'Chasing the Dream' Youth Photo Exhibit Opens in New York

UNITED NATIONS, New York—Their stories are as poignant as they are inspiring. And today, on International Youth Day, the world had an opportunity to hear them for the first time.

At a press conference held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, two young people, whose work is featured in the photo exhibit “Chasing the Dream: Youth Faces of the Millennium Development Goals” spoke of their experiences overcoming poverty, HIV/AIDS, stigma and isolation. The exhibit, which opened today, features photos that correspond with each of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The eight young photographers, each armed with cheap, disposable cameras, detailed lives lead amid poverty and want in such diverse settings as Brazil, Cambodia, India, Jamaica, Uganda, Morocco, Ukraine and the Kyangwali refugee camp located in Northern Uganda. As well as pictures taken by youth themselves, the exhibit also features the photography of acclaimed photographer and World Press Jury head, Diego Goldberg of Argentina.

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, gave the floor to UNFPA youth adviser Kakenya Ntaya to speak in her stead, because, she maintained, “youth should have a chance to speak for themselves”.

“Today the world has the largest number of young people in world history. Fully half of the world’s population is below the age of 25,” said Ms Ntaya, “It is simply not an option to put the needs and rights of young people on hold or at the end of a list of seemingly more pressing priorities.”

Jason, 19, from Kingston, Jamaica is HIV positive. After an adolescence spent “clubbing” at concerts and dance halls, he discovered his sero-positive status at the age of 17. Upon learning he was infected, Jason’s only thoughts were of suicide.

Like so many adolescents, Jason had a difficult time communicating with his parents. And like many adolescents he had not been sufficiently informed of the dangers of unsafe sex and threat posed by HIV. “I went home,” he recalls. “I didn’t have the courage to tell my family.”

He was about to throw himself off a cliff, when a man, a stranger, stopped him with words that have stayed with him ever since. “No matter what your problem is,” he said, “someone will be there to help you out of it”.

Jason went home, told his family, and is now using his story to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in his own country, which currently is home to the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the Caribbean. He credits the non-governmental organization Jamaica AIDS Support with giving him a reason to live and is planning to complete his schooling in the fall.

Urideia, also 19, but from Brazil, chronicled a life of parental neglect and want. Abandoned by her parents while still a small child, she was raised in the north of the country by her grandmother. Although her grandmother loved and cared for her, Urideia longed to be accepted by her parents. One day she traveled to see her father. “I walked straight up to my dad and told him ‘I am your daughter’” she recalls. “He looked straight through me and said, ‘I only have a son’." 

Devastated, the young girl traveled to Sao Paolo to join her estranged mother who was living in a favela, or slum. Conditions were harsh, but Urideia worked hard, earning top grades in school and a college scholarship. Her dreams however, were dashed when college administrators refused to admit her. The reason? That she came from the favela and was, in the eyes of authorities, not fit to attend their institution.

Says Urideia, “All I wanted to do was study. When I looked into that woman’s eyes (the college administrator), I knew it was prejudice. I realized that with only one word my life was completely destroyed.” It was the Citizen Cook project that gave her the strength to continue her fight for a better life. In Brazil, the Citizen Cook is the result of a partnership involving the NGO Instituto Lina Galvini, The Youth Employment Network, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank. Today, Urideia, still dreams of attending college and would one day like to open her own restaurant.

The 140 print “Chasing the Dream” exhibit is a United Nations inter-agency initiative involving partnerships with the United Nations Department of Economic Affairs (DESA) The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UNESCO, UNFPA, the UN Millennium Campaign, the World Bank and Youth Empowerment Network (YEN) with funding from the Government of Finland. It is produced and curated by PixelPress. It runs in the United Nations Headquarters in New York until October 28, 2005.

Contact Information:

Patricia Leidl, leidl@unfpa.org, tel:+1-212-297-5088.