Melanie, 22 years old, Geography Student  
Being involved into cultural and artistic projects has started a long time ago for me : it was during high school that I discovered the pleasure of art, thanks to theater. I bought my first camera while I was doing my voluntary service in France, the year before I decided to go to Yerevan, Armenia to do my EVS. Somehow, photography and volunteering had always been related and I wanted to create my own project, from the beginning to the end, giving the opportunity to other people to use a simple object as a disposable camera to express themselves and create something bigger, beyond their intercultural differences. It is the first time that I work with refugees, but it's something that I always wanted to do as I am interested in this question and want to understand their situation. So when I met Georgia and we realized we had so much in common, the project YTL was ready to start.

Georgia, 22 years old, Geography Student 
After my EVS in Morocco, it was clear to me that I wanted to be a part of a new volunteering experience, but this time, one I could initiate and set up. My objectives for this project was to work with youth around photography, to understand and and to come together with youth of different cultures. I was also very interested on the situation of migrants and refugees, wanting to explore this question within the project. The Youth Through The Lens project was born when I met Melanie with whom I shared similar interest and the will to set up a project. From that point on Paul, Valentine and Pierre became a part of the team and the YTL project was launched.

Valentin, 21 years old, History Student 
I have always liked to travel, and had the chance to do so with my parents in several countries such as Kenya, Mexico, the US and Egypt. Traveling has allowed me to be open minded and curious about other cultures. When Georgia and Melanie contacted me to join the project, I was very enthusiastic and gave them an immediate "YES!". I thought it would be an amazing chance to discover a new country, a new culture as well as a new point of view on the world. It is because I want to be a journalist that I joined this project as I thought that a volunteering experience could make a difference in my professional project. I am also very fond of photography and this project allowed me to improve as we will make portraits of Gaziantep Youth. Today, I can say that I am very proud to be a part of the YTL project.

Pierre, 20 years old, Independent Photographer
I studied advertisement photography during 5 years in Lyon and now I am an independent photographer, but I like to explore many things through photography, which explains my interest in this project. In January, I met the YTL team who presented the project to me. Immediately I was very interested with the questions and themes the project worked on. I have never done a project like this before, where art, culture and photography were combined in a foreign country, where I have the opportunity to work with people from different cultures. I am a part of an artistic association in Lyon, Le Squart, that allows me to work with both individually and in groups on photos, painting, sculpting, and graffiti. This project is a chance for me to apply the work I do in France in another country. Because photography is an universal media, it's a chance for everyone to share there message worldwide thanks to pictures. Finally this project is a way to meet new people from various countries, to take pictures in a new environment and also to improve my english !

Paul, 21 years old, Geography Student 
I've already realized some volunteering in the past but it was always an individual initiative. By this project, I and the others have shaped a real group and set up something we want. To me, I come into this project because I've a strong sense of curiosity. My ideas on what I wanted to do were quite imprecise, at first. I knew I wanted to share my culture and ideas with other people and learn from theirs. The aspect of migrations and refugees is something really interesting for me, so I wanted to approach these topics. Working together made it clearer and possible.