IIED's video: A narrative for change: how can racism in storytelling impact development

This event explored the dimensions of racism in development sector narratives and identified lasting solutions. For many years the aid and development sectors have been criticised for perpetuating racial stereotypes and bias in storytelling. Some organisations are beginning to acknowledge and address the dimensions of racism that pervade development narratives. However, more is needed to explore challenges and solutions and to understand if our storytelling has long-lasting impacts on our ability to deliver change. This IIED Debates event, organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in October 2022, brought together storytellers and development sector representatives to consider their role in creating and deconstructing racist narratives. They discussed what type of impact they are having on our collective ability to identify lasting solutions for people that experience extreme poverty. Speakers explored what different organisations are doing to create and deconstruct racist narratives, what is happening in the donor ecosystem that we can learn from, and what role the donor community can play in challenging racist narratives. This video includes a British Sign Language interpreter. The speakers: 0:00 Introduction 0:47 Gabriela Flores Zavala (moderator), senior strategic engagement and communications professional. 7:20 Natalie Lartey, advocacy and engagement manager in IIED's Communications Group. 18:21 Joan Okitoi-Heisig, freelance communicator and a part-time writer interested in telling the stories of women of colour in . 25:36 Marie-Elena John, Caribbean writer currently serving as the senior racial justice lead at UN Women. 40:12 Sheela Patel, founder and director of the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC) India. More information: https://www.iied.org/narrative-for-change-how-can-racism-storytelling-impact-development