Exploring identity and intersectionality among young people in Kosovo: insights from Photovoice-research

In 2023, Impel approached Save the Children Kosovo with a research proposal for a photovoice-based study on identity and intersectionality with diverse young people. The resulting research took place from April to July 2025, engaging with 10 young people between 15 and 17 years of age from around Kosovo on a fascinating exploration of photography and identity.

At its heart, the project addressed a critical development dilemma: the tension between identity (a personal, evolving sense of self) and identification (being categorised by others). Development programmes often define participants based on visible or singular identity markers such as gender, disability, or ethnicity. The project sought to move beyond institutional labels to understand identity as a dynamic, personal, and contextual process. Photovoice offered an alternative approach and provided the medium, a camera, through which participants could articulate and visualise what mattered to them. The process was both creative and reflective — teaching photography as a skill while opening space for dialogue around identity, inclusion, and belonging.

Impel developed a short brief exploring lessons regarding both the methodology itself and the insights shared by young people involved in the research that Impel plan to explore further.