The Photography Promotion Trust (PPT) is a not-for-profit organization based out of Mumbai that aims to use and teach the skills of photography for two primary purposes. First, to create definitive change in the lives of socially marginalized communities. And second, to use photography on social subjects as a tool or means to explore, examine and build bridges in communities to foster public dialo
gue about important issues. PPT was founded in 2005 by Padma Shri Sudharak Olwe, a photojournalist and documentary photographer from Mumbai who has been working his craft for nearly three decades. He brings forth critical stories about human survival, resilience, courage, and hope: images that have the power to bring about change. That power of change is the backbone philosophy of PPT, namely to bring change in the lives of underprivileged youth, children and women using the camera. The Photography Promotion Trust team is made up of highly passionate national and international photographers who conduct photography workshops and classes. They not only teach photography but also promote an exchange of ideas between participants of the workshops while generating lively discussions about social issues and themes prevalent in their societies. These professional photographers encourage and inspire the participants to shoot with both their minds and hearts. The very first workshop for the foundation was in 2005 in the quaint little village of Delwara in Rajasthan, near Udaipur. PPT joined hands with NGO Seva Mandir to hold photography lessons for youth in the village. The adolescent’s task was to shoot their village, their friends, and their families. The images that they brought painted a whole new picture of their village, with some even choosing to highlight important issues in their neighborhoods. In addition to the participants, the PPT team itself learned a lot from this first experience. PPT has sought to make its workshops not just about technique but as socially relevant as possible as well since then. The PPT works closely with other organizations in different fields to implement its module of learning, exchange, and storytelling through the use of photography in local communities. In Assam, with the organization Pajara, PPT worked with tribals and tea plantation workers to bring forward the plight and challenges of these citizens. In the mega slums of Dharavi, Mumbai we worked with housewives and youth to shed light on health and sanitation. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the PPT documented horrific cases of violence against women to bring justice to the survivors and to punish the offenders. PPT has been working diligently at furthering the cause of uplifting and empowering the youth and telling stories that matter: from teaching young girls in the slums of Mumbai with Vaacha Trust to teaching law students to use photography in social activism, from setting up an online stock photo website for Muslim women in Kurla, Mumbai to taking workshops for school children in Los Angeles, USA with the Getty Foundation, and to producing the book In Search of Dignity and Justice with the Tata Trusts. Presently, the Photography Promotion Trust has teamed up with the Xavier Institute of Communications in Mumbai to provide a free one-year diploma course in photography to the children of Mumbai’s conservancy workers. A diploma from this well reputed media institute will greatly open up new livelihood avenues to these children, who otherwise are part of a system where labour jobs and manual scavenging is passed down from generation to generation. With their new photography skills, these young individuals can break free from their existing chains and find different opportunities. The world is beckoning them through their cameras.
