Symposium: Expressing topics in community psychology by means of visual methods

The aim of this symposium is to discuss Photovoice and other visual methods as powerful tools in different situations, as teaching community psychology, or activating local community, or planning community interventions. Visual methods allow deepened reflections, a better exchange of opinions and a suitable ground to build together civic life, in all kind of social environments. Videos and photo-reports will be shown, so to facilitate the audience’s exploration of the topic. Visual methods allow deepened reflections, critical analyses, enhanced communication, and a suitable ground to build together civic life, in all kind of social environments. This symposium is aimed at examining the strengths and challenges in using visual methods in community-based efforts through presentations of projects that used the Photovoice and other visual methods in Italy, Japan, and the United States of America (Hawaii). These projects are diverse in their focus and contexts, such as teaching community psychology, or activating local community, or planning community interventions. Reflecting different national, social and cultural settings, they illuminate variations in how to develop sound and ethical community-academic partnership and collaboration using visual methods. The first paper (Yoshihama) addresses the use of Photovoice method in the wake of major disasters in Japan in an effort to empower a socially vulnerable and marginalized population group—women—in community analysis and policy advocacy The second paper (Helm) presents an important experience about a community-university approach to using visual methods for substance use prevention in Hawaii. Third paper (Procentese) focuses on a participatory use of Photovoice in citizen exhibition and during public discussions to develop the sense of social responsibility in Naples (Italy). The fourth paper (Meringolo) discusses about promotion of responsibility about important issues, as injustice and social inclusion among undergratuete students in Community Psychology comng fromUniversity of Florence (Italy).The symposium will encourage interactions among presenters as well as between presenters and the audience. The use of videos and photo-reports will not only facilitate the audience’s exposure to and understanding of the topic across linguistic and cultural differences, but also promote their explorations of the theoretical, methodological, and ethical issues involved in use of visual methods.