Marta Abbà
When operating in sensitive and complex contexts, or when delivering challenging messages, a significant amount of creativity is required to ensure rights and freedom: Daniele Giacomini from EMERGENCY and political cartoonist Tjeerd Prenger talk about how and why
Envisioning a world of peace today requires an extraordinary creative effort, even while staying safe at home, metaphorically bombarded by the latest “news from around the world”. Acting effectively, consistently, quickly, and in an economically sustainable manner in areas where peace is absent requires even greater creativity.
«It requires “imagination”, as I call it when describing what happens to those like me who work in open war zones» explains Daniele Giacomini, Emergency and Development Director at EMERGENCY.
«We operate in contexts that vary greatly from geopolitical, cultural, and historical perspectives: every region has its unique circumstances to understand and address».
He continues. «And we almost always have limited resources to achieve something useful and as safe as possible». To these boundary conditions, already particularly complex and critical, the most challenging factor is added for all organisations that intervene while adhering to a precise approach, upholding values that must remain consistent without any compromise.
«Creativity becomes invaluable for explaining the reasoning behind a specific method, never imposing it but motivating it objectively», Giacomini emphasises.
Daniele Giacomini is the Emergency and Development Director at EMERGENCY. After studying Economics in Turin and gaining professional experience in corporate finance with a multinational specialising in confectionery products, he radically changed his career path in 2014, joining EMERGENCY for a humanitarian mission in Iraq. Since then, he has held various roles within the organisation.
«We always strive to offer quality healthcare in every context and situation, even the most dramatic. Not everyone agrees with this choice, but for EMERGENCY, it is crucial to remain consistent, always providing dignified care».
Creativity for engagement, endurance, and innovation
Through Giacomini’s “tales of dignified healthcare in a world at war,” one can gain valuable insights into some concrete, current, and ever-evolving situations, highlighting the creative touch required in missions that are not immediately associated with the virtuous and necessary use of creativity or the fantasy he mentions.
In Gaza, for instance, while waiting to begin constructing their own clinic, EMERGENCY utilised an existing facility, coordinating healthcare services through collaboration with a women’s organisation focusing on gender-based violence1 and reproductive health2. This organisation, CFTA (The Culture & Free Thought Association)3, is one of the largest and most active human rights networks in the Gaza Strip, founded by five Palestinian women activists two decades ago.
Today, following this ad hoc alliance forged with creativity, improvisational skill, and courage, EMERGENCY is working on building a clinic from scratch in the so-called “humanitarian” area. Using locally sourced materials such as metal sheets, pieces of wood, and plastic, the clinic will be erected on sandy terrain. «It will still be a dignified place of care, ready in a short time to become operational at the start of 2025», promises Giacomini. While in Gaza he encountered cooperative activists, in Yemen Giacomini speaks of «military leaders chewing khat4) and welcoming newcomers with weapons in hand. They probably thought we were spies», he admits. «This situation showed me how vital creativity is in building relationships with people from entirely different backgrounds who initially approach you with suspicion».
«You never know what you will encounter before arriving on site», Giacomini clarifies. «When, as in this case in Yemen, you are building a war surgery hospital in an area where no other organisations are present, and you must do so urgently while ensuring safety, you go on-site, observe the situation, and use creativity to figure out how to proceed towards your goal».
This also happened in Afghanistan, where Giacomini highlights the difficulty of maintaining consistency «while staying alert, yet striving to engage with people whose perspectives are entirely different from ours and are often considered unacceptable».
«When gender rights are trampled, creativity is needed to persist and continue hospital operations despite governmental shifts, ensuring at least within the hospital a dignified environment and rights for women».
He smiles, recalling the “surprise” visits by some Taliban members, who appeared at the hospital’s doors disguised in white coats but clearly intending to monitor EMERGENCY’s work. «In tragedy, this scene is almost “comedic”», he admits. «Managing these situations while remaining calm is very complex, as it is crucial not to jeopardise the activities for women that we are managing to sustain in this particularly critical region».
Creativity in problem-solving
Even in Italy, EMERGENCY’s missions are diverse but also require substantial creativity. «In an already structured context, creativity is needed to guarantee even basic social and healthcare activities, integrating effectively and addressing real gaps to bring value where it is needed without overlap,» Giacomini explains.
Similarly, in Ukraine, where a previously organised healthcare system is still respected, Giacomini discusses the efforts to intervene effectively. «Respecting the approach already present in different areas, we identify unmet needs and help creatively, with flexibility, particularly in regions where people are returning to their territories», he shares. «There are many gaps to address in this delicate phase of change, and along with Ukrainian colleagues operating directly in the area by bicycle (a creative solution), we are identifying individual cases of service deficiencies. For now, it mainly involves ensuring access to healthcare services and continuity of certain treatments for those who have remained in areas like Donetsk or managing cases of post-traumatic stress yet to surface». Again, solutions to problems that may arise day after day often arise on-site, imagined with creative consistency.
Drawing peace is not “just” art
As if viewing the scenes described by Giacomini himself, cartoonist Tjeerd Royaards recounts how he started drawing «because many injustices and inequalities in the world make me angry. Creating cartoons is my way of dealing with this anger while encouraging people to reflect on these issues». He focuses on topics and events that anger him most, particularly those related to wars and human rights, amplifying their calls for peace through his creative pencil.
For 20 years, “peace and rights” have remained at the core of his work.
«I do not consider myself an artist but a journalist», he states. «My cartoons are a communication tool that allows me to share my opinion on what is wrong with the world».
Tjeerd Royaards is an award-winning Dutch cartoonist. He works for the Dutch newspaper Trouw, and internationally, his work has been published by The Washington Post, The New York Times, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, and Le Monde, among others. Royaards has worked as a cartoonist since 2005, the year he earned a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Amsterdam. He is the editor-in-chief of Cartoon Movement, a global platform for editorial cartoons and comics journalism. He also serves on the board of Cartoonists Rights Network International and is a member of Cartooning for Peace.
Visit his Instagram profile Learn more about Cartooning for Peace Cartooning for Peace on InstagramHe acknowledges that he can do this because he lives in the Netherlands. «Here I have the freedom to say what I want, even though we now face a populist far-right government that does not favour free media», he explains. «I also have the fortune of working for a newspaper that allows me to draw what I want. But this is not the case for all my colleagues».
Creativity for sustainable distribution
The greatest threats to those who create cartoons defending human rights, according to Royaards, include increasing oppression and censorship still prevalent in many countries. However, these are not the only challenges. «There is also an economic issue: it has never been easy to make a living as a political cartoonist, but in the past decade, it has become almost impossible. Some voices are silenced, fired from their publications, or see their publications fail», he adds. «Young people, as a result, do not think it is a desirable career, and a new generation of cartoonists is not emerging». Social media, in part, have not helped, as they have created an unstable environment for political satire creators. «It is now difficult to predict how a cartoon will be received or whether it will provoke outrage», he notes.
«But it is also true that every cartoon now has a potential global audience, thanks to the same social media that serve as a tremendously powerful tool to convey messages of peace through cartoons».
He adds: «In fact, cartoonists are among the first to be imprisoned by dictators who fully understand the power of a simple image».
I “cartoni animati” hanno il potere di far riflettere sul “Cartoons” have the power to make people reflect on the value of peace by highlighting the absurdity of war and destruction. Royaards believes this, as do those who condemn or censor them. It would also require belief from those with the means to create free and accessible publishing platforms that democratically and widely disseminate the messages of “peace creatives” to the public. With his voice, face, and the “little faces” he populates his images with, Royaards issues a call: «We must push the press and digital media to publish more cartoons and hire cartoonists to complement their publications». For those who will read them, rediscover the courage to imagine peace, for those who draw them creatively, so they can do so safely, and for those at war who need each of us to remember how their rights are under threat or already reduced to rubble.
- Definition of Gender Based Violence provided by the European Union: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/gender-based-violence/what-gender-based-violence_en ↩︎
- World Health Organisation definition of reproductive health https://www.who.int/westernpacific/health-topics/reproductive-health ↩︎
- More on the foundation and mission of CFTA https://web.cfta-ps.org ↩︎
- Khat is a psychoactive plant from the Horn of Africa that provides a stimulating effect when chewed, drunk or smoked. ↩︎
