The 'Youth Lens– Voices of Refugee Resilience' project explores the everyday experiences of young people from refugee backgrounds who have re-settled in Melbourne, Australia. The youth, aged from 18-21, come from many nationalities but all were seeking a fresh start after negotiating wars, conflict, and or persecution in their homelands.

The project invited the young people to share their stories through their own photos, illustrating how they navigate life in a new home — from learning a language, cultural challenges to restarting their education.  They created photo stories using an approach called Photovoice. They chose what to photograph, wrote the accompanying text, and identified some of the opportunities and challenges they encountered. 

The project features an introduction by Walledin ‘Wally’ Elnour is an Australian actor, athlete, and youth counsellor.

This project involved participants in the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Youth Transitions Support Pilot. This is a federally funded program supporting young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to participate in education or work.

More about the Brotherhood of St Laurence initiative and the research inspired this interactive: Building New Lives.