Comments on: The world’s nomadic economic heart; aid blogging made funny; smartphones and graphs for climate disasters; shifting inequality goalposts; the worst aid promo video EVER: links I liked

By: Reclaim Education

Reclaim Education — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:09:47 +0000

The video and the debate on it – a gross oversimplification of the complex relations between military and NGOs.

The reactions to the video are I feel knee jerks from NGO ’saints’ who view the military as devils incarnate. There is a need for the military, a need for NGOs and a need for humanitarian space – voicing disgust because USAID and USARMY are linked in a video shows a lack of understanding of the realities of the real world and complex emergencies.

The worst aid promotion I ever saw was an Oxfam life size poster on a UK high street of a thin African woman standing in a dry field holding a begging bowl out to the viewer. The damage that that kind of ‘promotion’ does is incalculable. I haven’t heard any soldiers complaining though.

By: Jes

Jes — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:45:20 +0000

Watching that video made me wonder if the US Marine Corps will also be seeking funding from other donors aside from USAID/USG!

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:22:43 +0000

A culturally specific metaphor followed by an almost meaningless graphic – you must be human after all!

Any graphic that puts the economic centre in the arctic ocean is bonkers to start with. An over exageration of the North-South divide? Combining
that with a map projection that expands the polar regions so much shows even less of a grasp on how to make data meaningful. As for it being a centre “of gravity” – well then it really ought to be 3D.

Despite all that, it was strangely intriguing.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:10:48 +0000

Absent images and weaponry, that video could work for hard core humanitarian orgs, no? That’s some powerful branding: run towards chaos. A few years ago the Prez of MSF spoke at a major gathering of NATO brass. I helped write the speech, and that was one of the opening lines. Something we have in common with the military. Moving towards conflict.

By: nina

nina — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:05:32 +0000

oh crikey that video is just awful. really confuses the aid msg even further. it is so offensive to be equating marines with justice and help etc when in reality they are part-responsible for bringing tyranny into people’s lives in the first place

By: Duncan

Duncan — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 09:59:16 +0000

yeah, I kind of noticed as I wrote it, but thought what the hell,. Probably a mistake……..

By: Pete Cranston

Pete Cranston — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:43:02 +0000

“After breaking my duck on twitter”: fabulously culturally specific metaphor, Duncan. Wonder what non-cricket players make of it, especially those for whom English is a second language.

We should do a collection of them: recently a scientist speaking to agricultural research scientists showed a slide of an elephant eating in the forest as an introduction to his punch-line, ‘now for the elephant in the room’. My straw poll of the participants (abusing facilitator’s rights) showed the level of polite incomprehension you’d expect