The Atlantic Council for International Cooperation (ACIC) has launched an exciting campaign to engage Atlantic Canadians on issues surrounding the use of images portraying the developing world. The South through the Northern Eye will raise awareness about the misperceptions promoted by typical portrayals of the developing world in the media and by the advertising campaigns of international NGOs. It will also increase awareness about global poverty, and highlight the linkages that this issue presents between the North and the South.
Throughout November, workshops and panel discussions will be held across Atlantic Canada to stimulate discussion, reflection, and action on the use of images depicting the developing world. A photo competition will be launched in November and Atlantic Canadians, Atlantic NGOs, and their Southern partners will be encouraged to enter their own ethical images of the developing world. Winning entries will be awarded great prizes and be featured in a photography exhibit that will travel the region in February 2006.
Through this campaign, ACIC hopes to encourage the media and NGOs to think critically about the images they currently use, to understand the impact that these images have on public perceptions, and to make more ethical choices in their representation of the developing world. We will also engage the public to develop a more critical eye with which to view the images they are presented with and raise their awareness about the complexity of issues facing the developing world.
ACIC has publised several documents resulting from our research that you can download and study to learn more about the issues surrounding this Ethical Images Campaign.
Download a Literature review written by two graduate students for ACIC.
Download an analysis of the photographc content presently in use by Atlantic NGO's.
Download an analysis of the photographc content presently in use by Media in the Atlantic.
