Portraits of Resilience is a photography programme that works with youth and schools in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States to document the effects of climate change in their local communities. Through this project, the students have written essays, learned to take photographs, and worked hard to show their communities to the outside world. These geographically distant societies share characteristics of vulnerability and resilience, and are amongst the first to feel the effects of climate change.

Portraits of Resilience illustrates the ethical dimension of climate change, helping to bring personal stories about its impacts to the attention of decision-makers and people around the world. It shows that the people of these regions are not helpless victims of climate change and that their youth have a profound sense of place and a strong desire to see their cultures and communities survive and thrive. Their work has been featured at major museums, numerous climate change conferences and many other venues.

The programme has taken place in the Arctic communities of Shishmaref (Alaska, USA), Uummannaq (Greenland), Unjárga (Norway), Pangnirtung (Nunavut, Canada), Enmelen, Sireniki and Novo Chaplino (Chukotka, Russia), as well as the Island states of Fiji, Tuvalu, Samoa, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Barbuda and Seychelles.