Charles Convis 2018 Conference Talk
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Charles Convis, Esri Conservation Program
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2018 Conference Talk: "Engineering Advocacy with Storytelling"
SESSION: MAPS for ADVOCACY, MONDAY (chapel): PEOPLE TRACK
Presentation -pdf
Video -mp4
2018 ABSTRACT: " Advocacy is defined as speaking out for a cause. It is close to the goal of any storyteller to speak the truth of a story, or any scientist to reveal the truth about natural processes. Unfortunately these truths are insufficient to protect nature. Mapping for Advocacy needs to represent not just presenting truth, but engineering the critical motivation to act in one's audience. This kind of advocacy needs to dig deeper into the skills of artists, actors and film-makers to find the tools needed to create a deeper connection with an audience, one that will result in more lasting change. This presentation will talk about great films and images and show ways to apply their power to the design of maps and storymaps, so that stronger and more sustainable conservation actions might follow. As an example, a common emotional goal in conservation storytelling has been fear, for the same reason that the first films of any great director are usually horror films (Jaws): it's cheap and easy to do. It's also the least sustainable and easiest to destroy from overuse. Maps about issues of concern can certainly be augmented and made more powerful with gut-wrenching images of flood, fire, garbage and death, but to what end? In film, horror is a genre, meant to elicit fear, but there are many other major genres meant to elicit emotions of anger, laughter, love and hope, all of which can be used just as readily to augment the story of a map, and with far greater sustainability and power "
