#EverydayEverywhere community fights stereotypes using Instagram
"Everyday Everywhere" accounts on Instagram are trying to fight stereotypes by using social media to show another side of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions. DW takes a look at their work.
Showing ordinary people
Rwandan farmer Francois Rujijana is 67. For 40 years, he has been a farmer in southern Rwanda where he has 200 coffee trees in production. EverydayAfrica was just another photo story, says its founder Peter DiCampo: "I thought it was unique, but I didn't think it would become so massive."
Just another day in Africa
"It's not all about safaris. These people live their normal life, just like we all do," says DiCampo. And the account is trying to avoid only showing dramatic situations. In this photo taken on July 19, 2014, a model wears a dress by Ivorian designer Eloi Sessou at Fashion Week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Showing the little things
A girl rests after collecting clean water in the village of Kimpuse, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 28, 2014. A guideline to the contributors to Everyday accounts is, "Don't pretend the problems don't exist, but try to give as much weight to everything else you're seeing as you are to the problems."
Soup man and the city
Taken at Jamaica's Montego Bay, photographer Vivian Barclay tries to capture another everyday life situtation in town in a photo she calls "soup man and the city." Everyday accounts are a result of "journalists being frustrated about the way they have to work," says DiCampo.
No need to force a narrative
"The way it should be... 8am, Saturday morning beach football," - that is how the photographer of the image describes the photo taken in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Everyday Jamaica has close to 4,000 followers. "We were tired of looking for 'heavy' stories and then having to fit everything into that narrative," says DiCampo.
'Sunday Musings'
"Today I took a walk on arguably the holiest day of the week in Jamaica. I was interrogated by these young ladies who wanted to know about my Instagram posts," says photographer Ruddy Roye who took this image he calls "Sunday Musings" on July 27, 2014 in Montego Bay - Jamaica's second largest city.
Not just Rastas, reggae mavericks
"I'm aware of the reputation that Jamaican men have," says photographer Ruddy Roye. "Rastas, reggae mavericks, owners of the best ganja in the world, highly creative artists, possessive lovers. Some of these are true, others are myths. However, after showing my mother this picture she let out a long 'yeah' of approval," Roye adds.
Humanizing regions
This photo of young women at the Corniche in Abu Dhabi by Silvia Razgova received nearly 900 likes on the Everyday Middle East account. Lindsay Mackenzie, founder of the account, says that while working as a photojournalist in Tunisia during the Arab spring, she felt like most of the media coverage was dehumanizing a whole region.
Sweets in Karachi
Children swarm around a man selling "gola ganda," crushed ice laden with sweet and colorful syrups in Karachi, Pakistan. It's a popular treat among schoolchildren there. Everyday Middle East has now gained more than 44,000 followers. Its founder Lindsay Mackenzie also contributes to Everyday Africa.
More intimate images
Mohammad, a 26 year old Iranian, looks at himself in the mirror while his wife to be, Mona, poses for a photographer during a wedding photo shoot in Tehran, Iran. "Personally, I think we're at our best when we can show images that are intimate," says Mackenzie, founder of Everyday Middle East.
Everyday Latin America
A man herds his donkeys at the end of a workday in the Andean town of Pampas, Peru. The photo by Oscar Durand is part of the Everyday Latin America account, which now has more than 5,000 followers after posting its first image on June 28, 2014. On September 20, representatives from Everyday accounts held a meeting in New York to discuss the movement's future.
A certain type of image
A biker with his dog in the streets of Bogota, Colombia. As far as operating the feeds, the people who are the contributors to each account have the password and the login information. "They have the instructions, and of course they understand the kind of images that we are going for," DiCampo says.
Including local voices
Kids on a stoop in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York. "When other Everyday accounts were launched, they were asking for out advice," DiCampo says. "And one of the first things we told each one of them is, 'don't do the same mistake we did, of taking too long to get local voices.'"
Showing normalcy
A woman in Soukhumi, Abkhazia, a disputed territory controlled by a separatist government on the south-western flank of the Caucasus. The Georgian government, United Nations and the majority of the world's governments consider Abkhazia a part of Georgia's territory, though Georgia is not in control of it. Everyday Eastern Europe has more than 6,000 followers.
A cultural perspective
A photo of cows in the Saxon village of Alma Vii, Romania on Everyday Eastern Europe. It was started by Latvian photographer Tina Remiz who said that since Eastern Europe is neither a country nor a continent she chose "to look at it from a cultural, rather than geographical perspective," in Time magazine.
Street scenes
On the photo: a man on a street in Arad, Romania. "Personally, I find it fascinating how the recent past and present exist side by side in this part of the world," Remiz told Time magazine. And the success of the Everyday projects in other regions was not a surprise, says DiCampo.
Showing much more
Two ladies walk in opposite directions on Vanak street in Tehran, Iran, as they listen to music on their smartphones. A band is playing music in the background. "When I invited other western photographers to join, they all felt the same limitation - being sent to look for the sensational stuff while they know they are seeing so much more," says DiCampo.
Let the children play
An elderly couple watches children playing at Abbas Abad Tourism Complex, Iran. The photo by Hamed Badami received almost 500 likes on the Everyday Iran account, which has more than 23 thousand followers. The account's page on Facebook has more than 51 thousand likes.
Exposing 'normal' life every day
"The media just doesn't blend with what we know," says DiCampo. "People are hungry for the familiar too." Images like this one of these two girls sitting in a restaurant seat in a recreation area in Zereshk-Alamot, Qazvin, Iran.
Celebrating in the dark
"Power outage is everyday reality in Cairo now. It is random and usually lasts one to two hours per day. People preparing Ramadan decorations using traditional Egyptian's fabric have obligatory break from sewing," says photographer Ania Krukowska, contributor to the Everyday Egypt account.
Not looking for drama
A man waits in line with his donkey at a mobile vet clinic near Abu Sir, 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Cairo. Everyday Egypt has almost 7,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 70,000 likes on Facebook. It's not about looking for the most dramatic things that photojournalists usually look for," says DiCampo.
No more selfies
Cua Dai sandy beach, Hoi An ancient town, Quang Nam province, Vietnam. "No selfies, no screenshots and no DSLR photography," are the rules for Everyday Asia according to photographer Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist, who set up the account. "Asia tends to be portrayed as an exotic place, so our job is to bring our followers the lives of people who make up our communities," he told Time magazine.
Hunger for familiarity
"Traditional hat. Western style veston." That's how photographer Hai Thanh describes his picture: "It's a very popular former costumes for men in northern part of Vietnam nowaday." As for DiCampo, "There's a fatigue within the media audience to always look for the negative, so it's amazing to realize that there's also a big hunger for familiarity."