September 15, 2026
I recently had the opportunity to film in Mexico City, capturing Red BAMX's food bank system, as well as Bordo Poniente, formerly one of the world’s biggest landfills, which now converts organic waste into energy.
When the Solutions Insights Lab films interviews with founders, CEOs, or government officials, their level of agency in these conversations is clear. But when Red BAMX took us into their communities, we had the opportunity to speak with a grandmother named Josefina. It’s in a situation like that when we have to be especially sensitive to power dynamics.
I think: what if I was filming my friend's grandmother? What if I was filming in my own community? How would I want that community to be respected? How would I want to support them? What could I do that would actually benefit them?
To exploit is to extract something for your own advantage. So I try to go into these conversations without an agenda — not just with curiosity, but with an effort to build a genuine relationship. Power dynamics, language dynamics, cultural dynamics will still be at play. But I want the people I'm filming to feel that we’ve truly listened to what they need to say and genuinely reflected their values in what we go on to make, whether it’s an article, a film, or a presentation at an international event.
Josefina actively wanted to be filmed and to share her story: how Red BAMX’s food bank helped her access a healthier diet and beat breast cancer. So many of my friends are survivors, so her experience resonated with me deeply. It was wonderful to hear how one piece in such a complex system of food, climate, and environment was affecting someone so directly.
We went to Mexico City because what’s happening there is extraordinary. We wanted to showcase it not because the people there need help, but because they have something to teach the rest of the world about how things can be done better.
That same principle guides our work with GTI-PIACI (the International Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact). It's a chance to learn from and share insights from isolated Indigenous peoples and the communities that support them across Indonesia, Brazil, and South America, while working with them to convey what matters most to them. Our findings from dozens of interviews with practitioners, advocates, researchers, and Indigenous leaders bear this out: change is more likely when Indigenous leaders themselves set the terms and lay the institutional groundwork, shaping not just how isolated peoples are understood and described but also how their rights and land are protected.
In our work, meeting people where they are comes first. On that foundation, we seek to understand what they want to communicate to the world and what they'd like to learn from their relationships with others.
So the most important question in anything we do is simply this: if this was my community, if these were my friends, if these were my family members — would I feel heard?
Ambika Samarthya-Howard,
Managing Director, Solutions Insights Lab
Next week during the UN General Assembly in New York City, Solutions Insights Lab is hosting two events on the protection of Indigenous rights, expanding our work with GTI-PIACI, and an event about AI and youth mental health, in collaboration with several of our partners from the Youth Mental Wellbeing Co-Lab.
Last week, Jessica Anderen, chief executive of the IKEA Foundation, published an op-ed in Alliance Magazine that highlights Solutions Insights Lab's work in support of their The Shift campaign, which tells the story of the new wave of climate solutions.Read it here: "When progress doesn’t make headlines, philanthropy has a role to play"
“It's not just about listening; you also show that you're interested in hearing them.” — Vanessa de Azevedo Rodrigues, Luta Pela Paz
“Even if a model could be successfully adapted to a somewhat similar context, it won’t work if it hasn’t come from an inclusive process that involves the local community.” — Fernando Travesi, International Center for Transitional Justice
“All of us who work with isolated communities will always face the problem of who has the right to represent them.” — Vanessa Barham, Colectivo Quipa
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