"Happiness, hardship and tragedy" are all encapsulated in an exhibition of photographs taken by children living in conflict zones. It opens this Thursday at the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks, Dublin.

Inside: Outside, sponsored by the Reuters Foundation, is based on two contrasting views of conflict. Of the 140 photographs in the show, 80 were taken by children living in conflict zones and 60 were taken by Reuters professional photographers in Kosovo.

The photographs of Kosovo, at times taken in dangerous and life-threatening circumstances, depict the tragedy of the Kosovo crisis as it unfolded.

The children's portrayal of their world stands in sharp contrast to the "objective" vision of the professional photographers. Their photographs are the result of a series of photo workshops organised by Martin Klejnowski Kennedy, director of Visual Impact. Visual Impact is a non-profit organisation which aims to give war-affected children a way of showing the world how they see their lives.

For the past two-and-a-half years Kennedy has been working with children aged 11 to 17 in conflict zones across the globe, giving them disposable cameras with which they document their world. "Visual Impact is about fun, it's about expressing emotion and it's about education," Kennedy says.

The exhibition would be of interest to second-level students. Some of the images, however, are quite disturbing and not suitable for young children.