Hero Image by Jik Reuben
By Faye Cuevas, Chair of Lensational Board
We think and dream in stories.
Since the dawn of civilization, our history has been told through images and stories, passed down in ancient languages, symbols, and texts. Today, these stories, once discovered, reveal the lived experiences of our ancestors and allow us to build identity across generations.
Stories are as impactful now as they have always been, perhaps even more so today, as they are shaped and shared in real time by billions of people. Discovering stories now is much easier than deciphering carvings etched into ancient cave walls. Tiktok stories are viewed up to 10 billion times a day, and Instagram’s 1 billion users spend an average of 53 minutes daily on the photo-sharing app. Photographs shared around the world in seconds disrupt industries, mobilize activism, create new businesses, and change how we see the world.
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller” Apple founder Steve Jobs once said. He admitted he didn’t begin as the best storyteller, but he chose to become one after realizing the power of stories to connect, influence, and drive change. Knowing and sharing people’s stories has always inspired me too. It is why I chose law as my career path, and it is stories that connect my heart to the work I have been fortunate to do in environmental security.
But what is it that gives stories this power?
Organisations like Lensational are answering that question in groundbreaking ways—tapping into the power of untold stories to build solutions for one of the world’s most pressing crises: climate change. To combat this crisis, Lensational partners with think tanks to elevate the lived experiences and knowledge of the communities most affected—voices that are vital to safeguarding our planet’s future.
Photography as a tool for underrepresented women to share their stories and advocate for their needs
Founded on International Women’s Day in 2013, Lensational has engaged with over 1000 women in social change and participatory photography since its inception. Through photography and storytelling training, Lensational empowers underrepresented women around the world to overcome forced illiteracy, and to share their own experiences, memories, and lessons through images.
The often undocumented experiences and insights generated by the women engaging with Lensational are invaluable to solving global issues, like the climate crisis. Through bespoke training, and public sector engagement approaches developed with its institutional and third sector partners, Lensational connects participating women to platforms, where they can not only share their insights with policy makers, but also distribute their photographic stories, and license them for educational purposes at a fee. This income can transform not just their lives but those of their families and communities.
Announcing a new phase of Envisioning Resilience, a global initiative aiming to elevate women’s voices in climate adaptation planning using photography
As Chair of Lensational’s Board, I am thrilled about the deepening of our partnership with the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Global Network, with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada, as we move into the second phase of Envisioning Resilience. In Kenya, we are welcoming a new partner, Spring for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SASAL), and in Jamaica, we are reuniting with our partner GirlsCARE, building on the important work we have already done together.
The NAP Global Network supports developing countries in national adaptation planning and action, helping accelerate global climate adaptation efforts. Envisioning Resilience, an initiative of the NAP Global Network in partnership with Lensational, brings the perspectives of women most impacted by climate change into adaptation planning using photography.
During the first phase of the initiative, 27 young women from Kenya, Ghana, Jamaica, and Rwanda received tailored photography and storytelling training. Their photos have been exhibited, shared with decision makers working on adaptation planning in the respective countries, and even licensed for educational purposes, creating income and influencing conversations about resilience.
Building on the successes of Envisioning Resilience’s first phase
Until recently women’s voices – especially those of pastoralist and indigenous women, who hold much wisdom on climate adaptation passed down through generations – had been largely unheard in conservation and climate adaptation planning and policy making.
The Envisioning Resilience initiative has already achieved ground breaking work in bridging the gap between women on the frontlines and policy makers. Following the first phase of Envisioning Resilience in Kenya, a series of photographs were included in Kenya’s first formal review of its adaptation plan for Climate in the agricultural sector. These visual stories were credited in the plan with driving ‘initiatives to promote indigenous knowledge on crops and to promote new food habits’ as well as with ‘helping to strengthen land management systems, including rangeland management and restoration of degraded land.’ In Jamaica, cohort members have also continued to engage in climate advocacy work since taking part in the initiative. Jamaican trainee Jamila Falak went on to pursue a Climate Justice fellowship with the organisation, Climate Tracker Caribbean, and was more recently awarded a prestigious Chevening scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom pursuing Masters in Arts.
In this new phase of Envisioning Resilience, 14 additional women, seven in Kenya and seven in Jamaica are learning how to document how climate change affects their daily lives and how they adapt in response. These women will once again soon present their stories directly to policymakers, engaging in dialogue to ensure priorities are informed by their lived experiences and that policies are truly responsive to the full depth of their needs.
By putting women’s voices in focus, Envisioning Resilience is not only documenting resilience it is creating a climate for change. Stories, when told by those who live them, can transform understanding, bridge worlds, and ignite the change our planet urgently needs.
