Within Ernesto Sirroli's TED talk, there is a, perhaps unnamed, concept of "the savior complex" (also referred to as the White Savior Complex). The Savior Complex is a phenomenon/tendency that positions, largely white or western folks, as saviors to communities or individuals they work with. This is especially common in film through movies like Freedom Writers or The Blind Side, where a white person is positioned as a sort of hero to "disadvantaged" youth of color. It is also incredibly common in academia, where a group of "scholars" or students enter a community with preconceived ideas of an issue and ill-informed plans to address that "issue" that are usually not based on experience or understanding of the community.

In the video you just watched, this concept is illustrated through the way in which Ernesto and his colleagues entered the community. Ernesto admits that his team never actually asked the community what they needed or if they even wanted help. Rather, his team perceived an issue (lack of agriculture) and deployed resources to address that issue - in a way that had no community buy-in. In doing so, the resources deployed were ultimately wasted. The community knew this would happen, but they were never consulted or centered within the project.

The Savior Complex is also evident through social media posts like the ones depicted below, where a (generally white) person takes a selfie with a group of "disadvantaged" foreign children as a way to showcase their generosity and worldliness. In fact, the trope is so common that the Instagram page "White Savior Barbie" was made to mock it. The examples below are excellent, albeit disheartening, depictions of how white and/or western ideas of normalcy and development are utilized in ways that ultimately harm folks in these communities.

Image of a white woman taking a selfie with a group of black children

Image of a barbie doll writing on a chalk board

The caption from this @Barbiesavior post reads: Who needs a formal education to teach in Africa? Not me! All I need is some chalk and a dose of optimism. It's so sad that they don't have enough trained teachers here. I'm not trained either, but I'm from the West, so it all works out. Good morning, class!!

For further reading on the White Savior Industrial Complex, check out this Atlantic article by Teju Cole https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/

You can also consider following the Instagram account @nowhitesaviors - a Ugandan based organization dedicated to changing the culture of international aid and development.