It’s that time of year again when aid fundraising videos are given one of two mighty titles: one they want, and one they probably don’t.
With more than 3,100 votes cast in the last week, the Golden Radiator and Rusty Radiator awards were tonight given to the best and worst aid ads of 2016.
Now in their fourth year, the awards – organised by the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH) – seek to challenge charities to move away from harmful stereotypes.
So here are the worst ...
Rusty Radiator: finalists
Give to children like Don. Donate now! – Save the Children Netherlands
An African child with a swollen belly? Check. A sad, depressing soundtrack? Check. Even if you don’t understand Dutch, we’ve seen enough ads like this to know exactly the type of message it’s trying to send. Dubbed the “epitome of poverty pornography” by the jury, the video only focuses on the suffering of children, and uses their starving bodies as tools to gain sympathy. The ad perpetuates the stereotype that only an outside donor can save these children from their misery. The only saving needed here is us from watching this ad.
A sponsored child’s dream – World Vision Australia
According to this campaign, a donation will not only help keep a child safe, it will send them to school, give them clean drinking water, cure their diseases, provide shelter and, most importantly, make them dance. The problematic narrative that a donation from the west will solve all these problems oversimplifies complicated issues and shows children as passive and helpless victims.
The jury said: “Rather than focusing on local agency and initiative, it tells that their suffering can easily be solved by western donors. The children are depicted as mere objects without any context.”
Rusty Radiator: winner
The wait is over – Compassion International
And the worst development ad campaign of 2016 is the highly depressing “The wait is over” by Compassion International. A young girl and her family pray daily for a “saviour”, who turns out to be a blonde, white woman from Australia.
Here’s what the jury had to say: “This video promotes deep-rooted perceptions of western superiority over the south. It reinforces the white saviour complex, and depicts that there is nothing parents can do for their children other than to wait for the sponsor who can save their lives and their future.”
And the best ...
Golden Radiator finalists
What do girls really learn at school? Learn without fear – Plan International UK
This creative and powerful ad by Plan International UK depicts the hardships girls face all over the world when getting an education. It also includes an example from the UK, reminding us that sexual harassment and abuse against girls is a worldwide problem, and not exclusive to developing countries.
“The concept came from our research, which revealed that more than half of all UK girls feel unsafe on their way to school,” says Sarah West, head of communications at Plan International UK. “This research mirrored much of what we already knew about the experiences of millions of girls in some of the world’s poorest communities – that sexual harassment and abuse are all too often commonplace experiences for many girls.”
Look Beyond Borders: 4-Minute Experiment – Amnesty Poland
While much of refugee reporting is dominated by statistics and numbers, this video shows a refreshing human side to the crisis.
As Amnesty Poland puts it: “Only when you sit down opposite a specific person and look into their eyes, you no longer see an anonymous refugee or one of the migrants, and notice the human before you, just like yourself – loving, suffering, dreaming.”
This ad reminds us beautifully that humans are more alike than we are different, and that we all deserve to live with dignity.
And the Golden Radiator winner is ...
Love a positive life – International HIV/Aids Alliance
The winning video follows the story of Daphine an HIV positive 19-year-old in Uganda. She talks about her work as a peer educator on HIV and living a full life. “I really love the positiveness in me,” she says. “I really love to live a positive life.”
The jury was impressed by this. “This video can help break down prejudices and stereotypes against HIV by depicting the ‘positive’ daily life of an HIV positive woman who transformed her own life,” said the judges. “The video gives a good amount of information about the situation for people living with HIV/Aids and is not presenting them as helpless victims, but empowerful individuals.”
Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter.
