Children practice photo framing. Mangueirinha, 2015. Sarah Garrahan.
The J. Kirk Felsman Program on Children in Adversity, launched at the Sanford School of Public Policy, merges documentary and policy disciplines to better serve and advocate for vulnerable children globally.
The Felsman Fellowship Program provides outstanding graduates of Duke professional and graduate schools and the Duke Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts program (MFAEDA) a one-year Fellowship to explore and develop unique and dynamic approaches to reaching and caring for vulnerable children and youth through direct programming and documentary methodologies. The Fellowship culminates in an opportunity to showcase the Fellows work in Washington D.C. and beyond to raise awareness and advocate for vulnerable children and youth.
Dawn. Za’atari Refugee Camp, 2014. Taken by Khaldiya.
The Program has successfully placed two cohorts of Fellows since its inception in September 2013. In 2014, four Fellows worked on the Syrian borders in Jordan and Turkey supporting formal and non-formal education efforts for Syrian refugee girls. An additional four Fellows worked in Peru and Brazil in 2014 and 2015 serving and documenting the plight of street children. The Program hosted a successful Policy and Advocacy reception on the Syrian refugee crisis in October 2014 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Many U.S. government policy-makers were able to attend the session, including USAID high-level representatives, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for refugee affairs, think-tank leaders, internationally-recognized child protection advocates, and international non-governmental organizations.
The Fellows’ work has been published for local audiences in Turkey, Jordan and Durham, as well as, internationally through the Huffington Post, Telegraph and Marie Claire magazine.