LifeWind's Equal Dignity Campaign Adds Dignity to the Way Relief and Development Work is Communicated to the Public.
We think there's a better, more dignified approach to communicating human tragedy without crossing the fine line into exploitation. Too often, relief and development agencies feel pressured to show only distress and poverty to bring in more dollars to help those in need. Unfortunately, people become over-saturated with negative images and concerned that their financial sacrifices simply aren't making a difference. For aid recipients, their sense of dignity is diminished if only negative imagery of their region is projected, without also showing the successes many villages have had over the years.
At LifeWind, we're eager to show the other half of the projects that are succeeding, the happy faces of people who have transformed their lives and communities with specialized, targeted and desired help from our donor base. To that end, we've developed the Code of Conduct below for communicating development and relief needs with dignity.
But, we can't change the world on our own. We need your help. Raise awareness of this issue by purchasing an Equal Dignity Village Changer tee shirt, adding your name to our list or inviting more friends through our Village Changer community portal.
Together, we can make sure that dignity prevails abroad and at home.
Code of Conduct for Communicating Relief and Development with Dignity
LifeWind realizes the need for a code of conduct that is both universal in its principle and industry-specific in its applications. Industries touched by this Code of Conduct are: relief agencies and non-profits, development agencies and non-profits, child-advocacy groups and other organizational types that seek to aid those in need and use marketing to raise funds.
In building this Code of Conduct, we realize that: 1) the prevalence of Internet access in third-world countries increases the likelihood that marketing images used domestically could also been seen by the recipient, thus creating a sense of shame and feelings of exploitation; 2) all persons are created equal by God and are entitled to the deference afforded to those in developed nations; 3) that children are defenseless; 4) that many short-form marketing mediums do not provide the opportunity to accurately communicate the context of situations and thereby inadvertently exploit images out of context to raise funds; 5) that systematic over-use of distress imagery can cause back-lashes in both the donor community and the third-world; 6) that communicating relief and development work with dignity through a strong, industry-supported Code of Conduct can further position donors and recipients as equal partners in an effort to change the global community for the good of all and increase, not decrease, the successes underway by all in this industry.
Summary
This Code of Conduct for Equal Dignity is divided into four categories: Context, Concern, Constraint and Communication. This Code of Conduct is offered freely to the industry and we invite others to aid its evolution.
Context
Context must be considered when writing and designing marketing pieces specifically to sell an idea or evoke a response.
1. Images of adults
in distress should not be shown out of context and exploited for fundraising efforts, unless those efforts are concerned with an immediate, short-term need brought about by an act of God or sudden human crisis, such as war.- Appropriate: Showing the devastation of a natural disaster in order to communicate the severity and impact of the crisis. In this instance, context is communicated.
- Not appropriate: Choosing negative images of a needy community to create inaccurate, or not entirely true, perceptions of the community in need.
2. Images of children
in distress should not be used under any circumstances where the context cannot be accurately communicated.- Appropriate: News or long-form media that show children, parents and the community in an informative, non-exploitive style that educates the donor's minds rather than manipulating their emotions.
Images of clothed, happy, empowered children may be used where permissions have been granted by parents, guardians or through stock photo agencies. Where permission cannot be secured, the child should not appear alone, but appear in context with the others from the community.
- Not appropriate: Images of starving, naked, bloated children used out of context, for the singular purpose of soliciting general use funds. In this example, context is not provided to the donor; the child is exploited for money.
3. Images of the community
should be dignified and focused on presenting the truth, not simply a perception.- Appropriate: Communities working together, building projects, gleaning in the field, taking ownership of their destinies.
In cases where communities suffer from disease, it is best to show indigenous aid workers helping their community and not focus entirely on aid workers not native to the community, nation or region.
- Not appropriate: Communities standing in long food lines, picking through dirt to find dropped grain, dying people waiting for foreign aid delivered at the hands of foreigners.
In summary, context is about truth. If the medium doesn't allow for the entire truth to be communicated, it is recommend that dignified images and video be chosen above those that could humiliate or lead others to believe that certain communities lack the will and desire to care for their own welfare.
Concern
Concern should be given to the responsibility marketing has to creating misconceptions about entire populations, races or geographies. A holistic approach to marketing and communication should represent all people groups. One group should not be singled out for general marketing purposes as that could inflame, promote and possibly create racial and ethnic stereotypes.
Constraint
Deference should be given to donors in the form of constraint. Marketing and other materials should limit emotional manipulation and focus on donor education. Constraining emotional manipulation creates an atmosphere of dignified engagement with those burdened to help others.
Communication
In broad terms, two styles of communication exist: 1) the news piece and 2) marketing materials. Both should be used to create a sense of partnership between donors and the recipients who actively engage in helping themselves.
- The news style presents images in ways that show the context of the story. When writing/crafting news pieces, context is extremely important. Context provides the "whole" story and adds a layer of dignity to the information being presented by bringing the "mind" into the story and inviting the reader/viewer to understand the issues discussed.
It is recommended that care be taken to craft news pieces that communicate the dignity of the races and every human being's desire and capacity to achieve some level of self-reliance. News pieces should not inflame stereotypes or suggest (by image or word) that the wealthy hold the answers while the impoverished grasp only the problems.
- The marketing style uses images and thoughts mostly out of context in an attempt to sell an idea or provoke a response quickly. It is recommended that the industries affected by this Code of Conduct begin to shift away from work that communicates dependence on the wealthy and towards messages that illustrate a desire for independence and the capacity to attain it that is found among the world's impoverished.
