Criticism of Helvetas campaign
The current Helvetas campaign has drawn criticism. It is said to portray Africans as backward.
As reported by Schweiz am Sonntag, the new system created by Spina's Civil Voices Campaign is currently causing a storm of protest. The accusation is that the subjects are racist and characterized by a colonial view of Africa. Dark-skinned people are depicted as backward and in need of help.
The organization Afro Swiss is said to have demanded in an open letter that the posters be taken down. 200 individuals and organizations have signed the demand. Criticism of the campaign first appeared in French-speaking Switzerland and is now also being voiced in German-speaking Switzerland.
Martine Brunschwig Graf, president of the Federal Commission against Racism, also thinks it is "not a good campaign," as she told Schweiz am Sonntag when asked. The pictures work with the prejudice that Africans can only make progress with the help of the North, she criticizes. However, she also emphasizes that Helvetas is "certainly not a racist organization" - but that it would do well to refrain from such generalizations and stereotyping in the future.
Helvetas rejects the criticism in an interview with the newspaper. Black people are not portrayed as backward on the posters, emphasizes spokesman Matthias Herfeldt. "The posters tell the stories of self-confident, dignified people who are proud of what they have achieved and look to the future with confidence," he says. Helvetas regrets if anyone feels hurt by the depiction.
However, the organization is also self-critical. It had planned to continue the campaign with themes from different continents anyway, but in retrospect it would have been better to use them from the start, says Herfeldt. In addition, development examples that go beyond basic needs such as water, toilets and nutrition will be shown in the future. Helvetas is currently seeking dialogue with critics. (hae/SaS)
