Ha Noi, 24 March 2009 – “Behind the Dreams”, an inspiring photo exhibition with the work of ten young migrants in Ha Noi, was launched today at Gallery 29 Hang Bai, Ha Noi. The exhibition ran from 24 to 30 March 2009, and is the result of a two-month pilot PhotoVoice project implemented by the United Nations in Viet Nam. Fifty best images, filled with feeling and emotion, were selected from over 500 entries. All photos are taken by young migrants, who were present at today’s opening to discuss their photos with the visitors. A short feature film was shown documenting the process, from the early days of discussing the concept with the migrants, to selecting the photos and putting together the exhibition.

In Viet Nam, many young Vietnamese migrate from rural to urban areas in the search of employment opportunities and a chance to improve their personal and family income. The aim of this pilot project is to visually capture some of the challenges that young migrants face in Ha Noi. In addition, it aspires to reveal some of the hopes and dreams they have.

The story of a young mother waking up at 3am every day to go to the market, and the story of a young student living in a crowded room and using a cardboard box as a table to work on a university assignment – these and more have all been captured using simple disposable cameras.

“The exhibitions highlights how difficult life really is for these young migrants who live in our midst, and reinvigorates us in our efforts to help them improve their lives”, says Mr. Andrew Bruce, Chair of UN Youth Theme Group. “This exhibition has managed to capture the stories of these young people all coming from different provinces, with different reasons to migrate to Ha Noi. They may work as porters at markets, street vendors, cleaners, or study at vocational training centers or at universities ----but they all share the same ambition: desire for a better life and brighter future for themselves and their families.”

The PhotoVoice project benefited from technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In addition, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has played a crucial role in encouraging and mobilizing the valuable resources of volunteerism for this project. Volunteers have provided support in communications, film making, translating, and preparing for the exhibition. Particularly, professional photographer Ho Tiet has volunteered his services and helped participants with basic skills to operate a disposable camera, and filmmaker Fabrice Turri documented the whole project into a short film. The opening opening ceremony took place in the presence of representatives from UN Youth Theme Group, IOM, and UNV.

The ceremony was hosted by Ms. Viet Nam World 2007, Ngo Phuong Lan who is also working as an intern for IOM.

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