Who Cares?: Operation Day's Work's Booklet Covers as Appeals for Humanitarian Aid

Humanitarian aid is a significant part of the Norwegian self-image. In a governmental report on power and democracy from 2003, humanitarian aid is described as a new national symbol: "Dette bildet av Norge som et idealistisk godhets regime har blitt et nytt nasjonal symbol som er med på å forme nordmenns selvbilde og nasjonale identitet" (Engelstad et al. 2003, 52) [This image of Norway as an idealistic regime of goodness has become a new national symbol, shaping Norwegians' self-image and national identity]. A survey done by Statistics Norway shows that nine out of ten Norwegians are in favor of Norway giving assistance and money to developing countries (Utenriksdepartementet 2007). Norwegians feel privileged and like to consider themselves as generous. Giving humanitarian aid makes Norwegians feel fortunate, and vice versa; as one humanitarian aid worker for a Norwegian NGO states: "Jeg vil ikke si stolt, jeg er veldig ydmyk over å kunne bidra. Det er en glede å kunne bidra og vi er heldig som kan hjelpe" (Sørensen 2015) [I would not say that I am proud; I am very humbled to be able to contribute. It is a pleasure to be able to contribute and we are lucky because we can help]. The first World Happiness Report supports the idea that altruism can increase one's own happiness:

There is of course plenty of evidence that people who care more about others are typically happier than those who care more about themselves. But does that mean that altruism increases happiness in a causal sense? Evidence on volunteering and on giving money suggests that it does.

(Layard, Clark, and Senik 2012, 72)

Through various national humanitarian campaigns, often involving schools and communities, Norwegians are brought up to participate in the Norwegian humanitarian discourse practices. It is a part of their upbringing and education to become good Norwegian world citizens. An underlying argument is that Norwegian youths are especially privileged and should learn to give to the less fortunate.¹

An example of a humanitarian campaign carried out in Norwegian schools is the Operation Day's Work (ODW). For more than 50 years, the student-driven organization has encouraged middle school and high school students in Norway to work and collect money for one day of school a year.² This money is then distributed through projects that aim at educating young people in the Global South.³ Operation Day's Work develops an annual educational program, which is used in the participating schools in Norway. The program focuses on global topics such as solidarity, North/South issues, human rights, and education, as well as information about the chosen project of the year. Films, booklets, and online resources are made available to the schools.⁴ As the audience for this information campaign, Norwegian youths are to gain sufficient knowledge to decide whether they wish to work on the ODW-D ay or not.

Operation Day's Work emphasizes that they are not a charity, but a solidarity action. Young people are encouraged not to simply donate money, but also to work to raise money for the ODW projects. The money the students earn on the ODW-D ay is, nevertheless, subsequently donated to a humanitarian aid organization, responsible for distributing the campaign money for educational projects in the Global South.⁵ As the educational programs distributed to students in Norway are to be used as teaching material, and to motivate and engage the students on the ODW-D ay, ODW's material may be considered a somewhat problematic cross between educational material and humanitarian aid communication.

This article explores how ODW appeals to youths at this generic crossroad by analyzing examples of their booklets from a historical perspective. I will apply Lilie Chouliaraki's (2010) theories on how humanitarian aid communication has developed over time, from the use of what she calls "shock effect" and "positive image" appeals, toward a "post-humanitarian style of appealing."⁶ I will discuss how ODW booklet covers around the turn of the millennium started displaying a new aesthetic, shifting the visual focus away...