Warsaw Fellowship 2016

Disillusionment vs. hope

Daria Goriacheva
2016 Ideas Incubator Fellow, Ukraine

Bryant H. McGill once said, “Architects of grandeur are often the master builders of disillusionment.” Throughout the first two weeks of the program, HIA fellows, facilitators, and speakers have been collecting and deepening insights from multifaceted imperfections of humanity to build the path for change. United by common hope for a better future, we believed we were architects of grandeur. We were not ready for disillusionment part though. 

Going through this stage became possible thanks to Marek Dorobisz. Charismatic, straightforward, with big kind eyes, and the strategic copywriter and creative director of top Polish brands, Marek introduced the principles of social and advocacy campaigns in the most sobering way. He made it clear that except for a bunch of activists and, perhaps, victims of various manifestations of inequality, human rights issues are the last priority concern for most people. This seemingly obvious notion has become a discovery that threw off the rose-tinted glasses which were so comfortable to wear. 

Marek Dorobisz showed the HIA fellows that reaching people’s hearts and, in case of luck, minds is a long deep process and tedious work. Any social campaign in the field of human rights requires combination of multi-layered research, smart creativity, and readiness to “kill your babies” – to be flexible enough to rethink and change your ideas. As an author of a successful campaign, you have to be capable of both understanding your own goals clearly and putting yourself in the shoes of your target group.

Most of the ideas for our social campaigns Marek met with tough critiques. It was painful, sometimes even offensive, but definitely brought us down to Earth. I believe there will be many times when we “go home and do it again” in our human rights initiatives within HIA framework as well as beyond. But in the moments of the most frustrating disillusionment, we will not give up. It is an inevitable part of grandeur, and we are on our way there.

Daria Goriacheva