unicef and #povertypOrn

As a bit of background, I contacted UNICEF to discuss their image policy especially with regard to images I’d seen in recent publicity materials. (I have removed personal email addresses and contact details from the email below. Please contact me if you would like to follow this up with Shaulan.)

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Dear Joe,

I am answering this on behalf of Ara as I am the person who supports UNICEF UK colleagues in using images. I am always keen to hear views about images in the public domain.

As the agency charged in the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) as providing leadership and guidance relating to children’s rights, UNICEF looks to the UNCRC as a framework to analyse how children are depicted visually. By using the Convention to understand how this most vulnerable group of our population is depicted, greater clarity is gained about how all people are visually represented. Below my reply and contact details I’ve summarised a number of the articles of the convention that underpin our approach to photography and children.

Published resources:
At http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_55452.html there is a link to ‘Guidelines for reporting on children’s issues: Documenting abuses while protecting children at risk’ produced by UNICEF International’s Photo Team

Another link – http://www.unicef.org/media/media_tools_guidelines.html – will take you to ‘Reporting guidelines to protect at-risk children’.

We are also guided by the The International Federation of Journalists ‘Right: Guidelines for Journalists and Media Professionals’ at http://www.ifj.org/pdfs/Child handbook final.pdf .

Image use is a live and much discussed subject in UNICEF. Our archive collection is examined by our experienced photo editors as awareness and understanding deepens over time. Images that were taken in one decade may be challenged in the next – as happens in wider social discourse. Accurate documentary images which might have spurred a generation into action may be deemed too challenging or exploitative in later years because society’s sensitivities or awareness has changed. But in all our communications we ask ourselves will we make a lasting change for children, will we transform their futures for the better. Sometimes an accurate portrayal of a difficult issue will challenge our audience but we would not use an image that we judge would cause harm to a child.

It would be helpful to know which images in particular you consider inappropriate or which fail to meet ethical standards.

Kind regards,
Shaulan

Shaulan Chanlewis
Resources & Intranet Officer, International Programmes Advisory Team.

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www.unicef.org.uk /

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KEY ARTICLES OF THE CONVENTION THAT ARE INVOKED IN OUR POLICY ON PHOTOGRAPHY
Article 3: “In all actions concerning children the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration…”.

Article 5: “…shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or legal guardians in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child…”.

Article 8: “…the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations…”.

Article 12: “…shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child…”.

Article 13: “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice…”.

Article 16: “No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on
his or her honour and reputation. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

Article 17: “…shall… encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of social and cultural benefit to the child…”.

Article 19: “…shall…protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include necessary support for the child as well as other forms of prevention of instances of child maltreatment …”.

Article 36: “…shall protect the child against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child’s welfare …”.

Article 39: “…shall take all appropriate measures to promote the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed conflicts. Such recovery shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.”
So in highlighting such issues we would only interview victims in a protective and sensitive way, IF AT ALL. We have guidelines about timing, support, ensuring the presence of protective guardians or representatives.

Article 40: “…the right of every child accused of having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth…”.
This means we would not visually or by name identify a child in conflict with the law, though we might frame a photograph in such a way as to conceal identity but still raise the issue in a documentary image.

Haul Away JOE!

In the last few days I have become rather obsessed with Sea Shanties – as examples of authentic folk music of sea-going communities.  I’m fascinated by ‘working’ music – by which I mean music which is needed to do a certain role.  On sailing ships there were many heavy jobs and it was important to ‘pull’ together, hence the need for music for particular jobs.

So I have the pleasure in introducing some music that almost nobody has heard for 100 years or more.

First, a version of Haul Away JOE (this is not a mild tune, the men would rest and then pull hard on the JOE)

second a version of Roll the Cotton Down

These have been uploaded by a rather amazing guy. More than 400 shanties were collected by a man called Stan Hugill in a classic book from the 1960s, who was said to be the last working Shantyman. These were foremen on the sailing ships who would call the shanties as the men worked.

thoughts wanted on #povertyp0rn

I am interested to hear your thoughts about Poverty P0rn – here are some images from a slideshow the Guardian has today illustrating a sanitation project in Afghanistan.  Please let me know which images you think would be described as Poverty P0rn, and which would not.

You can also tell me how you are defining it, if you like.  My friend Michael Keizer describes it in terms of a lack of dignity of those in the images, though admits this is a slippery concept.  You might like to read through some or all of these resources about the ethical use of these kinds of images.

For what it is worth, I think it is something about exploiting a person in a very vulnerable position to get donors to feel pity and so donate funds for a specific NGO, particularly if that individual is not likely to be helped by any funds raised.  I’m not sure whether it is so problematic if the individual has given permission (whatever that means – presumably they can only really be in a position to give permission if they’re already being helped) and am not clear in my own mind whether newspaper images fall into the same category. And I think we’re talking about the very intrusive close-up shots of an individual’s suffering rather than a wide-angle shot which pictures a scene.

sunset over pegwell bay

the convict ship success

Kent County Council has printed a load of postcard images to promote local history and their local history centre.  They are reprints of local scenes, mostly without dates – but which appear to be taken at the turn of the twentieth century.

One of the cards features the Convict Ship “Success” – something which I have researched before.  Following an inglorious life transporting convicts to Australia as the ‘last floating hell‘ (though some say this isn’t true), the ship was turned into a hulk in Melbourne, where in 1857 the prisoners rebelled and murdered the Superintendent of Prisons, called John Price.

The link to Thanet, and presumably where the photo originates, is that the ship was later turned into a museum which toured around the country from 1894 (this link has a photo, apparently taken in Ramsgate) – finally sailing across the Atlantic in the early 20 century, where it changed roles a few more times before being destroyed by vandals in 1946.  A fitting end, some might say.

There are some photos here of an old guidebook to the museum, mostly with inaccurate information!  And here is a random article about it from the 1930s..

I have now established that the ship visited Ramsgate in the Summer of 1902 from local newspaper records.

poverty p0rn

Poverty p0rn refers to the marketing concept that uses extreme images to get donations for a particular cause.  This has moral problems because of the dehumanising effect of the images on the people in the photos and the wider recipient community.  In a recent article, Nathan Whittlemore proclaims the death of poverty p0rn.

There are several problems with this article.  First, it appears to be introduced with a video of a 9 year old boy describing a violent adult film.  I have a young child and I would not want her to watch something like that at her age.  Even if she had, I certainly would not be putting her recollections on video.  Even if I had done that, I would not be using this video to show

Alex not as a depraved victim but as a clever, creative little kid you might find anywhere

mostly because this shows the opposite.  It shows Alex as a brutalised boy that has obviously been watching videos that are not suitable for his age.  I might further infer (perhaps wrongly) that Alex has poor parenting, is a delinquent and possibly an ex-child soldier who is reliving his nightmares with reference to a video someone showed him.

Nathan then goes on to speak warmly about a “new guard of global nonprofits” – none of which I had ever heard of before, so guided in part by a critical comment on the blog, I set out to find out more.  In reading about Invisible Children and Falling Whistles, a pattern appears to develop.  Both were started by young people that stumbled across conflict in Africa in the most irresponsible way imaginable.  Invisible Children was started by a group of friends that had barely stepped out of the USA before in their lives but decided that they would go to Sudan (of all places) to make a documentary film.  Whilst the result is clearly an engaging first-hand account of what they found, it is hard to suggest that it is particularly well done. And it is further hard to suggest that it is anything other than poverty p0rn.  The resulting campaigns are engaging and dramatic, but conflate complicated issues into simplistic solutions.

That being said, there is a real issue at the heart of how any NGO should raise money.  J recently argued that INGOs lie in their publicity – and we all know they do, yet allow them to get away with it because we find the lie easier to stomach than the truth.  Whilst there might have been a move away from the most disgusting images of dying children being used to raise funds, it is not hard to see how stories are twisted to put a particular message across to potential donors, which is not the entire truth and/or not in the best interests of those involved.

So – what are ‘legitimate’ photos/videos/stories? At what point is the individual worth less than the potential good they can bring?

 

on the curate’s egg

I was interested to read and think about this tweet from Jeremy John.

First, to me the idea that one hour of silence in the presence of a wrathful God would be more uncomfortable than a lifetime is… well, odd.  Second there is something strange about a Quaker not wanting to quake in the presence of the Lord.  George Fox himself wrote books about God’s wrath.

But I think there is something to be said for recognising our tiny place, control and influence in the universe.  And for a certain amount of quaking at the wrathful God.  In a lot of ways, God is the opposite of the message we tell ourselves.  To those who are broken and worthless, he is love and acceptance and care.  To those who are self-important and religious and worthy, he is wrathful and angry and sad.

I was thinking about this with respect to the curate’s egg – an expression that derives from a cartoon published in Punch in 1895.  Today the phrase is used to offer a mild rebuke in the form ‘like the curate’s egg, the movie had some good points’ – the subtext indicating that it also had substantial bad points.  But the phrase actually means that despite the curate  attempting to be overly polite by pointing out that not all of the egg is bad, it is still inedible.  That looking on the bright side is never going to change the fact that the egg is bad.

Stating that the heart of all things is rotten is not just looking on the dark side, it is a statement of fact.  Also pointing to good things does not solve the ethical dilemma, as even good things can be fundamentally flawed and broken at a deep level.  I believe that God is not happy with this, that his urge is to solve and heal and deal with this black, cancerous growth.  And if you want to then infer that I believe God is wrathful, then infer away.

The real issue is knowing what to do about it.  Identifying bad things is not difficult, even under the skin of apparently good things.  Being aware of the blackness of our own motivations is not difficult either – and not easily changed.  Purification is not an easy or a natural process.  Ultimately I think it can only be done when we co-operate with the one who wants to clean up the mess – in whatever way he chooses to do it.  Fortunately I believe he is a loving God too – and that his nature is to heal rather than destroy.

the pastor and the imam

another fascinating interview by these men is here.

the curious Father Ignatius

In early 1869, debate raged within the pages of the Kent Coast Times around the sermons given by the very eccentric priest Father Ignatius.  The interesting thing was that the paper at the time printed full sermons by Father Ignatius (the Anglican better known as Joseph Leycester Lyne) who decided to set up an Anglican monastic order modelled on the Benedictines.  Quite why he came to Ramsgate is not clear – though presumably he wanted to stake some kind of claim to the ‘reintroduction’ of Christianity by Augustine at Ebbsfleet.  What he did do was succeed in annoying the established order of Benedictines (who have recently left Ramsgate after a long association with the town).

Lyne went on to try to set up an Anglican community in Capel-y-ffin in Wales.

 

the “ALBERT VICTOR”

Sometimes I like to read through really old newspapers in my local library to see if anything of interest stands out.  This afternoon I enjoyed seeing an advert in several issues of the East Coast Times of 1869.  There were no images in the newspapers of the time, so you’ll just have to imagine this in the original typeface:

NOTICE

FIRST TRIP SATURDAY 5 JUNE 1869

SEA-SIDE EXPRESS SERVICE

THE PALATIAL SALOON SWIFT SEA-GOING STEAM SHIP

“ALBERT VICTOR”

200 HORSE POWER

SAILS (weather, &c., permitting) from SWAN PIER, above LONDON BRIDGE (where the Penny Boats start from) direct for MARGATE and RAMSGATE every TUESDAY, THURSDAY and SATURDAY at 11 o’clock Forenoon, returning to LONDON on MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS and FRIDAYS, leaving RAMSGATE at 11 a.m., and MARGATE at 12 Noon.

Families leaving for the Coast will find SWAN PIER (where the Penny Boats start from), easy of access, and specially safe to embark at.  Passengers walk on board without requiring to cross Barges or Steamers.

Mr FREDERICK WATT, Chief Steward, has much pleasure in calling attention to the Sailings for season 1869, of the “ALBERT VICTOR”, and promises to all his Friends Sumptuous Luncheons, Dinners, &c., as heretofore in the Grand Dining Saloon, which has been Refitted and Decorated anew, and further assures his Patrons that nothing shall be wanting on his part or Assistants to render a trip to the sea-side delightfully pleasant, while maintaining the well-earned fame of the “ALBERT VICTOR” as being par excellence.

“The Ramsgate and Margate Boat of the Period”

Passengers must retain charge of their Luggage as the Ship is in no way responsible for its safety.  56lbs weight is allowed to each passenger free.  Large Dogs and Perambulators will be charged 1s. each.

Tickets and Hand Bills to be had on board or at Cook’s Excursion Office, 98, Fleet Street.  Office, Old Swan Wharfe.  Offices , Mr Forbes, Dock Quay and at “The Royal Albert Bazaar,” Ramsgate, and at 16, King Street, Margate

There are lots of interesting things about this – not least the Royal Albert Bazaar, whatever that was/is.

[edit] It appears the Royal Albert Bazaar was a shop in Harbour Street.  Cook’s Excursion Office was the office of Thomas Cook and Sons in Fleet Street.  Swan Pier still exists.  According to the London Transport Museum, at the peak in the 1850s, 15000 people used Thames Steamers to get to work, but by 1884 the London Steamboat Company was bankrupt.

In 1884-5 a fleet of steamers were purchased to be used as River Ambulances by the Metropolitan Asylums Board to control the smallpox outbreak.  One of these was the Albert Victor.  It is not clear if this is the same boat, but it seems likely given that the Albert Victor was bought from the London Steamboat Company in 1884.

Isn’t that an interesting story?