants are provided cameras to document their lived experiences revolving around a specific topic or theme. It is a mechanism through which the voices of young people, who often go unheard, can share their wisdom with their community and their city. In the summer of 2017, the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative, Denver Smart City, The GrowHaus, PCs for People and the University of Denver partnered for the Smart City Photovoice Project in North Denver, a project that aimed to give the young people living in the Elyria and Swansea neighborhoods the opportunity to explore, through photography, what they loved, and where they would like to see change in their community.
From DU, came Community-Engaged Fellows like Molina, a member of a cohort of undergraduate and graduate students that help to deepen the university’s impact on some of the community’s greatest problems, by forming partnerships with community organizations that are rooted in reciprocity and mutual benefit. Each Fellow focuses their energy and passion on one issue area. For Molina, an investment in education access and equity attracted her to Photovoice. Alongside Vanessa, Michael Oyakojo, a Masters Candidate in Economics, channeled his interest in and knowledge of urban renewal into supporting the project.
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