Social impact to drive industry change

Diversity and Inclusion

BBC - Flex
Flex, a BBC cultural transformation project to introduce a new flexible working policy, supporting career progression for women and men.

As of July 2019, 80% of BBC vacancies have been advertised with flexible working, both in the UK and globally.

IBC365 speaks to BBC diversity lead Andrew Young:

What is your shortlisted project and what impact has this had on society?
Our project reflects ongoing work in the BBC to normalise flexible working practices, as part of a strategic priority to “make the BBC the best place to work for everyone”.

Workplace culture goes to the heart of our ambitions to reinvent the BBC for the next generation and we know that we will only attract and retain the best talent that reflects the diversity of our audiences. Offering flexible working where possible means people can get a better work-life balance, which we know is something staff really value.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
In 2018, the director-general Tony Hall launched five Culture and Progression workstreams (gender, BAME, disability, social diversity and LGBTQ+) to provide us with a route map for change. We’ve committed to making root and branch changes in seven identified areas and we’re now implementing a programme of interventions which will change the BBC’s culture.

Flexible working was a major theme to emerge, specific to the gender culture and progression workstream.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
We consider our achievements to be work in progress – however we believe our biggest achievements to date include:

• A revised flexible working policy that we believe to be industry leading in opening up new opportunities for our staff to find balance between home and work;
• Advertising vacancies with flexible working options available.
• Building a library of flexible working stories on our internal communication channels to role model people who work flexibly in the BBC. Our role models are evenly split between men and women working in a variety of roles and at various level of seniority;

Building knowledge of best practice flexible working practices across our 2,000+ leadership community.

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
Our comprehensive review of flexible working and subsequent actions are the result of close and ongoing collaborations with staff, multiple BBC stakeholders and external partners.

As a result of the project what has the outcome been? What is the social benefit?

Among many results to note, we are proud to share that since January 2019, 80% of BBC job adverts have welcomed candidates applying on a flexible basis – mitigating a risk identified in consultation that people who currently work flexibly as less likely to apply for new roles or promotion so as not to lose an existing flexible arrangement.

The launch of a pan BBC job share register - enabling people to look for a compatible job share partner, through an online search tool (March 2019).

Why is participating in the IBC Social Impact Award important for your brand and the industry awareness?
Making the BBC the best place to work is one of our key priorities. We’ve committed to making root and branch changes in seven identified areas and we’re now implementing a programme of interventions which will change the BBC’s culture.

 

Broadcast Academy
The Broadcast Academy provides a practical environment to develop technical and operational skills, with a particular emphasis on creating a diverse and multicultural talent pool and increasing the number of women in sports broadcasting.

Broadcast Academy is part of HBS, a company that specialises in the host broadcasting of sports events.

HBS chief executive Dan Miodownik speaks to IBC365:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
Broadcast Academy is a finalist for the new IBC Social Impact Award which is an initiative by HBS to leave a lasting legacy in the sports broadcast industry.

The Academy has three pillars: training tomorrow’s stars, encouraging women in sports production and sustainability.

The impact on society is a more diverse and skilled workforce, while opening the doors to the industry for those that otherwise would not have the opportunity.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
The project was conceived more than ten years ago and is a result of HBS’ experiences of working on major international sports events. Federations and event organisers are always eager to leave a legacy in a hosting country, while broadcasters were looking to elevate their production standards and industry professionals were looking to enhance their knowledge and skills.

The main challenge in creating a diverse workforce is the work to be done in ensuring a coordinated effort across the industry. The more partners and support that participate, the more effective the Broadcast Academy will be in achieving its goals.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
In the last year alone, we have run courses in nine different countries across the world, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tunisia, France, UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US, while operating at a truly global level has been one of the biggest milestones for the Academy.

Another is the success of our participants. Vera Bichler, one of the Academy’s graduates, has become the first women sports director at ORF in Austria.

The Academy is achieving its goals of encouraging women in sports production and at the same time leaving a very positive impact on the industry.

• Read more Interview : Vera Bichler, ORF

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
The Academy is a true passion project and driven by the aims of our clients. We are working on a global basis and trying to create a level playing field by providing education to countries where this kind of exposure and training is not readily available.

As a result of the project what has the outcome been? What is the social benefits?
The outcome is a skilled diverse workforce globally, whether you are in Africa, Asia or the Americas, you will be able to find a talent pool that is as skilled as in Europe.

As a result of our programmes, there are more women taking on directing and producer roles.

The audience of sports broadcast becomes more diverse, it is important that people telling the story also reflect this and if we fail as an industry, we risk losing that audience.

Why is participating in the IBC Social Impact Award important for your brand and the industry awareness?
It gives us and our clients a platform to be part of the discussion and the opportunity to bring awareness to issues such as the lack of diversity in our industry and to ensure that changes can be out in place going forward.

 

TRT - Journalism for Juniors
Turkish broadcaster TRT launched Journalism for Juniors, which teaches disadvantaged young people and refugee children – in Turkey and overseas – how to tell their stories through the medium of journalism, not just to encourage them to make it their career but to understand the importance of trusted information.

IBC365 speaks with TRT senior campaign specialist Zia Ahmad Eshanzada:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
TRT have two projects shortlisted for this award and in this subcategory isF is Journalism for Juniors which is a TRT World Citizen project. World Citizen is the philanthropic arm of TRT.

Journalism for Juniors or J4J is designed to give young refugees and underprivileged high school students a platform to voice their experiences and share their stories. J4J is a three day workshop which was introduced in September 2017 and has trained over 800 students on basics of journalism, storytelling, field producing, and digital journalism.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
For J4J we wanted to create a comprehensive curriculum but wanted to make sure the workshop wouldn’t be longer than three days. As an international news outlet, we have the luxury of very talented and charitable journalists who readily volunteer their time

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
For J4J, seeing our students actually going into the field of journalism. Also at the end of each workshop when students ran their stories and made a news package using their skills set learned during the workshops. For

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
As a news outlet we have access to all humanitarian crises, we are honoured to do something about it. This gives us an edge.

As a result of the project what has the outcome been? What is the social benefit?
For J4J, we are handing over the narrative to the people.

Why is participating in the IBC Social Impact Award important for your brand and the industry awareness?
We want to inspire other media outlets to stand with us for the sake of humanity. In order to do that, we want IBC’s platform to inspire others.

Environmental Impact

Gaian Solutions: VoxA Omnichannel Engagement Platform
VoxA Omnichannel Engagement Platform, an advanced and extensive emergency alert and advisory platform for half a billion Indians living in India’s coastal communities, developed by Gaian Solutions for the Government of India, Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Gaian Solutions chief executive Chandra Kotaru speaks to IBC365:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
The project is an alerting and dissemination platform of all ocean related events ranging from tsunami alerts, cyclone alerts, fishermen advisory services and the like.

This is built for the population of India built and operated by Gaian Solutions for the central government of India.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
The projected was conceived by the Government of India after the 2004 Tsunami.

Gaian Solutions was selected to design, build and operate this alerting platform in 2016/2017 and the platform went live in 2018.

The main barriers were Government bureaucracy, slow penetration of smart phones and access to digital services to the lowest strata of Indian population.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?

1. For the first time ever in developing countries, a low cost device that was designed and built by Gaian Solutions to interrupt television programming with local emergency alerts was delivered as a part of this project.
2. A dedicated app on the going live for this project.

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
Bringing a platform approach to emergency alerting and disaster management operations in India, which leverages the latest in cloud, AI, ML and mobile technologies in order to achieve this.

At the core of the platform approach the platform connects various actors and functions such as alert dissemination bodies, rescue workers, local police, local government officials with general public to bring efficiency throughout the alerting lifecycles.

Why is participating in the IBC Social Impact Award important for your brand and the industry awareness?
We would like to use this opportunity to illustrate that applying best of technology practices and solutions for the benefit of the lowest in the economic strata unlocks maximum value where it is truly needed.

We hope this recognition will further accentuate the Gaian corporation desire to bring about citizen impact services by applying the right technology tools.

 

Liquid Technology
A leader in the recycling of electronic equipment, eliminating the risk of harmful materials like cadmium, lead and rare earth metals finding their way into landfill.

Liquid Technology managing partner Richard Greene spoke to IBC365:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
Liquid Technology provides responsible e-waste recycling to major corporations around the world. We educate our clients on the benefits of proper recycling and have had a lasting impact on the environment.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
For years, our clients were disposing of their old IT equipment without much regard but in 2008 and 2009, a few companies started to ask questions about where exactly their e-waste was going. At the time, we had a partner that was taking everything for us, but we had never taken a deep dive to see where exactly the waste went.

It became apparent that we needed to make a more concentrated effort to develop our e-waste process and follow the trail of where everything went to make sure nothing was being improperly exported or dumped in a landfill.

This process took a lot of work but by 2010, we had everything up and running and it’s been relatively smooth sailing since.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
We recycled over two million pounds of e-waste in 2019 and we first surpassed one million pounds annually in 2012, since then we have been slowly growing our business.

When using the e-Stewards Global Impact Calculator, our work in 2019 reduced GHG emissions by 2,787,821.1 lbs and diverted 57,507.07 lbs of toxic metals, including 55,835.53 lbs of lead and 1,658.39 lbs of arsenic. We hope to reach our next milestone of 3 million pounds by 2022.

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
Unlike our competitors, our priority for recycling e-waste is not making a profit. Instead, our priority is to provide the most effective and ethical recycling service we can for our clients.

We are e-Steward and R2 certified, both lengthy and expensive processes, to show that we do everything above board. By following the guidelines of e-Stewards and R2, we are unable to cut corners or use many downstream vendors that potentially could save us money.

Luckily, our main business is profitable enough to support this project, and we feel it is important for our clients as well as for the earth.

As a result of the project, what has the outcome been? What is the social benefit?
Since starting in 2010, we’ve recycled over 13 million pounds of e-waste, and that number grows daily. The e-waste industry is truly a global one, and if we had not properly recycled those 13 million pounds, they most likely would have wound up in developing economies in Africa and Southeast Asia, causing irreversible damage to their local environments.

This project has also created over a dozen “green” jobs in our company, which will only grow as this project does.

Why is participating in the IBC Social Impact Award important for your brand and the industry awareness?
More companies need to be aware that what they decide to do with their end-of-life IT assets could have a dangerous impact on the environment.

We hope this award will help shed light on this growing issue and help educate people on the ethical options that are out there.

Ethical Leadership

BBDO and Inition - RSA
An immersive, virtual reality experience to put you in the shoes of a drunk driver and experience its agonising consequences – created by BBDO DUBLIN and Inition for the Irish Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Jay Short client services director for Inition spoke to IBC365:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
Consequences is a large-scale virtual reality experience that puts you in the shoes of a drink driver. Different storylines allow you to experience the full extent of the agonising consequences of drink driving - from injury to prosecution - but all with the unique luxury of being able to take the headset off. Something you don’t get to do if you’re caught drink driving in the real world.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
The project is part of an ongoing partnership between RSA, BBDO Dublin and INITION who have worked closely on a number of campaigns together. The idea was to utilise the unparalleled immersion offered by virtual reality to jolt the viewer into a change of mentality about the potential impacts of drink driving. The key consideration was how can we make an even harder impact on a subject that has had a number of already fairly gritty campaigns in the past to change viewer mindset. In the end, a first person virtual reality experience was the chosen solution after thinking about a number of different routes.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
One barrier for virtual reality has always been how to scale effectively for an audience. This was an extension to an existing activation for RSA, so the use of virtual reality showed a real faith of it as a strategic communications tool rather than a fad. The experience has been seen by over 135,000 eyes and continues to tour.

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
Beyond the technical considerations, such as filming in 3D 360 with binaural sound, the most important consideration was that both the technology and the narrative were a suitable fit. Rather than the technology coming first, we instead worked incredibly hard with the overarching narrative and the characters involved.

As a result of the project what has the outcome been? What is the social benefit?
Most importantly, this innovative VR experience has already changed lives, saved lives and is inspiring tomorrow’s drivers to change their behaviour away from the drink driving trend that has emerged in recent years, with it contributing to 2018 being another record low for road fatalities since records began in 1959, and seeing a 6% drop in road deaths compared to 2017.

As a result, Ireland won the ETSC Road Safety Performance Index Award in 2019 proving that mediums like VR really can change behaviours and have a positive social impact on society.

 

Chouette Films: environmental films
Combining green filmmaking and creative flair Chouette Films, an associate member of SOAS, University of London, crafts films with the ingredients to inspire social impact with the smallest possible environmental footprint.

Chouette Films and PhD candidate, London Film School and University of Exeter researcher and producer Anna Sowa speaks to IBC365:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
What started as a passion film project over a summer break, evolved into a business idea and eventually grew into a sustainable film production company – Chouette Films. Since then our films have taken a crucial role in preserving endangered cultures and languages; stimulating social innovation; helping social entrepreneurs; extending the reach of academic research to wider audiences; protecting endangered species and embracing social cohesion and dialogue.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
We realised that there were scarcely any environmentally and socially conscious filmmaking practices in the film industry. On top of this, the few third sector and academic ventures which were putting the planet and people first tended to struggle with poorly executed video content, preventing them from attaining the visibility that they needed.

Seeing this problem, we decided to embed the three pillars of sustainability (social, environmental and economic) into our company’s DNA and made it our driving cause to offer high quality and compelling film for those who would not otherwise be able to afford it. The overarching challenge has always been, and will always be, reducing our environmental impact whilst increasing our social impact and striving to make film affordable.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
Amongst many film festival awards, the endorsement that we are most proud of is the feedback that we received from the people of Agnack, Senegal, after watching the world premiere of the film that we made Kanraxël – The confluence of Agnack. 

What makes your project unique from your competitors?
It is our focus on sustainable and ethical filmmaking which sets us apart from the deep environmental footprint of the majority of film companies, but our hope is that soon we will not be so unique.

We aspire to reach a point where there will no longer be a need for us to label ourselves an environmentally and socially conscious film production company because the green solutions and social causes that we push for will become the industry standard for everyone. It should not be this unusual to put people and the planet before profit.

Why is participating in the IBC Social Impact Award important for your brand and industry awareness?
We believe that we are on the verge of something new. One of today’s most energy-demanding giant industries is slowly waking up to the damage that it is causing the planet. As filmmakers, we are among the most influential of industries, so let us use our loud voice to change our direction and inspire others to follow.

 

TRT: #hellobrother
The gunman in the Christchurch massacre was welcomed into the Al Noor Mosque with the words “hello brother” – TRT created an online video campaign for citizens worldwide to share their stories under the hashtag #hellobrother.

With two shortlisted entries, TRT senior campaign specialist Zia Ahmad Eshanzada speaks to IBC365 about its second shortlisted project:

What is your shortlisted project? What impact has this had on society?
Hello Brother was a special campaign in the wake of senseless killing of over 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its aim is to raise awareness about hate crime, Islamophobia and racism.

How was your project conceived and what were the main barriers to offer a solution?
For Hello Brother, our main aim was not to raise the profile of the terrorist but instead we focused on the survivors, victims and the support of the community.

We wanted to inspire people to stay optimistic and positive. But we had to act fast, so we hit the streets and filmed random people sending a positive message.

What is your biggest milestone and achievement?
The video campaign went viral in less than 48 hours. Football clubs, presidents, politicians celebrities, athletes, and ordinary people started retweeting and sharing the video.