Transformations Photojournalism Series

Transformations: Stories of Partnership, Resilience and Positive Change is a five-year collaborative photojournalism project intended to increase dialogue and further understanding of international partnerships that address complex global challenges. Through individual and organizational stories, the Ontario Council for International Cooperation invites you to actively engage in a new narrative on international cooperation and solidarity. The Series features stories from communities in Peru, Nepal and Tanzania who are addressing Sustainable Development in partnership with Canadian Organizations.

Partnership Approach

This narrative is rooted in the Istanbul Principles for CSO Development Effectiveness, a set of mutually shared values guiding the development work of civil society organizations (CSOs) worldwide. These include to:

• respect and promote human rights and social justice;
• embody gender equality and equity while promoting women and girls’ rights;
• on people’s empowerment, democratic ownership and participation;
• promote environmental sustainability;
• practice transparency and accountability;
• pursue equitable partnerships and solidarity;
• create and share knowledge and commit to mutual learning; and
• commit to realizing positive sustainable change.

OCIC seeks to practice the Istanbul Principles in our approach to partnerships, and to use these Principles as the overarching framework for the stories that we share. In creating this collaborative program, we work closely with members and their international partners in planning and undertaking the visit and the resulting exhibit. As a way to implement principles into practice, OCIC and our partners jointly develop a Partnership Agreement so that our mutual efforts are of significant value for all.

Read more about the Istanbul Principles, here.

Collaboration with Praxis Pictures
These stories were documented by OCIC and photojournalist Allan Lissner, Praxis Pictures.

Allan Lissner is an award-winning Danish-Filipino-Canadian photographer and filmmaker who was raised in in Ethiopia, Liberia, USA, Nepal, Lithuania, Denmark, Jordan, Bangladesh and Canada. For the past ten years Allan has been working on collaborative multimedia projects with indigenous communities, documenting their efforts to protect their territories and preserve their ways of life. This ongoing work includes projects with over a dozen communities in the Philippines, Guatemala, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Chile and Canada.

Learn more about Praxis Pictures, here.

Exhibits

Learn more about each exhibit by clicking on the images below:

The stories presented were documented by OCIC and Allan Lissner, Praxis Pictures, in partnership with Save the Children and the Commission on Human Rights of Ica (CODEHICA) and Transforming Faces and KusiROSTROS  in Peru; Women for Peace and Democracy-Nepal, and World Accord in Nepal and CPAR and CPAR Tanzania in Tanzania. We extend our deepest gratitude to our organizational partners and to the many individual people that shared their experiences, and their lives.

This initiative was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada.

Collaborate with OCIC

For more information on Transformations and ways to collaborate, please click here.

For questions & collaboration opportunities on this initiative, please contact OCIC Public Engagement Coordinator, Eugenia Ochoa at public.engagement@ocic.on.ca.