The Resolution Project’s main goal is the promotion of advocacy through the art of Photography amongst high school students in rural Jamaica. Like it’s predecessor, Youth Zoom, the Resolution Project is much more than just a photography competition.

Youth Zoom was originally conceived of by JNBS General Manager, Earl Jarrett. It began in 2004 with the goal of helping Jamaica’s youth find a voice, learn the power of that voice and how to use it for the greater good. Armed with cameras and the canvas of Jamaica, students became empowered to effect positive change within their communities, by pointing their lenses at places and people that might otherwise have been invisible.

In March of 2009, Youth Zoom, was re-branded and re-launched as the RESOLUTION PROJECT. ‘Resolution’ refers both to the photography definition: “resolution affects the output options for photos; higher resolutions equal better quality photographs”, and to a whole range of strong themes: declaration, pledge, determination, steadfastness, solution.

With a greater emphasis on advocacy and photojournalism, the Resolution Project aims to encourage non-violent youth activism, an idea essential in a world where teenagers are surrounded by violence and devastating truths.

Each entrant institution is invited to attend Resolution Project workshops held in strategic locations around the island. The students are then provided with digital cameras and are taught the fundamentals of photography and the art of advocacy by some of the most vibrant photographers and advocates in Jamaica. They are then asked to tell intricate and nuanced stories of their communities with their cameras. They are challenged to critically examine the issues facing them and to creatively articulate these in their photographs with the aim of engendering positive change.

In 2009, for the first time, the students were asked to use photography to illustrate a particular theme. Considering that 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights was chosen as the theme for this competition cycle. In 2010, the theme focused on youth issues and was entitled "Because I am Young".

The student photographs showed true creativity and passion. Jamaica’s youth cares and wants to make a difference. The photos and their accompanying narratives spark visceral reactions and have inspired tangible positive change for their subjects.