ETHICAL IMAGE POLICY

At Mwezi, we aim to attain the highest standards in all we do. Our values of respect, transparency, cooperation, fairness, compassion and ingenuity direct all of our work, whether that’s the treatment of our donors, our staff, the schools that we visit or the schoolchildren who benefit from our solar lights.

The Mwezi Foundation’s mission is to light up lives. We enable education, provide employment, and protect the environment. To achieve such a goal, we need to inspire and motivate our supporters. Images play a vital role in helping us to do this. Through images and case studies, we can raise awareness of the positive impact access to solar lights can have, and bring our work to life.

The images we choose to represent our work must show a true and accurate account of the ways in which people live. Authenticity is key to upholding our reputation. The gathering of images can cause harm if it is not carried out to a high ethical standard and they can cause offence if they are intrusive or inappropriate. The use of images can also be counter-productive if they are reproduced inaccurately or with manipulation. As a people-centred organisation, the Mwezi Foundation must do our utmost to ensure we treat people with dignity and respect. This extends to all aspects of image gathering and reproduction. When taking images, we must provide clear information about why we want to take a person’s image and explain that it is their right to refuse to participate or to change their mind. People should feel like an active participant in the image making process and be happy for their images to be taken and used.

Throughout the policy the word ‘images’ refers to both photography and film footage. Anybody gathering or using images for or on behalf of the Mwezi Foundation must read the following guidelines before carrying out their work.

The new General Data Protection Regulations state that we should not store or share more information than necessary. Captions and case study information about children and their parents should be limited to just a first name rather than a full name where possible and as broad a geographical location as is reasonable.

Consent

When lights are introduced to a school, the Schools Manager runs through an agreement with the school which outlines what we will offer and what we expect from the school. As part of that agreement, the taking and use of photos will be covered. Teachers are responsible for giving or withholding consent on behalf of their pupils, using previously-gathered consent from parents.

The following approaches should be taken in order to gather informed consent:

• We must explain how the images and stories that we collect will be used (across print, online, TV, adverts etc.). It must be made clear that the images will be used widely and internationally. If someone is happy for us to take and use their image but doesn’t want them to be used in a particular medium, e.g. social media, then this should be recorded and the images must not be used in this way.
• For anyone under 18 years of age, consent should be sought from whoever has parental responsibility, this can be a teacher at their school.
• We must provide clear information about why we want to take a person’s image and explain that it is their right to refuse to participate or to remain anonymous. Extra care should be taken to ensure they understand that not taking part in a photograph will not jeopardise involvement in the Mwezi Foundation project. Consent must be freely given. The request for consent must be presented in a manner which is clearly distinguishable from other information, in an easily accessible form, and using clear and plain language.

Discussing and gathering consent is not always straight-forward and the following issues should be considered by the person getting consent:

• People may agree for their images to be taken without a full understanding of what they will be used for.
• There is not an equal power relationship between the Mwezi Foundation and a community member who we are working with. People may feel unable to refuse a request to be photographed or filmed in case it jeopardises the project.
• Ideally, the practice of gathering images should involve a dialogue with the person or community about their representation and they should be engaged as active participants in the process. People should be comfortable with the process and happy for their images to be taken and used. Equally, our own staff and partners must give their consent for images to be taken and used which show them.
• Simply asking ‘Can I take your photo?’ is not enough, particularly if you intend to publish images anywhere including personal social media accounts.
• Our process of gathering informed consent must take into account the fact that someone being photographed or filmed may change their mind either during a shoot or afterwards. Such a decision must be respected.

Ethical integrity Stereotypes

At the Mwezi Foundation, we understand that the use of images contributes to how people in developed countries view development charities and the need for aid. We do not want to perpetuate the stereotypes of people living in the developing world, but instead want to reflect the reality of their situation. Images can easily re-inforce public perceptions and this should be considered in the way we take and use images, for example; how we show men speaking to women, how we show our staff or visitors interacting with community members or who we show leading projects.

Authenticity should be maintained in any digital process involving image editing. Despite the fact that we can alter images, a viewer should still be able to rely on them as ‘credible evidence’ and proof that something happened at a certain time and place. .

Contact information

Care must always be taken when we publish images of children. No information should be given out that will allow an external person to contact a child in an image. This means we should not publish a child’s surname or their exact location. Instead, we should use only a child’s first name along with as broad a location as is appropriate. Care must also be taken to ensure this information is not printed about their family members.

Last Updated: 16 November 2022