Photoshare Newsletter - March 2007

Sean Hawkey

Profile: Sean Hawkey trained as a carpenter, in addition to studying science, and later on, rural development. He has worked in emergency response and development management, mainly with nonprofits in Peru, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. Sean has taught at the grassroots level and at universities; he has written for several newspapers in Central America, worked on participatory video activism and served as an advocate for indigenous land rights. For several years he has written and edited both print and online publications for several global development organizations and was appointed communication officer for ACT Development, a new global alliance of development organizations. He is married with five children.

Talking about photography, he says: "It's all about telling stories. I love people, learning about them, learning from them, hearing their stories. And I love to tell their stories to others; photography is just part of that. People's stories come to life with photographs, sometimes you just say 'look' and let a photograph tell a story without the need for words." Sean added, "I've used photography in mapping, planning and using PRA/PLA methodology, in human rights advocacy, in reporting on project cycles, as well as for educational, campaigning and fundraising communication. Development can't do without photography."

"I think that the best photography is participatory. It can be really useful for people to take shots of their own lives, of what is important to them, to see themselves and what they do, in their own pictures. Ordinary people can take pictures that no outsider can take." Asked about Photoshare, Hawkey says, "The internet is apparently awash with images, but useful pictures for publication and educational use can still be very difficult to find. Photoshare stands out because it is a focused, well indexed and searchable database for nonprofits working on poverty reduction, health and justice. It is deeply satisfying to support others' good work by taking a few photographs, and I enjoy being able to track who are using them, too."


See all photos by Sean Hawkey
See list of all contributing photographers