UNOWOOD II
Stanis?aw PIGO? ????????
Keep smiling attitude. Experienced consultant & trainer.
Children’s photos do sell well in development campaigns.
At the World Fair in Brussels, better known as EXPO 1958, the UN built a blue dome pavilion, which had wall thinner than an eggshell, if an egg had the same diameter as the construction. It did not become the icon of the first postwar global pageant though. The Atomium construction, depicting an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, has been one of the Brussels’ landmarks since the exhibition. To impress visitors, Belgium had also set up a live display of families with children from Congo, separated by the bamboo fence. It was the world’s last “human zoo”.?
White audience, depending on its mood, was giving to black children candies or throwing bananas and different objects at them. The UN blue dome and the Congolese village were funded by the Government of Belgium. It’s unbelievable, from today’s perspective, how it was possible visitors could enjoy both, at the same time, at the same place.
Before the delayed EXPO 2020 Dubai opened, Dignified Storytelling initiative had been taken by high level UAE institutions and Dubai Cares to help foster human dignity around the world, while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. Consequently, Dignified Storytelling Forum is to be held on December 10th. Dubai Cares is showcasing transformative power of childhood education in its own pavilion.?
Hosted by the UAE Government, the United Nations hold events and exhibits at a dedicated ‘UN Hub’ housed in the thematic ‘Mission Possible – Opportunity Pavilion’. Indeed, for the UN this is a unique opportunity to engage millions of people for ‘action and impact towards a thriving future of people and planet’. Relatively small team operates the hub, while delegations from all UN Organizations and Agencies will take turns and flock during six months to Dubai, to demonstrate their noble mandates in front of visitors.?
However, as the next wave of COVID 19 pandemic grips the world, the purposefulness of large UN excursions to Dubai is being questioned, first of all for ethical, then for financial and virus spreading reasons.
Several officials flew to Dubai to open a virtual exhibition ‘Space for our Planet’. Why they could not click a mouse in comforts of their well-appointed offices overlooking the Danube River in Vienna? On the EU Honour Day, a larger group of incoming VIP guests and organizers opened the exhibition comprising 1 banner, 20 framed photos and a pamphlet. The exhibition alleged philosophy was visual storytelling, i.e., reinventing the wheel of well-known truth: ‘one picture tells a thousand words ‘. The banner exposes four Ghanaian children joyfully playing under cocoa trees.?
Children’s photos do sell well in development campaigns. UNICEF warns, that “the power of 'suffering child' and 'happy child' images is premised on the vulnerability of children and the desire of adults to protect and celebrate them. ... As a result, visual images of children frequently provoke volatile, rather than reasoned, responses. Exclamations of 'isn't she/he sweet!' or 'but it's to help/save them!' limit any discussion of whether an image may also be inaccurate, condescending, excessively cute or pathetic, or simply out-of-context.”
UNICEF is a role model when it comes to safeguarding the children and their family’s dignity in digitalization times. Most UNICEF photographs and videos are documents of real people and situations. Its comprehensive Photography Guidelines make sure, amongst others, that no children image is broadcasted without applicable consent of parents or legal guardians. One of ethical basics is that children’s photos should only be used in the original context and related to a purpose they were taken for. Recycling and re-framing the photos for various purposes can lead to manipulation.?
The four Ghanaian children, precisely speaking theirs and other children’s photos, have so far travelled to two EXPOs. During EXPO 2015 Milan, they were ‘EXPO-sing: A World in A Cup’ with a focus on ‘Gifts of the Earth’ at a lavish Milanese location. Six year later they re-appeared at EXPO 2020 Dubai for supposedly a noble cause of advocating ‘A Partnership of Respect’. A bunch of wealthy sponsors - private companies, governmental and public institutions, European Union and UN organizations, including UNIDO - generously pays for their trips.?
What impact would bring those money, including travel expenses, hotels bills, and exhibition costs, if donated for the Ghanaian children education??
Leaving aside financial transparency of the two photo exhibitions, important questions remain unanswered. Did parents or legal guardians give consent for taking the children’s photos? Have those children benefitted from their ‘fame’ in any way? Where are they now? The photo was taken in 2015, some of them are young women already.
The UN Organizations’ Heads and VIPs continue arriving in Dubai together with groups of speakers and organizers of events, panels, roadshows. However, in terms of powerful impact for children rights advocacy, one story has already overshadowed those to be told. This is a story of a 14-year-old girl who was raped by WHO employee, and she later gave a birth to a child. Few days ahead of the EXPO 2020 Dubai opening, the long awaited report on sexual abuse during an Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo was released. Will UN Dignified Storytelling events include it before the UN Hub closes at the end of March 2022?
The World Children's Day on November 20th will be marked through several activations with children, youth, and leaders.
The world trade fairs, or EXPOs became popular, because in the era before mass travel, they were one of the few ways for most people to experience other cultures and discover the world.??Since 19th century the world has changed but human desire to impress has not. The world’s largest unsupported dome with the largest 360-degree projection surface is a centerpiece of EXPO 2020 Dubai. ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ is the leading theme of this festival of human ingenuity.?
There is a world outside EXPO 2020 Dubai and the UN Hub; millions vulnerable children striving to survive. Has Dignified Storytelling become one of the symbols of EXPO 2020 Dubai, alongside the Al Wasi dome??
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