UKUPHEPHA INITIATIVE News from Partners & the Continent Egypt In February this year, Egypt implemented the first phase of the Photovoice project, becoming the 5 th African country, together with South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia, to participate in this multi-country community-based participatory research initiative that focuses on youth representations of safety and danger. A total of 26 vibrant and dynamic young people from Ismailia and Port Said participated in the project. The local research team, together with South African counterparts, Prof. Mohamed Seedat, Shahnaaz Suffla and Umesh Bawa, is now planning for the implementation of the follow up phase of the project. This subsequent component will include the analysis of data, the hosting of photo exhibitions, and the building of youth-adult coalitions to advocate for safety. Ismailia and Port Said Photovoice Project Team and Participants Lead collaborator in Ismailia, Prof. Hesham El-Sayed of the Suez Canal University s Faculty of Medicine, hosted the South African delegation on its visit to Port Said in February. Among other, discussions focused on formalisation of the partnership between UNISA and MRC, and Suez Canal University. To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the UNISA ISHS and its SAPPRU, and the Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University (FOM/SCU) is in the process of being finalised. As part of this cooperative agreement, the Ukuphepha team looks forward to hosting the next traffic safety course in September 2012 in Egypt in collaboration with FOM/SCU colleagues.
In Port Said, the Ukuphepha team was hosted by Prof. Enas El-Sheikh, Vice-President for Community Services and Environmental Affairs, Port Said University. Prof. Seedat served as guest speaker at a symposium on violence prevention organised by the Vice-President. Lively discussions and debates between delegates who represented a wide range of sectors made for a stimulating and successful meeting. Although South Africa and Egypt are currently characterised by distinctive socio-political processes and dynamics, deliberations highlighted the intersecting priorities of the two countries and the cross-context lessons to be shared. The visit to Port Said University also included discussions on the development of a MOU, likely to be formalised over the next coming months. Prof. Mohamed Seedat (Head: ISHS & Director: SAPPRU), Prof. Emad Abdul Galiel (President: Port Said University) & Prof. Enas El-Sheikh (Vice-President: Port Said University) Mozambique Kutwanana, the Mozambique Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Research Unit, and Esperança, the Mozambique Safety Promotion Network, as part of the University of South Africa-Medical Research Council-Eduardo Mondlane University Safety and Peace Initiative (SAPI) remain actively involved in the Ukuphepha Photovoice project. In keeping with the Photovoice method, the Mozambique team has undertaken a range of activities to support the participants towards action, and to utilise the participants photographs and narratives to inform and facilitate community change directed at the promotion of safety. To date, three successful photo exhibitions have been hosted by the research team and participants. For the participants, the experience proved to be empowering and poignant in meaning; for the audiences of young people who attended the exhibitions, the involvement and visibility of their peers served as inspirational and as opportunitycreating; for the research team, the voices of the participants grew to be powerful and stirring.
In the Words of the Participants Since participation I can say how I feel, what I think, what I like and I do not like! I'm very happy and I've even got my camera and now I can take good pictures. It was a great pleasure to present my photos. It was emotional for me to participate in the exhibitions in the schools. The teachers said, This was my student! My friends asked, What are you doing here? I answered, I am making a photo exhibition. I was happy. At the photo exhibition, I was very happy and full of emotion because of everything I did and said. I felt great emotion to have the opportunity to talk about the pictures. Mozambique Photovoice Project Team and Participants
School children queuing to view the photo exhibition on safety and danger, 24 April 2012, Ndlavela, Maputo Province, Mozambique
Photo exhibition on safety and danger, 26 April 2012, Ndlavela, Maputo Province, Mozambique Uganda and Zambia Updates from our partners in Uganda and Zambia will be available in the next newsletter.