#sounddelivery

[Originally posted on Third Sector December 8 2011 by Jude Habib]

On behalf of all those who are passionate about reading, I want to offer huge congratulations to the London Evening Standard for working in partnership with the national charity Volunteer Reading Help to put a spotlight on  literacy among Londoners.

I know that many of you reading this aren’t necessarily based in London, but over the last 18 months our free evening paper has been creating quite a stir in terms of how it campaigns on a particular issue. Last year it focused on exploring the stories behind poverty among Londoners through it’s ‘Dispossessed’ campaign.

But it’s the Evening Standard’s award-winning Get London Reading campaign that has really been an inspiration, with lots of lessons to be learnt by us all.

Its aim was simple, to get London reading by raising awareness of literacy issues and by working in partnership with a charity that would train ordinary adults to go into London’s most deprived primary schools to provide one-on-one reading support for struggling pupils.

Their ask was also simple, “volunteer today, donate today – and change lives.”  People responded in their thousands. I would say the key things that have driven this campaign from its inception were its simple storytelling and powerful use of  case studies. But there are some other elements that have ensured it has made a real impact, despite the issue being what many might consider unexciting. Those elements are:

1. It has been passionate, emotional, thought provoking and moving

The daily digest of first-hand case studies about ordinary Londoners who have been affected by literacy issues moved me to tears. The articles captured  just what it means to be unable to read and write in a compelling way that made you want to keep reading. Every day there was a different case study highlighting the magnitude of the issue. I had simply not thought about it before. I am sure neither had many commuters.

2. It was unmissable – the campaign WAS the headline news

The editor put the campaign on the front page practically every day for months. It wasn’t sidelined to the middle pages but was a key part of their editorial. Pages of newspaper and online space were given to the campaign which allowed it to develop and breathe.

3. The right charity partnership

The Standard worked in partnership with Volunteer Reading Help, which trains volunteers to provide one-to-one reading in schools. So this wasn’t just a literacy awareness-raising and fundraising campaign. It was also encouraging volunteering.  Double tick!

4. Corporates were clambering to be involved…

….as were celebrities, members of the Royal Family and other high profile names, many of whom had their own story to tell.  It was fascinating to read about business people who had got to high positions without being able to read and write. For many of them, this was the first time they had been compelled to share their story.  These were extremely honest and sympathetic portraits – again, extremely powerful content.

5. They adopted a school

A lovely twist on adopting villages in developing countries or sponsoring children overseas.  This was in London, on our doorsteps, and people wanted to make a difference.

6. In it for the long haul

They have been running this campaign for months. Always with a different twist or a different angle. They’d make direct links to the lastest news stories to keep the campaign relevant.

I could probably write a thesis about this campaign.  It didn’t use any tricks or gimmicks. It just used first hand evidence to tell the story. It recently won the People’s Prize for Literacy Development at the Brit Writers’ Awards for its “inspirational contribution to the promotion of literacy and creative writing”. The judging panel said: “Of all the literacy projects and campaigns we considered, we felt that the Evening Standard’s campaign has had the highest impact and has been most effective in achieving the aim of getting people into reading and writing. The Standard has encouraged people at every level of society to get involved to make a tangible difference in their schools and communities.”

[Originally posted on Third Sector November 16 2011 by Jude Habib]

I don’t know whether it is the grey days or the early nights or the challenges of running my own organisation but I have to be honest, I’ve been feeling out of sorts recently and in search of inspiration.

Last week I found it in buckets at the House of Lords when I was attending the charity London Youth’s launch of Hunch: ‘A vision for youth in post austerity Britain’. This was a vision of a Britain that invested in the capabilities and character of the next generation.

There was a stellar line-up of third sector leaders including the CEO of London Youth Nick Wilkie and Lord Victor Adebowale, all championing the role of youth work and young people. As Lord Adebowale argued: “During a recession – youth services are first to go. We should be investing in young people.”

But it was London Youth trustee, 18-year-old  Francis Augusto, who was the highlight of the evening.  He came to the UK from Angola with his family to start a new life. But life was challenging and at the age of 13 he was going off the rails and was arrested for GBH. However, his life was turned around thanks to a special youth worker who supported him and encouraged him “to be the best he could be”.

He describes himself as “a prime example of what makes youth work such a great profession”, but says young people’s voices need to be heard.  He is now a student of sociology at Roehampton University – a mentor, leader and social entrepreneur, but most importantly an example of a voice that needs to be heard.

But, if I was feeling inspired so were many others in the room…

I wanted as many other people to hear his story.  So I picked up my trusty iPhone, managed to grab Frances from the crowd and recorded my own audioboo interview with him, uploaded it and tweeted it out.  Simple, immediate, straightforward and free. Listen to what he says here:

Francis Augusto London Youth Hunch launch (mp3)

And it was that example of sharing a story to a wider audience which reminded me why I do what I do. There is still a real need to for charities like London Youth to tell their amazing stories to the broadest possible audience.  At sounddelivery, our aim is to give organisations the skills so that they can do this themselves, but on occasion they might need a helping hand and I felt privileged to be in that position last week.

[Originally Posted on Third Sector June 20 2011 by Jude Habib]

Last week I was privileged to attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the charity AFRUCA. 

The evening turned into a double celebration as the founder and chief executive, Modupe Debbie Ariyo, was awarded an OBE in the recent Queen’s birthday honours.

AFRUCA (Africans Unite Against Child Abuse) is the leading charity promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of African children in the UK. It was established in the aftermath of the deaths of children like Jude Akapa, Victoria Climbie and Damilola Taylor. 

More recently it has been at the forefront of efforts to draw attention to and denounce the trafficking of African children to the UK. It is highly regarded by funders and government agencies and was recently on the shortlist at a recent charity awards scheme. 

However, when last week Third Sector and other sector press were offering congratulations to sector leaders who had got birthday awards it was disappointing that Debbie wasn’t on any of these lists. And I don’t believe that Modupe or Debbie, as I know her, has been given the recognition she so obviously deserves.  

I first met Debbie at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in 2006. I was a fresh-faced social entrepreneur in the process of setting up sounddelivery and she was already on her journey and using her time at the SSE to enable her to take AFRUCA to the next level.  

We spent many hours discussing her charity, her role, her challenges and her vision. She offered me support and encouragement and I learnt a huge amount from her. She was a true inspiration.

Five years on, she continues to inspire me and I am not alone. At the anniversary event last week – others took the opportunity to highlight the role that AFRUCA plays. A funder, a journalist and leaders within the African community all shared their stories with the audience. One person in particular stood out. Richard Taylor, father of Damiola Taylor, talked movingly about his return from Nigeria after learning about the death of his son and how Debbie was on hand to provide advice and help him navigate the demands this tragic situation placed on him.