Approach

The aim of Jungleye is to use participatory photography as a tool allowing refugees and asylum seekers to reflect, share, learn and express their experiences in a way that is empowering them and valuable and thought-provoking to the host community and society in general.

In November 2015, the photographer Severine Sajous and the architect Julie Brun launched the Jungleye project inside the migrant camp situated on the edge of the French city of Calais, popularly known as The Jungle. At that time the people living in The Jungle were mostly all men who were all trying to make their way from mainland Europe to England, through the Channel Tunnel. They established a base in The Jungle and began teaching a group of the young men photography. Together they made pictures which the printed as postcards and made widely available in the city of Calais. The images and corresponding captions were sometimes bleak, sometimes uplifting, sometimes comical, and always emotional and moving. With these postcards they hoped to shorten the distance between the residents of Calais and those in The Jungle.

Today, the association continue to promote the voice of displaced communities across Europe and the Middle-East. Aspiring to a more united and peaceful society, this project is based on four main objectives:

• Reduce the gap between host communities and migrant communities in Europe.
• Give access to art and culture as an expression tool.
• Enhance existing talents and skills.
• Raise awareness among the civil society about the migratory issue and living conditions of displaced communities.