Smita Sharma is a Delhi-based photojournalist and visual storyteller reporting on critical human rights, gender, social justice and environmental issues – both in India and throughout the Global South.
Natalie is a documentary photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is interested in inequality, youth culture, and the personal effects of political turmoil and violence, primarily in the US and Latin America.
Gemma Atkinson is a documentary filmmaker based between London and Barcelona. She has a vast amount of experience within the industry, and has produced countless films and other content for NGOs and international institutions.
Human-centric stories can be incredibly compelling and inspire people to take action, but when exploring them we must ensure we are not inadvertently contributing to the very issues we are documenting and seek to address.
As documentary storytellers we are uniquely placed to inform and influence through the work we produce. However, our practice should not be limited to simply sharing stories – doing little else but informing others. Instead, we should make an active attempt to support meaningful change directly and empower our audience to act. Now more than ever we should all use our work as a form of activism.
Think global, act local – documenting the lived experiences of others
Telling the stories right on our doorstep has the potential to have incredible impact on the critical issues of our time, while also reducing or avoiding the challenges and pitfalls that so often come with exploring stories within communities of which we are not a part.