Bond members adopt ethical content principle and elect new trustee

Laura Jump, CEO of On Our Radar, was elected as a new trustee to Bond’s board at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 November.

Members also voted to adopt a new principle into the Bond Charter, which commits members to adhere to new guidelines on the ethical collection of images and stories, which were developed by Bond’s People in the Pictures Group.

The event brought together around 60 leaders from the Bond network and featured a conversation with DFID’s new head of Inclusive Societies Department, Diana Dalton.

New board member

Laura Jump is currently CEO of On Our Radar, a communications agency for amplifying unheard voices. She has a broad background including working for donors, national organisations, humanitarian deployments and capacity strengthening initiatives.

“The importance of civil society is being questioned in many locations around the world and the future role of the UK overseas remains unclear. It’s at times like this that we need to come together and draw on our diversity to plan for the future, ensuring the best impact for those in need,” said Laura.

“I am honoured to have been invited to join Bond’s board, through which I will seek to dedicate my time to help the network respond to the changing landscape, expectations and needs, focusing on re-establishing the role of British organisations in international development.”

Charter amendment on ethical content gathering

Members voted to amend the Bond Charter to incorporate new content gathering guidelines, Putting the people in the pictures first: Ethical guidelines for the collection and use of content (images and stories).

The guidelines were produced by the Bond People in the Pictures Group and build upon existing ethical content guidelines by Dóchas and CONCORD’s code of conduct on images and messages.

The guidelines cover the process of filming, photography and interviews, as well as the selection and use of images and stories. It aims to support sector-wide best practice. They urge NGOs to put contributors at the centre of image making, to recognise contributors’ rights, and to consider our responsibilities towards them while gathering and using their images and words for communications purposes.

There is a one-page statement of ethical practice to accompany these guidelines, which outlines members’ responsibilities for and commitments to ethical practice when gathering and using images and stories to communicate our work.