Saviourism and Humanitarianism

Since I was very young I always felt uneasy (deep disquiet) whenever I saw the ‘well-intentioned’ fundraising appeals for the ‘latest’ crises, famine or war. Usually using starving, nameless African children - aka ‘fly in the eye’ fundraising. 📺 Poverty / Humanitarian / Famine Porn - all terms I wish never existed - but can not be ignored.

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Today, at the Stichting SPARK #IGNITE9 conference - I attended a workshop on exactly this. An excellent panel explored how, in the age of disinformation and polarisation, #inclusive communication can bring us together again, for good. We also discussed #decolonising the language used in the #humanitarian sector - beneficiary, stakeholder and empowerment were just a few of the 'problematic words' which arose. Critically - terms can change but if the underlying #power dynamics don’t - we aren’t removing the problem, just replacing the word!

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It also goes to show that even if the intention is good - it can go hideously wrong in practice. Do they know it’s Christmas? #Bandaid1984 🎶 🎄 🤢. As always - it’s all about the different perspectives and who and how we frame them. It makes me very proud to be working with organisations like Stichting SPARK and thank you for today

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#IGNITE9. 🌍

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