A five-day group photography exhibition featuring photographs by youths from Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar commenced at Bangladesh National Museum on Monday.
The exhibition titled ‘Building Peace – Youth in Cox’s Bazar Explore Diversity’ is featuring a total of 67 photographs by sixteen young men and women who have captured the everyday life of people in Ukhiya.
The photographs were produced as part of a five-day photo camp held in Ukhiya which was organised in collaboration with National Geographic in May.
Four instructors from National Geographic trained the participants in photography and visual storytelling. The theme of the camp was ‘peaceful coexistence’ between communities.
The participants took more than 40,000 photographs under the supervision of the instructors.
Viewers get a glimpse into the life and struggles of the marginalised people living in Ukhiya through the diverse captures displayed by the participants.
Photographs showing a burka-clad woman carrying her child under the scorching sun and women sewing cloths at a make shift factory in Ukhiya portray the hard life of women. Besides, the participants have captured moments like an unnamed youth carrying a LPG gas cylinder on his shoulder, children enjoying a bath beside a tube well, a number of people commuting by bus, children studying at a local madrassah and others.
The exhibition has been organised by Internews Bangladesh in association with United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Office Director Randall Olson inaugurated the exhibition as the chief guest.
‘I would never have known people from a different community and different beliefs live in a small area of my neighborhood, had I not gone to take pictures. I value the experience of knowing the unknown and seeing the unseen with a camera in my hand,’ said Papiya Shabnam, a participant.
‘Previously I used to take photos, but now I know how every picture has its own story,’ said another participant named Mofiz Sumon.
The exhibition will end on September 13.