Campaign for THE PICKERS announced on International Migrants Day
Across Europe, more than one million migrant workers – often under precarious conditions – harvest the fruit and vegetables we eat every day. Today, on International Migrants Day, a promising partnership between Swiss-based philanthropies and European creative industries comes to light and aims to advocate for migrant workers’ rights through impactful storytelling.
Across Europe, more than one million migrant workers – often under precarious conditions – harvest the fruit and vegetables we eat every day. Today, on International Migrants Day, a promising partnership between Swiss-based philanthropies and European creative industries comes to light and aims to advocate for migrant workers’ rights through impactful storytelling.
In 2025, an advocacy campaign inspired by the new documentary film THE PICKERS will bring their stories to European audiences. Activities will include a tour with thought-provoking encounters, screenings of the film in key locations, and a community-powered day of action. In its first phase, the campaign will focus on German-speaking, French-speaking and Italian-speaking countries.
Throughout, the campaign will call for improved living and working conditions for migrant workers, informed consumer choices, implementation and stricter enforcement of legal frameworks, and compliance of retailers with fair trade principles within intra-European supply chains.
THE PICKERS: Seydou from Mali picking oranges in Italy. Photo: Marcus Zahn / Berlin Producers Media GmbH
A particular focus will be on the lack of human rights protections in existing certification processes, and on well-known Fair Trade initiatives not covering European agriculture. Showcasing examples of best practice, the campaign plans to distribute ‘fairly picked’ oranges as a conversation starter, and to discuss how the concept of worker-driven social responsibility – successfully established by the Fair Food Program in the United States – could be implemented in European agriculture.
The campaign team is in the process of confirming strategic partnerships ranging from grassroots networks such as Good Food Good Farming to intergovernmental organisations such as the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations agency.
The campaign is backed by Swiss-based Seedling Foundation and The Storyboard Collective and will be implemented by a European team at Scottish-based Film & Campaign Ltd. This partnership represents a new model of collaboration between philanthropies and creative industries, aiming to amplify social change through an impact campaign.
Patrizia Rezolli, Managing Director at Seedling Foundation, said:
“Sustainable food production is one of our core areas. Naturally, when talking about sustainability in agriculture, there is a focus on the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet we must not forget the social dimension – in particular the situation of migrant workers who have become an essential part of our food system. The film THE PICKERS gives these people a face, and this impact campaign will make sure we won’t forget their faces. At Seedling Foundation, we are very happy to support this important campaign.”
David Rimer, Founder of The StoryBoard Collective, said:
“The StoryBoard Impact Fund believes in the power of documentary films to change hearts and minds, to spark debate and encourage action. The Pickers clearly is one of these films and best placed for an impact campaign. The team at Film & Campaign always surprise us with their creative, ambitious and innovative approaches, making such campaigns much broader than a screening tour with a film. We’re very excited by some of the ideas they have developed for THE PICKERS and we can’t wait to see them come to life in 2025.”
An online launch of public activities is planned for February 2025, followed by a European tour in the spring and a day of action in May. The launch languages will include English, French, German, and Italian.
People wishing to follow the campaign activities can register for occasional updates here:
Notes
The 2024 film The Pickers is a feature-length documentary (80 mins) made by Berlin Producers GmbH and directed by Elke Sasse. It premiered earlier this year at the prestigious Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival and has since toured international film festivals, with more journalistic TV adaptations of the project being broadcast by ARTE and the ARD network. An initial impact strategy for the full-length documentary was developed as part of the Impact Days at FIFDH in Geneva: fifdh.org/en/pro/catalogue/2024/the-pickers/
Seedling Foundation has a long-term commitment to fund impactful projects in the areas of sustainable food production, sustainable and healthy diet, food waste and circular economy, as well as climate awareness and climate justice: www.seedlingfoundation.ch
The StoryBoard Collective is a philanthropic initiative that supports independent filmmakers worldwide dedicated to driving social change through impactful storytelling. Based in Switzerland, it works closely with organizations and individuals who recognize the power of film to drive social transformation, focusing on critical issues such as human rights, social justice, democracy, and the environment: www.storyboard-collective.org
Founded by Ben Kempas in 2014, Scottish-based Film & Campaign Ltd. brings together many years of experience in developing and delivering impact campaigns across Europe, including the facilitation of high-profile partnerships, coordination of large-scale events on national and international levels, creation of campaign websites and additional content, video production and live streams: www.filmcampaign.org
International Migrants Day was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2000. The date is based on the Assembly’s adaptation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in 1990: www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day
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