LONDON — In an era inundated with information, navigating truth and authenticity in communication has become increasingly challenging. This week, during a panel discussion at the PRovoke EMEA Summit in London, experts from diverse fields shared insights into the importance of genuine communication strategies.

The panel, featuring Chantal Bowman-Boyles, EMEA managing partner at Finn Partners, Alma Castrejon-Davila, senior campaigner at Changing Markets Foundation, and Hazel McGuire, general manager UK & Ireland at Intrepid Travel, discussed the complexities of maintaining transparency and authenticity, and the importance of “communications with heart” in today's turbulent world.

The discussion kicked off with a thought-provoking video speech from former Ukrainian politician Alexander Ananchenko, highlighting the impact of cyber attacks and misinformation campaigns. Ananchenko emphasized the need for unified efforts in Ukraine and its partners.

“It is critical for NGOs, activists, media organisations, creative and tech industries to unite in promoting media literacy, fact-checking, and digital security. By doing this, we can help individuals distinguish between fact and fiction and enhance transparency and accountability in our digital world,” said Ananchenko.

Echoing Ananchenko’s sentiments, Bowman-Boyles emphasized the role of trust and truth in society, especially during times of crisis. She said: “We've seen from Brexit, the Trump presidency, Covid, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza that society can't function properly without trust, and you cannot have trust without truth.”

Amid the rise of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, Bowman-Boyles highlighted the importance of authentic communication by brands: “What we have to do is accessing emotion by demonstrating vulnerability, showing who we really are and what we truly believe, and backing that up with facts, evidence, and good stories.”

At the Changing Markets Foundation – a non-profit that exposes unsustainable corporate and investment practice – Castrejon-Davila said: “One of the things that we do within our work is to expose truth, uncover issues, and have hard conversations about what we need to do in order to have a solution to those problems.”

She added that it is crucial to reveal the link between social issues and the risks associated with investments, to push stakeholders to take action.

Addressing the role of businesses, McGuire highlighted Intrepid Travel's commitment to ethical marketing – the B Corp launched its first ethical marketing policy in 2021 – including McGuire hiring local people and integrating sustainability into their tours: “Over the last two years, where we have a tour leader on the ground who weaves elements of the sustainability, the community tourism, the people's stories into that trip, we see customer satisfaction in that product rises.”

She added: “I think holding ourselves accountable and actually externally publicizing whether we've managed to meet them or not is really important data as well. Communications with heart is all about authenticity and that ability to stand up and see when you get it right, what you do and also when you get it wrong.”