Echos Communication is a Belgian NGO for education on development that uses communication as a tool for development. As part of its actions it organized a photograph exhibit at the Botanique Park entitled "1000 Families" in 2003. Two years later, as a continuation of this project, an international consortium (Echos Communication, Concern, PDM, Kopin, UCL) was created to promote reciprocity and collective intelligence in development cooperation and to "make diversity a factor of development".
Echos Communication has also been orchestrating a communication campaign for several years to promote a different image of Africa with the general public in Europe. It considers that the media must be made aware of the impact of the image they present of partners in the South and particularly in Africa. This negative image is such that the public in the North sees Africa only as a place of poverty, and Africans lose confidence in their values, their know-how and their potential for organizing their own development. So there is a need not to systematically present Africa from the standpoint of its shortcomings, but also to show its wealth and creative potential.
United Cities and Local Governments of Africa is an association of village, town and city councils in Africa, via mayors, local elected officials and representatives of local governments. The CGLUA has the specificity of creating a link between African citizens and the world environment. Two types of logic, one "macro", the other "micro", combine and dialogue with each other. The CGLUA is active in promoting local resources in the hands of local "potential". In its founding declaration, one of CGLUA objectives is to "promote inclusive local government that exploits the richness and variety of African culture to develop unity, oneness and tolerance among African communities and societies". One of the priority themes for CGLUA is developing human capital and intellectual exchanges. Jean-Pierre Elong-Mbassi, Secretary General of CGLUAhas summarized this shared vision well: "By involving the Local Communities, you change the perspective and you build what I would call humane globalization, cooperation for people".
Together, these two partners (CGLUA and Echos Communication) have launched a campaign to promote a different image of Africa in Europe. The actions listed below have contributed to achieving this objective.
The famous photographer Uwe Ommer traveled through 130 countries during four years
to photograph families from all over the world. His work is compiled in the
exhibition "1000 families". It is an invitation to appreciate differences and
similarities between people, to explore cultures and continents.
A European consortium of NGOs has been set up in order to launch a campaign, called
Building Unity through Diversity, that aims at promoting new visions of
development cooperation, based on reciprocity and mutual learning. At the heart of
this campaign was the exhibition "1000 families" that has been presented in Dublin,
Valetta, Cork, Helsinki, and Belfast.
This campaign includes several constituents: