Seeing Through Their Eyes: Youth Voices, Light, and Lived Experience in Bogotá

In early March, a photography exhibition opened at the University of the Andes in Bogotá. Titled “Seeing Through My Eyes”, it was created by members of the Lumos Colombia Youth Advisory Board, a group of children and young people currently living within institutional care. The exhibition was led by Fundación Lumos Colombia, in collaboration with NiñezYA, the coalition of child focused organisations in the country, and Centro Imagina at the university.

The exhibition offered a rare invitation: to step into everyday life as experienced by those growing up in the care system, and to see it through their perspective.

Across Colombia, thousands of children and young people live in institutional settings, often separated from their families and navigating highly structured environments. Through this exhibition, their realities were shared in a way that felt immediate and personal, shaped through their own images and reflections.

Each photograph captured fragments of daily life. Shared routines that require coordination and trust. Objects that carry comfort and memory. Friendships that become anchors. Quiet moments that open space to think, imagine, and breathe. Together, these images formed a narrative of resilience, connection, and identity.

The exhibition also created space to reflect on autonomy and individuality. In institutional settings, many aspects of daily life are guided by strict rules and procedures. For young people, particularly those over the age of 14, this can mean needing permission for everyday activities such as going to the cinema, taking part in school projects outside the classroom, or travelling. These limitations can restrict opportunities to make independent choices, build relationships beyond the care environment, and participate more freely in their communities.

By bringing these realities into view, the exhibition encouraged a deeper conversation about what it means for children and young people to grow, belong, and shape their own futures.

A Platform for Expression and Voice

What makes this work so meaningful is who created it.

The young people behind the exhibition shaped every element of the process. Photography became a way to explore emotions, to document experiences, and to communicate what often sits beyond language. Through this process, they built confidence, strengthened connections, and created something that speaks far beyond the walls of the exhibition space.

As Samantha, one of the young people involved, shared at the opening:

This project was never just about snapping photos. It was about dreaming; it was about learning to articulate the things that words often fail to capture. Every single photograph contains a piece of who we are.

Her words reflect the depth of the journey. The images carry more than visual meaning, they hold memory, emotion, and perspective.

From Lived Experience to System Change

This exhibition is part of a wider journey supported through the LACT Programme. Since 2020, we have partnered with Lumos through “Partnering for Change Across Colombia”, an initiative working towards long term, systemic change so that children can grow up in safe and loving families.

At the heart of this work is a shift in how care is understood and delivered. Lumos works alongside a growing network of civil society organisations and service providers as they transition from residential care models into community based family support services. These changes strengthen families, help prevent separation, and create pathways for children to return to family environments.

Through the LACT Programme, we are proud to support this work and the spaces that make it visible. The exhibition reflects a way of working that centres participation, trust, and partnership. It shows how lived experience can inform change, influence systems, and shape more responsive approaches to care.

“Seeing Through My Eyes” reminds us that transformation happens at many levels. It grows through policy and practice, but also through expression, creativity, and the courage of young people to share their stories.

And it is a privilege to stand alongside them as that change unfolds.