The aid sector has long been criticized for its communications practices. Overemphasizing poverty and hardship to appeal to the public’s sense of urgency, using people’s images without their consent, or staging photographs are among practices that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and dehumanize the very people impacted by organizations’ programs, critics have said.
Some organizations have started addressing the issue by developing internal policies for communications. Organizations can also follow existing guidelines such as Photographers Without Borders’ code of ethics, which includes considerations around identity and privacy protection, and delves deeper into issues of consent: revealing a person’s HIV status or involvement in activities that are marginalized in the local context should not be done without obtaining written consent, for instance.
But recent debates over the decentralization and decolonization of aid have raised further questions about the power dynamics that influence the way stories are told. Can members of the communities being served truly give “informed consent” to the use of their image, or do they feel they don’t have a choice? Do people who live without access to the internet understand the implications of having their photographs or photographs of their children widely circulated online? Is agreeing to tell one’s story enough to pass the ethics test when people have no say in how the story is being told?
Such questions have pointed to the need to rethink the relationship that organizations may have with aid recipients in a more fundamental way.
“We feel like we would be furthering these systems of oppression if we don't challenge the language and the culture and the power structures that are inherent in our work,” said Mindy Maschmeyer, managing director of brand marketing at Mercy Corps. “And part of that is examining and changing our own attitudes and values to ensure that we not only see, but we also respect the humanity in all people.”
For decades, international organizations have justified circulating oversimplified narratives with the need to appeal to the public’s sense of urgency to raise funds.
According to Katie Gilbert, business director at creative agency M&C Saatchi World Services, aid organizations approach communications with a specific goal in mind — such as fundraising or demonstrating impact — which reduces the incentive to represent human stories in all their complexities.
“When you look on websites, there's pictures that demonstrate need, and people look passive and like they need help, or there's pictures of smiling children running out of the school building. That's the spectrum,” she explained.
Yet there is little evidence that supports the use of such practices. A recent study conducted by the Development Engagement Lab compared the use of positive emotions — such as pride, joy, and hope — against negative emotions — such as fear or guilt — in fundraising appeals. Results showed no difference in people’s intention to donate after being presented with both types of messages, thus putting into question the use of negative emotions in campaigns. What’s more, participants who were shown negative appeals felt their donation was less likely to make a difference, potentially affecting their long-term engagement.
Beyond being ethically questionable, such practices aren’t the most effective when it comes to moving people to action, Gilbert said, adding that that’s because audiences are more likely to connect with more complex feelings such as inspiration or admiration. She cited examples from the corporate sector like Nike’s advertising campaigns, which emphasize values of tenacity and perseverance to leave a mark in people’s minds.
“When we allow people to tell stories in ways that show their personality and show a range of emotions, not just happy or sad, we improve authenticity, and we also improve engagement,” she explained.
“Those decisions about ethical storytelling aren't just about ideology and big structural problems. They're also in the millions of micro decisions we make along a process.”
— Katie Gilbert, business director, M&C Saatchi World ServicesRather than putting poverty and hardship front and center in its marketing activities, Maschmeyer said Mercy Corps has made the decision to emphasize the agency of local communities instead. This hasn’t impacted the organization’s ability to fundraise, she noted. “We haven't seen any decrease in our ability to make our numbers based on prioritizing ethical creative,” she said.
Organizations can also use participatory storytelling as a feedback mechanism to hear from program recipients about what is working and what could be improved, Gilbert said. That’s what the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation — a current M&C Saatchi World Services client — is trying to put into practice.
The foundation is operating from the belief that better representation and participation in the storytelling process is a prerequisite to more equitable relationships between donor countries and local populations.
“If we view the communities differently and engage them differently, could the funding flow be different?” asked Marshall Stowell, head of partnerships, advocacy, and communications at the foundation. “The end goal is greater impact and equity. The step right before that is to put more funding in the hands of community-based organizations.”
For this to work, there should be a clear alignment between strategic priorities, communications activities, and programming, Stowell explained. This means having a staunch commitment to elevating the voices of people with lived experience, whether that’s through storytelling or program design.
The foundation, Stowell added, is currently working to support its grantees in their effort to improve the representation of the people they serve, to completely overhaul the Hilton Foundation’s website from the perspective of the communities being served and, with the support of M&C Saatchi, develop a toolkit to help its stakeholders and other actors in the international development space navigate these conversations, both with their own staff and with local communities. It hopes to use its position as a funding organization to influence decision-making, whether that’s through funding, advocating for better representation from its grantees and partners, or modelling good practices.
“We can use our privilege and power to make space for people to share their own stories and advocate for themselves,” Stowell explained. “When we view communities as centers of expertise, instead of problems to solve, we’re more likely to deeply engage them in program design and funding decisions, which should lead to greater funding allocated to community-based organizations.”
While organizations are increasingly sensitive to issues of representation, Gilbert warned that some of the barriers to change arise at the time of execution. From the way the brief is formulated, to hiring the production team, and drafting the list of interview questions, organizations must be prepared to stand by their ethical commitments at every step of the way.
“Those decisions about ethical storytelling aren't just about ideology and big structural problems,” she explained. “They're also in the millions of micro decisions we make along a process.”
Hilton Foundation grantee, Africa No Filter, works to support narrative change across the continent and has developed a handbook to guide organizations through the storytelling process, from planning to execution. The guidebook outlines some of the many ways that biases affect how stories are being told, and emphasizes the need to build relationships with local communities to get those stories right, whether that’s getting buy-in from community leaders, workshopping story ideas with people, or hiring translators within the community to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue.
Ultimately, the decision to prioritize ethical storytelling is no longer just a moral one. Demographic shifts mean that aid organizations must appeal to younger donors who may be more sensitive to issues of representation and equity than previous generations, Gilbert said. And NGOs may find it harder to recruit among younger talent who seek out work opportunities that align with their values, she added.
“The world is changing,” she said. “And assuming that what worked yesterday is going to work in the future is not a good way to succeed.”