FIFDH #Impact Days# 2025 launches on 16 January with a public webinar examining the role of hope in #human rights# storytelling. This year’s program focuses on the power and challenges of creating narratives that inspire action while addressing systemic poverty, oppression, and persecution.

The event highlights the tension between fostering optimism and maintaining truthfulness in storytelling. Filmmakers, journalists, and civil society organizations explore strategies for portraying resilience and courage without oversimplifying complex issues or downplaying defeats.

Case Study: Lift Like a Girl

A central feature of the event is a case study and live Q&A on Lift Like a Girl, a documentary by Egyptian filmmaker Mayye Zayed. The film follows Zebiba, a teenage weightlifter from Alexandria, as she overcomes societal and structural barriers to compete internationally. Zayed discusses the film’s impact campaign, conceived at Impact Days 2020, which has reached global audiences through festivals, streaming platforms, and grassroots initiatives.

Panel Discussion

The program also includes a panel discussion with experts in hope-based communication. Speakers include Thomas Coombes, founder of Hope-based Comms; Adrian Kawaley-Lathan, Executive Director of Resilient Foundation; and Juan Mejia, director of Igualada.

Due to limited places available for observers, this webinar is reserved for professionals with a strong interest in the use of documentary films as tools for advocacy i.e. filmmakers, impact producers, NGOs and other international organisations, philanthropists and the media. REGISTER.