“Living With”: Perspectives on Type 1 Diabetes, from Geneva to Bamako
Geneva, September 9, 2025. The exhibition " Living With " invites the public to discover the daily lives of people living with type 1 diabetes in Geneva, Switzerland, and in Bamako, Mali, highlighting their challenges, their strength, and their resilience. Type 1 diabetes is not just a matter of treatment and medical follow-up: it is a mental burden, a constant management of uncertainty, both deeply personal and yet part of a shared reality.
Designed in collaboration with theNGO Santé Diabète, the NCD Policy Lab presents the photo exhibition ‘Living With’ on Quai Wilson in Geneva. This open-air and free exhibition illustrates, through shared testimonies from Geneva and Bamako, the experiences of people living with type 1 diabetes.
56 portraits, between individual stories and shared experience
Photographers Antoine Martin (Switzerland) and John Kalapo (Mali) have captured this voice through 56 portraits, carefully created together with patients to faithfully reflect their experiences and the messages they wished to convey. Each portrait is accompanied by a personal testimony, reinforcing the deeply human dimension of the exhibition.
"This project reveals the human side of type 1 diabetes. A disease without borders, age, or gender, which demands constant vigilance… yet does not prevent finding balance. Each portrait reflects a unique way of moving forward,” explains Antoine Martin, who also served as the exhibition’s artistic director.
A Symbolic Presence in Public Space
Throughout the month of September, ‘Living With’ takes over the the shores of Lake Léman, a highly frequented location in the heart of Geneva, offering maximum visibility for this awareness-raising initiative. The exhibition becomes a a symbolic bridge between Geneva and Bamako, where perspectives intersect and realities are shared despite cultural and geographical distances. It aims to spark public discussion about a disease still too often surrounded by prejudice and to raise awareness of the psychosocial burden of type 1 diabetes.
Experience the Exhibition Differently
Virtual tour available on the NCD Policy Lab website: https://ncdpolicylab.org/activities/exhibition/living-with
Partners and organization
This exhibition is part of a long-standing collaboration between the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), the NGO Santé Diabète , various partners in Mali, and the Fondation vivre avec le diabète de type 1 in Geneva, in connection with the NCD Policy Lab and with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the City of Geneva.
Download the press release (in French).
PRESS CONTACT
David Beran : info@ncdpolicylab.org
Service de Médecine Tropicale et Humanitaire Université de Genève | Faculté de Médecine
