January 2nd, 2026

Last November, we had the opportunity to take part in the NPO Radio 1 program “De Nacht is ZWART.” The conversation centered on a long-standing imbalance in storytelling: Indigenous peoples are often spoken about, but rarely given the space, tools, or platforms to speak for themselves.

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During the interview, our founder Abdel Mandili shared the vision behind People’s Planet Project and the way we work to shift power in storytelling and advocacy. Rather than extracting stories or mediating Indigenous voices, we support communities in telling their own stories, on their own terms. This includes providing training, equipment, and support for Indigenous filmmakers and communicators, enabling them to document their realities, protect their territories, and amplify their struggles and knowledge globally.

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Abdel also spoke about how visual storytelling can become a tool for justice. Beyond raising awareness, the images and footage produced by communities themselves can serve as evidence in legal cases against corporations and multinationals that exploit land, extract resources, and violate human and environmental rights. In this way, storytelling becomes both cultural expression and a form of resistance.

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The interview, led by Ruben van Haften and Oifik Youssefi, offered space to reflect on why representation matters, who controls narratives, and how returning authorship to Indigenous peoples is essential for climate justice, accountability, and systemic change.