The goal of Face the Change is to mobilize support to tackle climate change by highlighting its social impacts. By putting a human face on global warming, we aim to elevate the current debate on science and energy policy to one that includes key human rights issues of natural disasters and forced migration. The web-based platform will primarily use video and other multimedia to document the current and future impacts and facilitate a global dialogue with the intention of shaping policy. To reach communities without widespread access to the Internet, we will run a pilot project using cell phone Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) to raise awareness, rally and gather feedback from impoverished communities whose homes and livelihoods will be directly threatened by rising seas, drought and other climate change related effects. Cell phones are the windows to the world for many in developing countries, but their potential as a medium that informs under-represented people and allows them to participate in debates is far from realized.

Focus Bangladesh – a pilot study

For our pilot study, we intend to focus on Bangladesh, a country expected to be hard-hit by climate change but where public awareness is very low. We will work with local partners - non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups and communication companies - to carry out a market study with surveys and focus groups to determine perception and informational gaps. This study will guide the conceptualization and production of the voice, text and video messages to ensure that they are culturally relevant for targeted audiences and compatible with the mobile devices. The key to making such a campaign a success is to produce provocative, informative and motivating messages and to include outlets for interaction: the website, reply text automation for additional information, and requests for feedback. To disseminate to the appropriate market, we will engage NGO and community groups to deliver the messages to people on their contact lists as a first wave of recipients. If packaged correctly, the message will encourage the recipients to forward them onto their friends and relatives, who will then forward them to others in their contact lists, thus creating a ‘viral’ multiplier effect.

Power of the platform

For market delivery we will engage phone companies to track receipt and forwarding on their networks. The text feedback will be transferred to the Face the Change-Bangladesh website, which will be designed to offer a national discussion platform. It is our hope that greater awareness and discussion about the issue will empower the people of Bangladesh to pressure their leaders to include them in the decision-making process and enable them to be a part of a search for solutions. Bangladeshis have developed many ways to address climate variations over the centuries and these adaptations may be useful in coping with future changes. If successful, this campaign will go a long way to giving a voice to those sections of society that are too often ignored and the ability to have a say in their own future. In addition: The co-founders of Face the Change, Daniel Cooney and Mireille Ferrari, each have 10 years of experience working in impoverished countries in Asia. Most recently they lived in Afghanistan for two years, where Daniel was the correspondent for Associated Press, and Mireille was the creative director for a communications agency that developed and implemented information campaigns for U.N. agencies, USAID and other clients. Daniel is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy at UC-Berkeley on a Rotary International World Peace Fellowship, while Mireille is a communications consultant for non-profit groups and advises on using web technology for information campaigns.

Nate Dewart spent the past four years implementing technology education and training for U.S. federal programs in low-income communities. He has 10 years of experience in environmental initiatives and is also pursuing a Master of Public Policy at UC-Berkeley focusing on climate change policy.

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