Narrative Justice: Who Has the Right to Tell Humanitarian Stories

Social Good Summit 2010“Power of Film”

Rise of Poverty Porn

Imbalance of Power

- There is a clear imbalance of power between filmmakers and humanitarian subjects of their films.

- Lack of effective regulatory systems to ensure films adequately portray their struggles and resilience.

- Discussion of power imbalance is difficult when they are being done for humanitarian reasons. ‘

Charter of Storytelling RightsBy David Denborough

Article 1: Everyone has the right to define their experiences and problems in their own words and terms.

Article 2: Everyone has the right to have their life understood in the context of what they have been through and in the context of their relationships with others.

Article 3: Everyone has the right to invite others who are important to them to be involved in the process of reclaiming their life from the effects of hardship.

Article 4: Everyone has the right not to have problems caused by trauma and injustice located inside of them, internally, as if there were some deficit in them. The person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.

Article 5: Everyone has the right to have their responses to hard times acknowledged. No one is a passive recipient of hardship. People always respond. People always protest injustice.

Article 6: Everyone has the right to have their skills and knowledge of survival respected, honored and acknowledged.

Article 7: Everyone has the right to know and experience that what they have learned through hard times can make a contribution to the lives of others in similar situations.

“PODER!”

Case Study: “It's About the People”

Changing the NarrativeLook at Creativity and Innovation Sectors

Innovations in Technology: Focuses on solutions instead of problems

Socially-Conscious Artists: Stories not focused on charity to evoke pity but

on justice to promote empowerment.

I Sell the Shadow

“I Sell the Shadow”(www.iselltheshadow.org)

New initiative to create meaningful partnerships between creative professionals and UN/NGO agencies around pressing global health issues.

Increase civic participation of artists in development arena. Teach artists and development agencies how to “talk” to one

another. Encourage funding for more creative collaborations. Hands-on workshops for artists, students and communications

specialists. New entertainment portal housing socially conscious creative

content.

NARRATIVE JUSTICENARRATIVE JUSTICEWho has the right to tell development stories?Who has the right to tell development stories?

Lisa RussellLisa RussellFacebook: lisarussellfilm2 | Twitter: @lisarussellfilmFacebook: lisarussellfilm2 | Twitter: @lisarussellfilm

I SELL THE SHADOW: #iselltheshadowI SELL THE SHADOW: #iselltheshadow