Humans of MY World Toolkit

Humans of
MY World
How-To Guide
you can collect your own Humans of MY World interviews
and submit them to be featured on our page.
https://www.facebook.com/homy2015
you can even start your own “Humans of” page.
here’s how
what’s inside:
-what is HOMY
-the interview
-the photo
-send us your stuff
-contact us
what is Humans of MY World?
The United Nations Millennium Campaign believes that behind
every MY World vote there’s a personal story that deserves to
be told. That’s why we started Humans of MY World (HOMY) a
photo-narrative project that is highlighting the humanity behind
the world’s toughest issues. HOMY brings a fresh, innovative,
human perspective to big data and development statistics.
We invite you to take part in this movement.
This guide tells
1) how to conduct a HOMY interview
2) tips for taking photos
3) how to submit your content to us here at HOMY
4) suggestions for sharing HOMY on your own social media
channels
the interview
Goal
Collect personal narratives from real people to highlight the stories
and experiences behind the 16 MY World priorities.
How
1. Select a location in town where you feel the environment will provide you
with the best narratives.
Generally public parks and working class neighborhoods are good locations,
where people have time to talk, and are intimately familiar with their community’s development needs. Make sure to interview people from many diverse
backgrounds--people of all ages, genders, incomes, races, and religions.
2. Print off the MY World survey in the local language, or you may need to
translate it yourself.
Printable surveys can be found here:
http://bit.ly/homy-languages
A sheet explaining the 16 MY World priorities can be found here:
http://partner.myworld2015.org/howto.php
3. Starting with the MY World survey:
a. Approach your potential interviewee
b. Introduce yourself and the organization you represent
c. Ask them if they have a couple of minutes to answer a few questions
d. Next present them with the MY World survey, and ask which single
option is the most important to them, personally.
e. Ask personal follow-up questions that encourage the interviewee to
elaborate.
4. After the interview, ask if you can take a few photos, and explain to the
interviewee where the content will be featured.
Pro Tips
The best content is personal, and takes the shape of a story. People want to see narratives,
not editorials. With your follow up questions, always bring the focus back to the interviewee’s
own life. For example, if the interviewee selects “better healthcare” as his or her top priority,
be sure to ask them about their own past experiences with the healthcare system. When was
the last time they or someone in their family went to the hospital or clinic? What was that
experience like? Has anyone close to them died from illness? What did they learn from that
tragedy? These are the sort of personal questions that will most likely invoke sincere and
heartfelt stories.
Try to allow for a story with a hopeful ending, or at least a silver lining. People get tired of one
sad story after the next. Questions like: What can you do/have you done to address the
challenges you are facing? Could you imagine or have you seen community action that makes
a difference? How can you be an agent of change in a situation like this? What did you learn
from this? What gave you hope during such a difficult experience? How do you think things
could change for the better?--these questions can help frame your stories with a positive
ending. Try to show how people themselves can take action within their communities, alone
or together with others, to change things for the better.
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More Tips & Tricks
1. People in transit are generally less keen to be interviewed. Choose someone who is idle.
2. Try to approach interviewees from the side rather than the front. Smile, and try to make
sure your camera isn’t in sight at first, as that will often make people uneasy.
3. Start with easy questions-about a person’s occupation, their children’s ages, etc. This
allows people to get comfortable.
4. Consider recording your interviews with a phone or other electronic device. Depending
on the laws in your area, this may require the consent of the interviewee. However, it makes
writing up the interviews easier and more accurate.
5. Time of day matters. Figure out when people are most likely to have time to talk. We
found that afternoons and weekends generally work best, but this can vary.
6. Asking a general follow-up question like “what is your greatest struggle on a daily basis”
or “what was the moment in your life that you were most happy/angry” can trigger a deep
response that is often related to the MY World priority which the interviewee has selected.
7. Don’t be afraid to cut an interview short. Not every interviewee is going to give responses
worth using. If you feel like an interview is going nowhere, kindly tell the interviewee thanks
for their time and move on to someone new.
8. Not all interviews have to be random. Perhaps you already know of someone with an
amazing story related to a MY World priority. Reach out to them and ask if you can conduct
an interview.
the photo
photographer . Regardless, you don't need a
You may already be an experienced
experience photographer
super expensive camera to take a good HOMY photo. Even some smartphones
can take a picture of sufficient quality for us to feature.
If you're new to photography
photography, do not fear! Here are a few helpful tips for taking
excellent HOMY portrait photos:
1. There are two classic HOMY shots: a close-up head and shoulders shot, and a
full body shot which gives a better feel of the surrounding scene. Be sure to get both
when photographing an interviewee.
2. Take all photos outside, and make sure that the background varies for each interview! We need to maintain the sense that the interview was casual and
serendipitous-that this is someone that was randomly approached on the street.
3. Action shots are always good. If the person you approach was in the middle of a
certain task, capture that! If they were washing vegetables, show them washing vegetables. If they were sitting, photograph them sitting. If they were reading a newspaper,
photograph them reading.
4. Get low. The subject should generally be looking slightly down at us in the
photo. This allows them a look of dignity and composure. Don't be afraid to crouch
down when taking your photos, or even get on the ground!
Getting a little dirty can pay off.
5. Get the light in there eyes. This is one of the key secrets to bringing a person to life
in a photo. Try to get the sun behind one of your shoulders when taking the photos, so
that the light is hitting at least half of the subject's face. It's very
difficult to get a good photo if the sun is behind the subject and shining in your eyes.
6. Take pictures from different angles. A few pictures from diverse angles will
generally give you a better selection than many pictures from the same angle.
7. Do a quick scan of your surroundings. What's the most interesting thing you see?
Try to get that in your shot.
8. Make sure their head is clear. A portrait looks best when the subject has clear sky
or a solid background behind his or her head. If there's anything behind the subject--a
wall, a building, a tree--be sure that the subject's head, ear-to-ear, is either fully in front
of the object/background or fully beside it. It looks strange if someone's head has a
tree branch running through it or a building glued to one side.
His top priority: protection against crime and violence
“I used to be a gangster brah. Now… now I am tired.”
“Why? What made you tired?”
“Because I got nothing. I would steal. Like your camera there, I would just take it and
run. I would rob, and I would buy pills to smoke, and beer. At that time I was crazy.
And all I got was jail, every time. In 2009 my friend got stabbed to death in front of my
eyes and there wasn’t even an investigation of his death. I realized that as far as people
were concerned, as a gangster, he was worth nothing. Less than nothing. That is why
I decided to change. I tell my gangster friends now: guys, you know you can get a job,
brah. You can do something that makes people smile.”
-Port St. John’s, South Africa
Her top priority: better job opportunities
“When my brother died last month, my son took it hard. He’s addicted to that new
drug nyaope--the one that has already killed so many of our children and turned others
into thieves. You know, our crime is driven by drugs because our kids have nothing else
to do.
My brother wouldn’t give up on him, though. My brother kept reminding him that once
he was gone, he would be the man of the family. But by then my son was stealing from
his own mother—stealing things like money, and my spoons. It broke my heart.
Once my brother died, my son checked himself into a strict rehab center in Pietersburg. He went voluntarily. I’m very happy now, very proud. But to be honest, I’m praying that he can get a job when he gets out. That will be the big test, to keep him on the
right path. If he doesn’t have a job I’m so afraid that it will be like before.”
–Pretoria, South Africa
His top priority: protecting forests, rivers, and oceans
“Has anyone on your boat ever done something really stupid?”
“Last year a group of tourists hired me to take them around the islands for a day. On
our way home, this guy dumped all his garbage right into the water. Food wrappers,
cans, cigarette butts, like it was no thing at all! I was so mad, I wanted to push him
in with it.”
“Why did you take it so personally?”
“The ocean is everything for me you know? It's my job. It’s my life. If you put trash in
this water you may as well be putting it inside my home. I can’t stand for that.”
-Puerto Princesa, Philippines
Her top priority: an honest and responsive government
“My brother was killed by a soccer gang when he was 17. If we had better security,
and less corruption, this would never have happened. The ones who did it were sons
of politically powerful people. They’re still out today. I still see them around.”
-Buenos Aires, Argentina
send us your stuff
Submitting your HOMY content is easy!
Please send us one to two JPEG or RAW pictures of each interviewee
and a typed transcript of all of the interview portions that you think are
relevant. Upon receiving the content we may do some further light editing
on our end to make sure the content matches our existing format and
style.
Send the JPEG or RAW file and typed interview to [email protected]
a. Please send each interview and photo in a separate email. That
way we know which interview corresponds to each photo.
b. The email subject line should be the city and country the portrait is
from, e.g.: “Cairo, Egypt”
c. The photos can be submitted as an attachment or a Google Drive
link, and the interviews should be pasted as text in the body of the
email message.
d. Please include your name and organization, as well as any other
relevant information.
e. Make sure that you clearly state the top MY World priority that
each interviewee said was most important to them.
Sample Facebook & Blog Posts
Below are samples of content you can post to help promote
HOMY on your own social media channels
Introducing Humans of MY World, a new kind of storytelling project. Follow us at the United Nations Millennium
Campaign as we travel around the world and talk to people
about the things that matter to them most.
Why is a 63-year-old man in Mexico so passionate about
taking action on climate change? Why is a 14-year old girl
in the Philippines concerned about protection against violence and crime? Introducing Humans of MY World, a new
kind of storytelling project. Follow us now to hear the human stories behind the world’s toughest issues.
7 million people have already made their voices heard at
the UN. Each of them has a story to tell. Follow Humans of
MY World, a new kind of storytelling project.
Seven million people have already made their voices heard
through MY World, the United Nations global survey for a
better world. And since statistics don’t tell the entire story,
we’re introducing Humans of MY World, a photo project to
highlight the priorities of people around our world.
Sample Tweets
Below are sample Tweets some of our
partners have used to Tweet about
Humans of MY World. Feel free to share your
own Tweet with @MYWorld2015 and
use the following link for the HOMY Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/homy2015
7+ million people have already voted for
@MYWorld2015. Click this link to see their stories:
#post2015
.@MYWorld2015 will visit #(CountryName) to hear
from some of the 7+ million voices who voted
@ the @UN, follow the stories here:
#post2015
.@MYWorld2015 visited #(CountryName) & heard
from some of the 7+ million voices who voted
at the @UN, follow their stories here:
#post2015
For more information about the Humans of MY World project,
to get involved, or if you would like more
customized content, please contact us at
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/homy2015