The Ethical Image - Panel 1: Challenges in Visualising a Changing World
Channel: Rights Exposure
Date: 05/11/2018

The visual representation of critical issues is both necessary and ubiquitous. Visual representation both calls attention to problems and frames possible solutions. More people than ever before have the capacity to produce, share and receive images of important issues affecting our world today, be they human rights abuses, the degradation of the environment, or economic inequality. The proliferation of images not only raises urgent questions on the ethics of creating and disseminating photos of those impacted by these issues but also requires us to re-appraise whether past critiques and responses are still appropriate and effective in our 24/7 digital world. 

"The Ethical Image" conference took place in Hong Kong on 6 October 2018. It brought together leading experts from Asia and beyond working in academia, the media and NGOs to discuss the ethical challenges faced by those who create, publish and use images in the course of their daily work. Over a single day, four panels were convened on the following topics:

Panel 1: The Ethical Image: Challenges in Visualising a Changing World

Panel 2: The Rohingya Crisis - Politics of Representation

Panel 3: How to Produce and Use Images Ethically

Panel 4: The Way Forward: Building Practical Solutions

The conference was organised by the Journalism and Media Studies Center (JMSC) at the University of Hong Kong, Rights Exposure, and the World Press Photo Foundation's Explore Program. The event sponsors were Google News Initiative and WMA.