On World Photography Day, the Western Balkans Fund looks back at Balkan Girl Power, a regional initiative that placed cameras in the hands of 100 girls from five Western Balkan countries and encouraged them to tell their own stories through photography.
The project created a space in which participants could explore their identities, reflect on their role in society and express how they saw the future of their communities and the wider region. Photography became more than an artistic medium: it offered the girls a direct and personal way to make their perspectives visible.
Their work culminated in a photo exhibition organised in cooperation with the Center for Openness and Dialogue (COD) in Tirana. The exhibition brought together images reflecting the creativity, talent and diverse experiences of young women from across the Western Balkans.
Balkan Girl Power was implemented by the Social Contract Institute in 2019 under the Second Call for Proposals of the Western Balkans Fund. At the time, WBF operated a single grant scheme, making the project one of the early examples of how regional funding could connect young people and amplify voices that were not always sufficiently represented.
Since then, the scope of the Fund’s work has expanded considerably. WBF now manages six grant schemes, complemented by fellowships, mobility opportunities, regional initiatives, capacity-building programmes and advocacy platforms available throughout the year.
The WBF Matching Grants Scheme – Summer Window is currently open for applications, offering organisations the opportunity to strengthen and expand ongoing initiatives at the regional level. Two additional Calls for Proposals under separate WBF grant schemes will follow in September, creating new opportunities for organisations and individuals across the Western Balkans.
Seven years after Balkan Girl Power, its photographs remain a reminder of what regional cooperation can achieve when people are given the opportunity, the tools and the space to share their own perspectives.
