Intercultural dialogue is all about building “bridges”. Ethical photography and artivism are excellent tools to make those bridges visible. Following this principle, and true to its mission to bridge Academia and Civil Society, Fotoessa organized the “Visual Bridges” transnational workshop on Ethical Photography, Intercultural Dialogue and Artivism, in Athens, 7 & 8 March 2024.

This inspiring educational project, resulted as a collaboration of ALF EuroMed Network members from Greece Estonia and Tunisia: Fotoessa, represented by Aspasia Protogerou – intercultural trainer and Ioannis Sourelis – co-founder, femLENS represented by Jekaterina Saveljeva founder /trainer and Association ATAC represented by educator Hadhami Henia, with the support of Eva Katsaiti – Lecturer in Dept. of Photography & Audio Visual Arts of the University of West Attica.

“Visual Bridges”, was a face-to-face, experiential workshop, which brought together young students and lecturers of the Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts of the University of West Attica and gave them the opportunity:

• To be familiarized with the philosophy and practices of Civil Society and intercultural dialogue
• To cultivate intercultural skills such as critical thinking, empathy, inclusion, self-awareness, as well as the recognition of individual limitations of perception, prejudices and stereotypes
• To inspire the use of Art as a dynamic vector of social visibility, awareness, empowerment and change (artivism)
• To acquire theoretical and practical tools to use photography for storytelling, promoting positive social impact,
• To be inspired by the use of Art as a dynamic tool for raising awareness and promoting social empowerment and change (Artivism)
• To raise awareness on ethical photography and the challenges of using AI in photography and media.

Overall, the “Visual Bridges” innovative project offered useful luggage to all stakeholders involved:

• It contributed to the creation of a new generation of photographers and artists, sensitized to the ethical and social dimension of Photography, Social Media, Media and Artificial Intelligence
• It offered a unique opportunity to transfer know-how from experienced professionals from different countries and allowed exposure to best practices and innovative approaches in the field of photography, intercultural dialogue and artivism
• Created new, excellent prospects for mutual transnational and national collaborations and programs
• It supported the extroversion of the Department by providing valuable knowledge on current societal challenges that complement the teaching agenda
• Boosted the prestige of the Department and strengthened its position as a hub of intercultural exchanges and knowledge exchange

The workshop was made possible by funding from by the Anna Lindh Foundation and the EU in the frame of the Alf in Motion – Modality ACTION program.