Making the Invisible Visible: Equity for Stigmatized Communities

Equity is central to BBC Media Action's work, drawing on Judith Butler's theory of how societies render certain lives invisible. In 2020, formative research in Bengaluru revealed that while residents are concerned about waste on the streets, they rarely acknowledge humans behind the waste. This exposed deep-rooted stigma and negative perceptions surrounding waste pickers, often forcing them into invisibility and lowering their sense of self-worth and dignity.
This stigma shapes how waste pickers view themselves. Many hide their profession and exclude opportunities for growth, support, and recognition. Invaluable Recyclers Café seeks to flip this narrative. It is a mobile, community-led learning hub that travels to waste picker clusters, transforming everyday worksites into vibrant, safe spaces for dialogue, learning, and growth. The Café celebrates waste pickers' voices, skills, and lived experiences, positioning them as environmental stewards critical to Bengaluru's circular economy.
Through skill-building, entertainment-based learning, and access to essential information-ranging from occupational safety to welfare schemes-the Café fosters confidence, knowledge, and collective pride. It challenges both internalised stigma and public perception by reframing waste pickers as 'Invaluable Recyclers.'
In collaboration with local organisations, the Café visited 38 locations, reached over 4,000 waste pickers, and directly engaged 1,233 through interactive sessions. Affectionately called 'Coffee Gadi' by the community, it became a trusted space to share stories, explore opportunities in textile recycling, adopt protective gear, and address issues like nutrition, substance abuse, etc.
More than a mobile unit, the Café has emerged as an equity-driven platform nurturing dignity, belonging, and agency.

In Bengaluru, the city's invisible workforce of over 22,500 informal waste pickers quietly prevent a massive 38,32,50,000 kilograms of waste from reaching landfills every year, yet they remain unseen and stigmatized. Supported by H&M foundation, BBC Media Action's 'Invaluables' social and behaviour change communication campaign flipped that script, holding up a mirror, so the city finally sees dignity, skill and generosity at its core.


The campaign integrates strategic storytelling with cultural resonance to reframe the identity, value and establish the interconnectedness between the lives of the Bengalureans and the wastepickers. It is a journey of activating a high-impact strategic mix of influencing for good, evocative installation, music and films to weave the stories into shifting public perception and nudging narrative change. Anchored by @Invaluable.Bengaluru Instagram community, grown over 38,000 followers, the campaign has amplified the voices into a movement of recognition and empathy to action.


Research-driven and human-centred, the Invaluables campaign's impact is measurable with a 78% rise in public recognition of wastepickers from being Invisible to Invaluable contributors to the circular economy and the waste value chain. The campaign led to tangible behaviour change through citizen action that promoted dignity amongst waste pickers and recyclability of other waste materials. For example, like people rinsing their disposable food containers to uphold dignity and improve the recyclability of waste and putting old clothes back into the waste value chain, thus contributing to decarbonisation and climate action.

Con frecuencia, al abordar problemáticas relacionadas con la violencia armada nos enfrentamos con múltiples barreras, particularmente la falta de empatía y de comprehensión profunda por parte de las y los funcionarios que brindan atención a niñas, niños y adolescentes (NNA) que se ven involucrados en la comisión de delitos vinculados al crimen organizado. En este contexto, se propuso la construcción de una herramienta pedagógica que utilizara la narración de historias y el eduentretenimiento como metodologías efectivas para transformar y promover un abordaje desde una perspectiva de derechos al reclutamiento y la utilización de NNA en contextos de violencia armada, dado que la percepción generalizada de las autoridades gubernamentales y otros actores que trabajan con esta población suele ser criminalizante y estigmatizante.  
En ese sentido, la iniciativa "Horizontes Perdidos" refleja el potencial que tiene el eduentretenimiento como una metodología de Cambio Social y de Comportamiento (SBC) para cuestionar las estructuras de poder que impactan directamente en la vida de NNA, así como para promover una actitud favorable hacia el reconocimiento por parte de las autoridades sobre la condición de víctimas, no de criminales, de las niñas, niños y adolescentes que han sido o están en peligro de ser reclutados y utilizados por grupos del crimen organizado en México.  

The lack of open conversations about TB and limited visibility of real and relatable recovery experiences create barriers to awareness, acceptance, and proactive care. In addition to the stigma associated with TB, the lack of an accessible, low-cost platform for documenting and sharing such experiences remains a major barrier to broader amplification.
A common perception is that fear of stigma and social discrimination discourages individuals from disclosing their TB experiences. Drawing inspiration from the shifts in social attitudes and communication practices in the post-COVID world, The Union set out to challenge this assumption.
Together with Pluc.TV, The Union co-created a digital storytelling platform (MeriTBKiKahaani (My TB Story)) that seeks to empower those whose lives have been touched by TB to share their real and relatable stories. It leverages the transformative power of personal narratives, and the innovative and organic use of technology, to break down deep rooted stigmas associated with the disease, inspire health seeking behaviour and build community support in the collective fight against TB.
 https://www.meritbkikahaani.org/
Results suggested, contrary to belief, many people were willing to share their TB experiences and the digital nature of this intervention ensures that at significant cost effeciencies. 
Such an intervention resonates most strongly with the younger population, particularly individuals aged 18–34, underscoring its youth-focused nature. An accompanying disruptive online and offline communications campaign drives traction and engagement.
This was been replicated in South Africa. Its design is geography- and health-issue-agnostic, making it equally useful for other issues where community storytelling matters.