On 10 February, on the fringes of the twentieth edition of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), Action Education was invited to take part in a workshop bringing together some 40 NGOs from International Geneva. The event was organised as part of the festival's Impact Days programme, which aims to strengthen the potential of cinematic storytelling as a tool for social and cultural change.

The FIFDH is one of the most important events dedicated to cinema and human rights worldwide. For 20 years, it has been held every year in the heart of Geneva, the international capital of human rights, in parallel with the main session of the UN Human Rights Council. Diplomats, NGOs, victims, artists, financiers, activists, journalists and the general public are invited to confront their points of view in this unique venue.

Strength in numbers

The Impact Days programme is designed to support film projects by providing them with the necessary skills and the right platform to turn their projects into tools for social change. In the same way as foundations, the media or the general public, the contribution of NGOs in the film process is of great importance to filmmakers, who rely on the expertise and experience of organisations to feed their film, relay it or put them in touch with the right contacts. Action Education (formerly Aide et Action), an international organisation working for development through education for 40 years and a member of various international development and cooperation networks, also took part in the debates. This meeting between international organisations is the first stage of these Impact Days, the second stage of which will take place on 7 and 8 March, when we will be meeting the three film teams who wanted to exchange views with Action Education.