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Take this Course  3.5hrs
rok kern ethical communications lesson 01

Ethical Communication [MS]

When in low-income communities, our use of photography and social media can easily become exploitative. We can unintentionally act as tourists, capturing and consuming the materially poor’s images and stories as if they were a show to be observed. Further, we can capture images as a way of getting an emotional reaction from viewers in order to manufacture a certain response (often to give money), turning the people featured into tools that we use to get a desired result. All of the above dehumanises the people we meet, violating their dignity, and the image of God in whom every person is created.  Having said this, we need to not ignore the reality of poverty, otherwise we may fail to communicate the complexities of people’s lives. The aim is to portray the reality of people’s lives, while upholding their dignity and resilience in the face of struggle.

By comunications, we mean all words (written and spoken), photography and video, shared by whatever means: social media, a public presentation like a school assembly, a private session with family and friends etc. Even if a particular type of communications, for example photos, is singled out in an activity in this course, the principles still apply to all of the other kinds.

Communication isn’t just about the message we send home, but also the message our presence sends to people in places like Cambodia. In order to avoid being a damaging presence we should dress modestly, avoid public shows of wealth, and behave respectfully.

Learning Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Learning Objectives
  • To help participants understand the complexities of communication in a cross-cultural setting
  • To establish the importance of the key ideas of dignity and informed consent
  • To equip participants with the ability to communicate ethically about their experiences in Cambodia
Learning Outcomes
  • Participants will be able to evaluate the ethics of communications that they encounter, assessing what has been done well and what could be improved
  • Participants will be able to implement principles and practices to communicate ethically about their experiences in Cambodia

Course Content

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Ethical Communication – Missions  2hrs 10 Activities
This lesson is designed to get participants thinking about how to best communicate during and after their trip.
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Lesson Content
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Activity 1 – What Message Does This Send?  15mins
In this activity you will reverse the roles of photographer and subject to explore what messages are sent to local people through your actions.
Activity 2 – Walking in Their Shoes
In this activity you will learn more and think from different perspectives as our ability to empathise with other people continues to grow.
Activity 3 – How Did Jesus Interact with People?  15mins
Examples of how Jesus ministered to people in different spaces.
Activity 4 – Informed Consent  15mins
In this activity you will discuss the importance of informed consent, especially in a cross-cultural context.
Activity 5 – Role Play  15mins
In this activity you will practice getting informed consent around in your community.
Activity 6 – An Image is Worth a Thousand Words  30mins
In this activity you will read some articles about communicating ethically.
Activity 7 – Hypothetical Photo Opportunities
In this activity you will discuss how you will respond to some hypothetical photo opportunities.
Activity 8 – Communications as Witness  20-30mins
Our communications can be a witness to others and an opportunity to declare the identity of a Child of God held within each person.
Activity 9 – Your Turn  20mins
In this activity you will write your own personal ethics statement
Further Resources  20mins
Further resources for this course
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