Bond’s Ethical Storytelling Group publishes updated guidelines for NGOs
Today, Monday 25 November, Bond releases the second edition of the ethical storytelling guidelines created by the Bond member Working Group, Ethical Storytelling.
Titled “Putting the people in the pictures first: Ethical guidelines for the production and use of content (images and stories)” this updated version builds on the original guidelines from 2019 reflecting major shifts in the NGO sector as well as evolving local, national and international media and communications environments.
Across the NGO sector, many organisations are working to shift power and resources toward majority world actors and towards realising locally led development. The 2019 guidelines were rooted in those principles but the latest version updates some of this language. There is also increasing understanding and acknowledgment across the sector of the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, and racism as sources of injustice and inequity. Alongside this understanding is a recognition of the embedded coloniality and racism in the NGO sector, and that NGO imagery of brown and black people suffering and in need of saving have created and perpetuated racism.
The guidelines cover the process of filming, photography and interviewing (content production), as well as the selection and use of content. They aim to support sector-wide best practice by urging NGOs to put contributors (the people who share their lived experiences) at the center of content production, to recognise their rights, and to consider our responsibilities towards contributors while recording and using their images and words for our communications purposes.
The chapters are structured around guidance on putting contributors first, informed consent processes, responsible portrayals, responsible use of stock imagery and news agencies, and responsible use of AI generated images and content.
This updated version also includes a new resources section with links to other relevant guidelines and related resources that may be useful to for those in the sector seeking to reflect upon and enhance their ethical approaches to NGO storytelling and communications.
Jess Crombie, Co-Chair and Founder of the Bond Ethical Storytelling Working Group, Academic and Ethical Communications Consultant said:
Roughly five years ago when the sector recognised it had a narrative ethics problem and started to change, we created the original Bond Ethical Storytelling guidelines to support the sector in practically implementing those changes. Now, things have evolved, and so we are refreshing them with new sections on power, inequality and race – something which we discussed in the first guidelines but didn’t reference explicitly, participatory approaches, ethical content production in emergency settings, and the responsible use of AI-generated images and content. Like any set of guidelines, this document is not the answer to the problem that as a sector we only began to publicly acknowledge recently. It is instead a tangible example of just one of the many steps and actions being undertaken to try and evolve.
I find it useful to remember the words of one of the young people who generously agreed to share their insights for The People in the Pictures, which kickstarted this work: “I want to take the photos, not be an object.” It’s impossible to have equity when you are objectified, it is all of our responsibilities to fight for and support this young person’s wish for change, and adopting the suggestions in these guidelines is just one of many ways.
ENDS.
Notes to editors
- Read the updated guidelines.
- The Bond Ethical Storytelling group was established in 2017 after the launch of The People in the Pictures: critical perspectives on Save the Children’s image making research report. The group currently has over 300 members and serves as a space for discussion and advice on ethical approaches to producing and using content (images and stories), and a platform to share best practice and knowledge across the sector. Ensuring the people featured are recognised and respected as partners in NGO communications/storytelling is a key part of the group’s ongoing aims.
- Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
- For further information or interviews please contact Jess Salter at [email protected] or call 07392972411.
