Source Oxfam |
We hear a
lot about responsible and credible communications in the environment and
sustainability sectors but development organisations need to work on their
communications credibility too, according to a new report by the LSE.
Brownwashing
is to human rights what greenwashing is to the environment. The Code of Conduct for the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief
says publicity and advertising should recognise disaster victims as “dignified
human beings, not hopeless objects.
Many NGOs
are rethinking their communications plans to be more responsible as long as
there is a demand for actual results and try to reach new target audiences for
donors, including small donors and young people.
The LSE report
sets out questions about how to communicate on suffering, particularly distant
suffering taking place in far-flung parts of the world and challenges the
perception that if people are informed, they will act. Knowledge alone is not enough to make
people act. The challenge is to
move audiences from awareness to engagement. The report calls this ‘from attention to action’.
Packed
full of quotes from NGO communicators, this
research on the marketing and media coverage of disasters, human rights and
development follows a public debate held at the London School of Economics in
November 2011. The
launch event is taking place in London on 27 July.
Blog by Aris Koutentakis
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