meeting in the aisle

Anyone for a game of human blackjack?

I read a lot about communication and persuasion and about the never-ending challenge of informing people about complex issues. I know I’m definitely not alone. A look at the debate over climate change communications is a perfect example of how we get it wrong so often.

Generally, entertaining people is considered to be one of the most effective ways of getting a message across. This isn’t a revelation - we have known this for centuries. That’s why children’s education is so focused on games. I know I learned more about geography from Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago? than I did from the atlas that collected dust on my bookshelf.

Communicating the complex, multifaceted and interrelated issues surrounding poverty, and the global financial crisis, and then how the global financial crisis is impacting poverty is no easy task - I understand this.

But creating a game called “Human Blackjack” misses the mark dramatically for me. That’s how the World Development Movement have chosen to try and get their ‘complex campaign message’ across:

In answer to this question, WDM is trying out a pioneering idea – an online flash game of ‘Human Blackjack’. In the game players can take on the role of the President of the United States, a City banker or a Kenyan laundrywoman and play against George Osborne for the future of food. Along the way, they’ll get to see how each of these people fit into the story of the hunger lottery and have the opportunity to join the campaign to stop bankers from betting on food prices in financial markets.

The aim is for people to have fun, while at the same time finding out about the serious message behind it. - Political Dynamite

Call me a killjoy, but I don’t think pretending for a second that I am flippantly playing with human life is fun.

Am I too naive in thinking you don’t have to join them to beat them?

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Aid Communicators Conference - washup

Last Friday I joined a room full of lively communications-types to talk about all things “aid” and “communications” at the 3rd Australian Aid Communicators Conference in Melbourne. Here’s my take on the (pretty rockin’) day:

My top 5 takeaways:

• Aid has a serious image problem: A lot of Australian’s don’t like the idea of foreign aid, don’t know how much Australia gives, or where it goes, and perhaps most disappointingly, the good that it does.

• The Milennium Development Goals are just a tool, not a rule book:  They’re a framework for measuring, talking about, benchmarking and undersanding (at least simply) some of the broad areas which need attention if global poverty is to be halved by 2015 - and it doesn’t matter if most people around the world never know what they are.
  
  
• Individual stories are easier to fundraise off than stories about communities (or broader). This is a challenge when tying to communicate success community/country/region wide. It’s also a constant tension for communicators who have to decide on a daily basis how to frame, bring to life & talk about aid. We have moved beyond the ‘flies in eyes’ style of bringing realities in far-off places into lounge rooms - but toeing the emotional line is always hard.

• Our politicians need a mandate to committ more money to aid, and no one outside the development sector is going to build that mandate on our behalf. [see image problem above]. Just another reason why the aid NGO sector should come together for advocacy reasons.
  
  
• Aid really works. Seriously, it does. And aid orgs should act together to make sure people hear about the good stuff, because it’s seriously good.

A big shout out to CARE Australia, AVI, and Marie Stopes for putting the conference together.

Want more aid talk? Check out my favourite aid website Charity:Water. Donate to the Pakistan Floods appeal, and follow the UNDPI Make Health Global Conference on twitter #AchieveMDGs.