The research documentary looks to investigate the UK’s existing economic and cultural attitudes towards charity and international development. With the “controversial pledge by the UK government to spend 0.7% of the UK’s income on foreign aid” the project looks to explore the political implications of the involvement of the West in poverty alleviation and whether this is creating dependency on developing nations.
With the success of fundraising campaigns by organisations such as ALS raising more than “$53.3million” and an increase in people donating to charity from “55% to 57% in a typical month”. The research will look to explore the economic implications of charity and giving. It will explore whether the current efforts of aid and monetary donations are promoting growth or restricting it.
Through accumulating semi-structured interviews with development officers, communication experts, consultants and academic researchers within the UK it looks to explore whether the “£10.4billion” average donated to charities and development organisations are being invested in the most beneficial way to alleviate those living under the poverty line.
This project aims to explore whether charitable donations to development organisations and agencies within capitalists societies given to address regions of poverty tend to focus more on the short term fixes at the time of crises rather than an investment into long term sustainable development solutions and will consider the economic and political implications surrounding charity and development.