‘If Not Us Then Who’ is a US registered charity, 501(c)(3) that supports a global awareness campaign highlighting the role indigenous and local peoples play in protecting our planet. We work in partnership with communities to make films, take photographs, curate content, commission local artists and host events. Our work aims to build lasting networks, target unjust policies, and advocate for greater rights for indigenous and local peoples to bring about positive social change.
Participatory films for campaigning
All the films made for the If Not Us Then Who project are participatory – we work with indigenous peoples to tell the stories they want to tell. From Indonesia to Peru, we have been working with indigenous networks to interpret their experience and, as a result, the material you see on this website broadly reflects the work of our core partners- AMAN, AMPB, REPALEF and COICA.
Our goal is ultimately to give the material back to communities so they can use them to campaign and affect change at a local level. We support this work by bringing our material to the attention of international audiences through events and by creating specific social media content to raise awareness. This is vital in an age when over consumption of commodities directly affects local communities.
Our material is being used by many international non-governmental Organisations (Global Witness, Rainforest Foundation, ISA, Rainforest Action Network) to inform policy makers in large corporations and in governments of the needs of communities. The material is a doorway into understanding complex issues such as climate change or the commodities trade, at a community level.
When the timing is right our material has also been used by journalists, featuring in Le Monde, El Pais, The New York Times, The Guardian, Mongabay, BBC online and in many other publications.
We hope this material is used to educate and inform, to change minds and to appeal to the heart.
To find out more visit https://ifnotusthenwho.me