PhotoWings Founder and President Suzie Katz gets excited when talking about Global Nomads programs. “They help youth break down stereotypes, address community challenges, develop 21st century skills, and explore what it means to be a global citizen. We are proud to help them integrate photography and visual storytelling into their programming, while also teaching visual literacy and photography skills to a whole new audience of young people around the world.”

PhotoWings is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to highlight and help facilitate the power of photography to influence the world. Through online communities, seminars, real-world photography festivals, outreach programs, and partnerships, PhotoWings teaches both children and adults how photography can unite the world and further interpersonal understanding.

Seven years ago Global Nomads Group partnered with PhotoWings to create and utilize photography-based curriculum and programs to further our mission. With PhotoWing’s generous financial support and their expertise in visual storytelling, Global Nomads Group has been able to expand our cross-cultural programming to include not only narrative communication, but also visual storytelling that transcends language.

For many of us it’s not possible to fly to a foreign country and spend a week with someone to fully get to know them. “With language barriers, sometimes even virtual one-on-one interaction is not enough to fully grasp the lived experience of others,” explains Global Nomads Group CEO Courtney Welsh. “For young people growing up with social media, photography is part of their day-to-day lives and how they frame their experiences, literally and figuratively.”

Through virtual exchange programs supported by PhotoWings, Global Nomads participants learn how to use photos and video to share the complexity of their developing identities and their relationships to their communities and the world.

Photos support connection-building and help young people learn about one another – their experiences, their cultures, their families and the lives of generations past. Thanks to the longtime partnership between Global Nomads Group and PhotoWings, young people are seeing the world through a wider lens.