David Sinza, member of Emmaus Buenaventura in Colombia, has participated to the World Forum of Alternatives. Gifted with real skills for photography, he covered the whole event with very nice pictures. Here is his testimony, and you can find several of his pictures on our photo gallery.
"I was delighted to be able to contribute to the Forum by taking photographs. Such a lot of diversity is very inspiring!
I am indeed very passionate about photography. As a sociologist, I like sharing my experiences, and this also enables me to illustrate the sociological studies I carry out. Technology has progressed a great deal in a short space of time, but not everyone is able to invest in equipment or use this technology.
For me, photography and video are resources that, in addition to the written word, contribute to diversifying our means of sharing and analysing situations.
In Colombia, where I come from, many people are of African heritage. We use music, dance, rhythm and colourful costumes in order to understand and promote this ancestry. This can't be achieved using paper alone. Audio-visual materials therefore play an important role.
The balafon that our friends from Africa played at the Forum's festive evening is called a marimba in Colombia. The slaves who were forcibly taken from Africa to Latin America brought it with them.
In my country, this musical instrument is considered a piece of heritage to be preserved and promoted. I'm going to show it to people when I go back to Colombia thanks to the videos I've made here. Fate brought me to this Forum and I would never have thought before that I'd be able to cover this event during which we have shared a clear desire to help others.
I think it was essential to have included the theme of culture in this Forum. Art is a universal language that makes it possible for us to combine our strength - and our struggles!"
