Counterpoints Arts launched Moving Lives this week in Dublin. Moving Lives is an online case study of the independent law centre, the Immigrant Council of Ireland – located in Dublin and working nationally and internationally.
We coined the term iPortrait to produce an interactive case study that would not merely sit on a shelf but could reach a wide audience. Character-driven stories in Moving Lives lead you to behind-the-scenes in the Council, highlighting a distinctive way of working within the connected fields of immigration reform, strategic litigation, human rights advocacy and social justice.
The iPortrait approach documents the dynamic ecosystem of the organization, giving access to first-hand reflections from the team as they make sense of what they have learned on specific cases and the core policy issues navigated.
These in-house reflections cluster around documentary films shot by filmmaker and photographer, Simon Hipkins from Key Pictures, capturing the deeply personal and diverse experiences of the people who knocked on the Council’s door seeking support. The films explore what it means to be unequal before the law, to experience different levels of discrimination or to live precariously because of lack of clear residency status. Yet they also evoke the visceral power of personal agency and are rich, creative stories of transformation and hope.
Our partners at pTools and EBOW have helped us build and design a unique and robust site structure enabling Moving Lives to be a living archive/learning resource with different levels of access for the reader and viewer. Whether seeking information about relevant issues, or delving into content as a fellow-advocacy worker and activist, legal practitioner or policymaker, or simply curious to watch the film stories as a mainstream viewer, communications and media worker or interested educator, the choice is yours in Moving Lives.
Check it out here: www.movinglives.org
Photo courtesy of Simon Hipkins at Key Pictures
