Ibali Photo Club
We believe photography can be a tool for change. At Ibali, which means 'story' in Xhosa, we offer photography workshops to South African youth
Our goal is to empower teenagers in underprivileged communities by teaching them basic photography skills, creating a space for creative expression, and showing how images can raise awareness of important causes.
Our program provides a creative platform that encourages great confidence and personal growth in teenagers that need it.
Background
South Africa is a country of huge potential but also of immense need. The youth of South Africa reflect this dynamic; many live in challenging circumstances and don’t have the opportunity to see beyond their immediate environment. However, when given the opportunity, these same young people have great potential to succeed, to see their lives and their world in a different perspective, and to positively impact their community.
Photography is a powerful tool in assisting an individual to engage in a deeper understanding of themselves and their world. The primary purpose of our Ibali Photo Club is to empower young people by teaching them basic photography skills, encouraging creative expression, and offering ongoing personal mentorship. In addition, our students’ photography has the power to positively impact the broader community by creating awareness of social issues through the eyes of young people. Their images can start conversations that inspire these youth and their community members to bring about solutions to some of the challenges they face.
Our workshops have the following main aims:
Provide participants with usable photography skills and tangible results in the form of a portfolio and an exhibition.
Empower participants in the situation they are in and give them tools to help explore the issues they need to. The program fosters growth in the participants and provides a platform for them to develop personally.
Positively affect the participants' communities by igniting discussion and debate, highlighting issues that need to be addressed, and encouraging relevant local organizations to get involved.
Our Mission
Our Impact
Participants get interviewed before, during and after the photography program, so that we are able to gauge the level of impact on the their lives in the following areas:
Personal growth.
This is not prescriptive and will present differently for each participant but it is hoped that individuals participating in the photography program would experience personal development that could range from confidence and self-esteem, to self-awareness and awareness of their own position in their community, as well as practical photographic skills, creativity etc.
Community impact.
Participants will be challenged to engage with their communities through their photography and to try and utilise photography as a tool to create awareness of issues that affect their communities.
About Dave Fisher
Ibali is created and facilitated by Dave Fisher, a Cape Town based photographer and educator. Dave’s experiences working in education and youth development in South Africa has led him to identify a huge gap in society where young men and women are not being challenged and equipped to make significant decisions that will direct the course of their lives. As a result, he has become particularly passionate about empowering young people to make positive decisions that set them up for future success.
Dave is also very passionate about photography and has run a number of photography workshops over the past few years teaching basic photographic skills to senior high school students. He is particularly interested in encouraging students to use their photography skills to explore the world around them and communicate important stories from their communities.
Keen to make an impact? Donate to our Ibali program and join us in empowering South African youth!