Speaking with Vatican Media on the sidelines of a global Vatican communications seminar for the Jubilee of Hope, Chris Walter, co-director of ‘On Our Radar’ in the UK, reflects on the organizations efforts to tell real stories with, not for, communities that might otherwise go unheard.By Deborah Castellano LubovStories are a powerful “currency,” and we must change the way we tell stories, says Chris Walter, co-director of “On Our Radar,” a UK organization that, comprised of a specialist group of journalists, filmmakers, digital storytellers and community practitioners, works through partnerships to establish community reporter networks and surface stories from unheard groups worldwide.Walter spoke with Vatican Media during the Jubilee of the World of Communications on the sidelines of a global conference, organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication in partnership with the Dicastery for Evangelization, that is seeking to address some of the most frequent questions that communicators in the Church face today.The event is geared toward Presidents of Episcopal Commissions for Communication, Director of Social Communication Office, International Coordinators of Religious Congregations.”On Our Radar,” which has won six international media awards and been nominated for scores more, has had its work published by national and international media outlets across seven European and fifteen African countries, and been screened for global leaders. From flagship documentaries on slavery in Ghana to films co-produced with garment workers in Bangladesh; from networks of reporters experiencing homelessness and dementia in the UK to election trackers in the Niger Delta and citizen reporters on the frontline of the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, “On Our Radar” works with people to tell their stories in their own words and their own time.In this interview, Walter shares his story and the story of On Our Radar, and offers advice on how to become “storytellers of hope.”Listen to the full interview with Chris Walter:***Mr. Walter what brings you here, in the Vatican? From this global conference, what story have you come to tell? I’m here to tell everyone about the work that we do at “On Our Radar” and our mission to work with communities who have been historically marginalized or ignored or who haven’t been heard, and to change the way we tell stories with those groups and amplify their voices.On Our Radar: can you tell us a little bit about how it was founded, and a little more about the activities that you do?Of course. So, On Our Radar, at its essence, was founded to combat the top-down form of journalism that has been going on for hundreds of years, where editors at the very top are often old men who get to decide what stories are told, how they’re told, where they’re shown, the formats.Therefore, what we do at On Our Radar, is we work with communities who have been left out of the conversation, communities who are living through some of the world’s
Chris Walter: Putem schimba media în bine
