A Worldwide Photography Project with Young People (2002-2004)

What would children and young people all over the world photograph if they wanted tell their own, quite individual stories? This question was the starting point of the youth photo project “Imagine”, begun early in 2002 by Berlin journalist Philipp Abresch and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH – German Technical Cooperation.

Five hundred young people from 45 countries were prepared for the photo day through GTZ’s worldwide network. On April 30, 2002, they took camera in hand to record a day in their own lives. The result was more than 12,000 pictures – a snapshot of the world from the point of view of children and youth. And what better way to capture the diversity of life on our planet earth?

Numerous publications and exhibitions have emerged from the “Imagine” treasure trove. They have been published in three cycles, five languages and 59 different versions. The “Imagine” exhibition was shown in more than 30 countries: in Germany alone in more than 50 locations.

A number of GTZ Offices outside of Germany integrated “Imagine” into a variety of different kinds of activities. In hundreds of programs and articles, the press, radio and TV reported on the worldwide youth photo project.

“’Imagine” helped to deepen understanding of other cultures and of the young people’s own daily life. “This project was based on an idea that is as true as it is simple: the more we know about one another, the better we can understand each other and get along together.”
(Wolfgang Thierse)

In response to the great public interest in the exhibition, GTZ has asked a former project officer, Ms Eva Engler, to go on answering queries about “Imagine” and to help with loans of the exhibition even after the project has officially ended.

Background information

• "Imagine": Idee, Methode, Dialog, Sensibilisierung
  de-Imagine-Hintergrund.pdf, 0.29 MB (German)
• "Imagine": Idea, method, dialogue, sensitation
  en-imagine-background.pdf, 0.28 MB (English)