Photovoice Across Cultures: Lessons From Oman

Interfaith Photovoice brings together people from different cultural backgrounds. Not only are different religions represented in projects, we often get to meet people from different countries. When I facilitate a project in my own culture, I do my best to anticipate how the cultural backgrounds of people may come into play. Most often these projects take place in my own culture, so at least I understand some of the cultural dynamics. 

A recent project in Oman provided an opportunity to facilitate a project in a different cultural context. This was my second time in Oman, and I still had much to learn about their culture. I discovered Omani approaches to time, how work is organized, and decision making are different from American culture. Ways of getting things done at home didn’t work as well in Oman. I had to be agile, trust my local partners, and be open to learning. 

The project was a partnership with the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs (MERA) and the Al Amana Centre. Every year MERA hosts an event on the International Day of Tolerance, a UN holiday observed on November 16). The plan was to bring together 20-30 young adults from different religious and cultural backgrounds to explore how their shared values promote peace, harmony, and cooperation in Oman. While the majority of participants were Omanis, roughly half of the participants were Hindus and Christians from India and Pakistan who work in Muscat.

My first discovery had to do with time. In American culture, one is on time for a meeting when they are a little early or exactly at the start time. Typically there is grace for the person who arrives a minute or two late. An arrival beyond the five-minute mark can be off-putting to many and depending on the occasion, tardiness can cause friction. This is not the case in Oman. The definition of being on-time was up to thirty minutes later than my American expectations. And expatriates living in Oman calibrate their internal clocks to Omani norms.

Our team arrived early to set up for our first meeting. Then we waited. I was anxious, worried about people not coming. My local partners assured me people were on their way. Eventually, people showed up for the meeting. Despite the angst I felt about starting late, the meeting went well. Muslims, Christians, and Hindus formed diverse small groups, shared their photographs and stories with one another. They learned about one another’s religious lives, spiritual experiences, and interfaith harmony in Oman, which was exactly what we intended. 

Photo 1. A Muslim participant sharing a photograph in a small group comprising people from different cultures and religions.

My second lesson in Oman had to do with process. In American culture projects tend to unfold sequentially with an emphasis on sticking to a schedule, whereas the cultural default in Oman favors a more fluid and less linear approach. I experienced this difference toward the end of the project when more people were included in the project at the insistence of our local partners. The group grew by about fifty percent. Most of these new people came from Hindu and Christian backgrounds, which added to the  diversity of the project.

These newcomers joined the project for the first time during the second to last meeting. Normally, I would have resisted adding so many people at a late stage of the project. They did not have the benefit of earlier meetings to learn about our project or our process. I was concerned they missed out on time to build relationships and trust. From my cultural perspective they skipped important steps in the process, which set off alarm bells in my mind about the integrity of the project. But the project was not entirely my own: it was a collaboration with local partners. I had to override my own hang-ups about sequence and schedule. By embracing these new participants, we were able to help them feel welcome and integral to the project. This more diverse group added layers of nuance to the project and their photographs allowed for a more inclusive exhibit.

Finally, I learned leadership and decision making happen differently in Oman. Officials from the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs were involved in decisions about the photovoice exhibition that were usually left to participants. Again, culture was at work.

Some cultures are more egalitarian and others are more hierarchical. Photovoice and American culture lean toward the egalitarian end of the spectrum. For example, during their final meeting, participants wrote titles and captions for their photographs. Then they worked together to select photographs that could be included in the Day of Tolerance exhibition (Photo 2). Despite cultural differences, the process unfolded similarly to those I have facilitated in the United States. And by the end of the night, we had the raw materials for an exhibit of thirty photos.

Photo 2. Participants curated their artwork into a collection of pieces that could be used in the exhibition.

Participants typically hold sway in which photographs are included in a photovoice exhibition. As a participatory action research technique, one of the goals of photovoice is empowering those involved in the project by giving them agency and a voice in their community. After all, the photos and captions they create are their stories. 

In this case, however, participants’ selections needed to be vetted by MERA officials. It turns out, decisions in Omani culture are made from the top and these decision-makers had a clear vision for their event. They had wisdom about which themes and photos would resonate with their audience—and conversely, which ones could be problematic. Looking back, I’m grateful for the way they protected us from making any big cultural mistakes.

My experience in Oman reminded me that trust is a two-way street. I was asking local partners and participants to trust my expertise in photovoice and interfaith understanding. I also had to learn to trust their expertise on their own culture. And as someone with trust issues—or more accurately an aversion to vulnerability—this was an important part of an ongoing lesson in my life.

It would be hard to imagine a more suitable way to integrate the artwork into the International Day of Tolerance conference. The photographs were tastefully displayed in the foyer leading to the event  (Photo 3). Photovoice participants were pleased their photographs were included in this way and they were excited to attend the opening night of the conference. Likewise, feedback from event organizers and local partners was overall positive. 

Photo 3. The Interfaith Photovoice exhibition (left) during Oman’s International Day of Tolerance in Muscat (November 16, 2021).

Throughout the project I observed people from different cultural and religious backgrounds learning from one another. Relationships and trust resulted. And judging from the occasional flurry of messages in the project’s WhatsApp group, these friendships continue. Along the way, this project impacted me. It stretched me in important ways. It made me more aware—more self-aware. And it increased my capacity to adapt across cultures.