OYO, in collaboration with UNESCO through the Fondazione Virginio Bruni Tedeschi, has embarked on a new photographic project, ‘there’s not such a thing’.
Relationships among young people in the twenty first century are complex. Elder people complain constantly that youngsters are promiscuous, while young people complain that adults are old fashion. One can commonly hear that:
- There’s not such a thing as young people having sex (then why are some girls dropping out of schools because of teenage pregnancy)?
- There’s not such a thing as teenagers entering relationships at schools
- There’s not such a thing as old people flirting (young people often think that once an elder, people don’t have relationships)
OYO therefore trained photographers of different age groups to give graphic expression to what they understand by ‘dating and relationships’. A selecting committee led by Nicky Marais, famous Namibian visual artist, met on 18 October to select the photos. 60 photos were selected and will form the basis for the exhibition.
The selecting committee was impressed by the quality of the photographs. It was clear that there is not really a gap between the different age groups. The 25 to 49 years old group was maybe a little more sensual than the other groups. However, many photos pictured sensitive moments in the lives of people (holding hands, looking at each others, sharing moments). Interestingly, the following also appeared very clearly:
- The relationship between dating and alcohol
- The issue of sugar daddy and sugar mommy
- The issue of relationships at school
- The issue of ‘cellphone relationships’ (especially among the younger age groups)
Those will form the basis for discussion when the exhibition is presented in schools.
The photos will now by processed by well-known Namibian photographer Tony Figueira. They will be officially launched on 30 November as part of the World AIDS Day celebration. They will be toured in schools and communities in 2011.
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