Her Lens: Resilience and Reflection is a regional photography and visual storytelling program supporting emerging and mid-career women documentary photographers from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Implemented by Candid Foundation and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, the project seeks to strengthen women’s voices in documentary photography and create space for diverse, locally grounded narratives from across the region.

The program brings together ten women photographers working in a wide range of social, political, and conflict-affected contexts. Through professional mentorship, production grants, tailored training sessions, and one-on-one guidance, participants develop long-term documentary photography projects that explore themes such as identity, memory, resilience, displacement, social change, and everyday life.

The program culminates in four regional exhibitions across the MENA region, followed by a final exhibition in Berlin, creating opportunities for public engagement, cross-cultural dialogue, and international visibility. Through exhibitions, publications, and digital dissemination, Her Lens contributes to preserving personal and collective memories while encouraging meaningful conversations about contemporary realities across the region.

At its core, Her Lens is an investment in women as authors of their own narratives, empowering photographers to document their communities, challenge dominant representations, and build connections across borders through the power of visual storytelling.