'If everyone gets a chance to participate by using the hashtag, and there's a new curator every week, then we are getting a really diverse perspective of what matters'
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When freelance photojournalist and filmmaker Elie Gardner was based in Peru, she noticed that most of the news about Peru only showed a small part of the day-to-day reality of the country.
At the time, she also started becoming more interested in Instagram, and followed an account called Everyday Africa, which published photos of everyday life in countries on the continent.
Shortly after, Everyday Middle East and other similar, but not connected, accounts appeared on Instagram, and Gardner realised she could contribute as well.
"I didn't really know much about them or the people behind them, but I thought Latin America needs this, so three colleagues and I started Everyday Latin America," she told Journalism.co.uk ahead of the Power of Storytelling conference.
"It was very informal – emailing strangers and liking an idea and wanting to apply it to where I lived, because I wanted people to know more broadly about the region and its realities.
"All these Everyday accounts are organic, there is no money, there is no connection between them but there is some solidarity and support."
Everyday Latin America was set up in 2014. That same year, Instagram took notice of the growing number of Everyday accounts becoming active on the network, and invited the organisers to exhibit at Photoville in New York City.
After meeting up in person at the exhibition, they decided to set up an umbrella called The Everyday Projects, which became a non-profit.
Its mission, according to the website, is to use photography "to challenge stereotypes that distort our understanding of the world".
"We are creating new generations of storytellers and audiences that recognise the need for multiple perspectives in portraying the cultures that define us," the text continues.
"We are a network of journalists, photographers, and artists who have built Everyday social media narratives that delight, surprise, and inform as they confront stubborn misperceptions. We believe in developing visual literacy skills that can change the way we see the world."
A new Instagram account called Everyday Everywhere was also set up, which had 205,000 followers at the time of writing.
The photos posted there are curated from pictures others have shared using the #everydayeverywhere hashtag.
To further the community spirit around the network, curators for the new account change every week, and anybody in the world can volunteer.
"If everyone gets a chance to participate by using the hashtag, and there's a new curator every week, then we are getting a really diverse perspective of what matters, what's interesting visually and content-wise arguably everywhere," said Gardner.
"But of course we are talking about people who have access to the internet and cell phones and so it’s still not totally globally democratic, but it’s close."
Gardner, who moved from Peru to Istanbul in 2015, now works on the community side for The Everyday Projects, and also contributes to Re-picture, the community’s blog.
But contributing to the project is a passion and a hobby for her, as well as for the others, rather than paid work.
Aside from volunteering her time to the network, Gardner creates short films for non-profit organisations, which may send her in the field for 10 days at a time and take her away from The Everyday Projects.
"It's ok, because there are so many others – we can share the work.
"It's a project that we can be hands-on, and develop and grow more, but if we step back, it continues. It's sustainable in that sense."
