Children's experiences of poverty - 11,000 images

Last summer Children North East invited 1,200 children and young people, 100 in each North East Local Authority, to photograph their lives and what poverty looked like where they live.

There have been projects before that record images of poverty in the north east. However we do not think anything on this scale has been done before, the children and young people produced over 11,000 photographs.

Many people do not believe poverty exists in the UK today. This project gives the lie to that. It is impossible to ignore so many images, impossible to pretend poverty only affects a minority in a few places. Child poverty affects neighbourhoods in every part of our region - Northumberland, Tyneside, Wearside, County Durham, Teesside and Darlington.

It is a scandal that poverty on this scale should exist today in the 6th wealthiest country in the world. The children and young people who photographed their lives demand our attention. So what are we going to do about it?

The photographs from the project will be the central focus of a national conference about child poverty at the Sage, Gateshead on 23rd November hosted by Children North East and the Webb Memorial Trust. The aim of the conference is to generate personal and regional actions, and demands to government for action that together will end child poverty.

The project was funded by the Webb Memorial Trust and managed by Children North East. The purpose of the project is to bring children and young people’s experiences to the regional debate about what should be done for the 144,000 children (1 in 4) living in families below the official poverty line in the North East.