Webinar: “Breaking with colonial continuities: production and interpretation of images (photos)”
When: Tuesday 17th March at 11am (with Stefan) and 6pm (with Stefan and Wara) MET via ZOOM
What is it all about?
Colonial power relations continue to shape how people, realities, and contexts are perceived and represented—both in the Global South and the Global North. Visual communication in international cooperation plays a powerful role in this process: images shape narratives and emotions and can unintentionally reinforce stereotypes, hierarchies, and one-sided perspectives.
This webinar invites participants to critically reflect on photography and visual practices in development and international cooperation. Using concrete examples from practice, participants will examine common modes of representation and gain an introduction to decolonial perspectives on images, focusing on power, responsibility, representation, and agency.
The webinar aims to strengthen visual literacy and support participants in developing alternative approaches to visual communication—approaches that are respectful, reflective, and move beyond colonial stereotypes.
Facilitaded by:
Stefan Heiß
After completing his master's degree in peace and conflict studies, Stefan Heiß worked as a specialist in the Civil Peace Service in Kosovo with Kurve Wustrow and ANP from 2014 to 2016. Since 2017, he has been head of communications at EIRENE, where he has gained extensive experience in the anti-racist and decolonial representation of peace and development work.
Since 2017, EIRENE has been engaged in a critical learning process on racism. Its experiences and insights are summarized in the special edition of EIRENE Magazine entitled “Overcoming Racism Together.” (Available in German, English, Spanish, and French)
Wara Vargas Lara
She studied Social Communication and specialized in photojournalism. She has worked for 15 years for various newspapers and international organizations. Currently, she focuses on documentary photography, developing projects aimed at strengthening the cultural identity of the indigenous peoples of her country, as well as highlighting the ancestral knowledge of women.
She is part of the Fairpicture community of photographers, an organization committed to ethical storytelling.
Contact:
Jasper Hoffmann
Tel.: +49 (0) 228 908 99 32
Important: The webinar will be held twice to acomodate different time zones. Pleace specify when registering which time you would like to participate.