As part of Global Campus—a three year strategy led by the educational awareness programme, Suas— a photography exhibition was erected outside the entrance of Henry Gratten on October 20th.
8×8 is an exhibition that focuses on world wide events revolving around issues such as consumerism, the environment, and competition for natural resources. The photography exhibition showcases photos depicting relevant situations within these areas. Additionally, several of the photo captions delve into great detail on the given topic and contrast the proposed social and developmental changes to Ireland.
Several notable topics are discussed including the availability of water in developing countries. The photo’s description articulately addresses the problem stating, “one in nine don’t have a clean water point in Swaziland”—this local well “gives a maximum of 25 litres to a family”—”an average Irish person uses 125 litres a day”.
Such a comparison is successful in shedding light on an issue that is not immediate or particularly relevant to Ireland. While it is a fantastic development that a water well has been placed in Swaziland, placing this data side by side puts the matter into context as viewers begin to apply the circumstances to their own lives.
“I thought the exhibition was very insightful, especially the Trocaire one on Rwanda and the one on the ramifications of the Liberian civil war on women” commented first year student, Ferdia Fallon Verbruggen.
Hopefully with the success of the exhibition, such reactions and insights will be made by students and faculty across campus throughout the week helping to achieve Suas’ goal of spreading awareness about global social injustice.
It is anticipated that the exhibition will inform the public that although these innovations are positive, there still remains much room for improvement and as a result more Irish students will be inspired to get involved with such campaigns.
Scout Mitchell
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