Getting civilian experts to sign up for African peace missions
An animated recruitment film for the African Union's African Standby Capacity, funded by ZIF.
The need
Who they needed to reach
Experienced African professionals in fields such as mediation, human rights, elections, law and order, and post-conflict reconstruction
What stood in the way
Peace operations need more than soldiers. Civilian experts are what turn a ceasefire into a lasting peace, but finding the right person and getting them to a mission quickly is hard. The African Standby Capacity solves this with a roster of experts who are screened, trained and ready to deploy. It only works if enough qualified people know about it and sign up, and many of the professionals it needs had never heard of it.
What success looked like
Qualified professionals across Africa who understand what the African Standby Capacity is, see themselves in it, and register to join the roster.
How we met the need
Instead of explaining the roster's structure, we told the story of one professional. The film follows him from first hearing about the African Standby Capacity to registering online, being selected and arriving at a mission, so viewers can picture themselves taking the same steps.
The process
When conflict ends, the hard work of building peace begins. Elections have to be organised, human rights protected, fighters disarmed and returned to civilian life, and justice and security systems rebuilt. This is civilian work, and African Union peace operations depend on experts who can do it, often at short notice.
The African Standby Capacity is the African Union’s answer: a roster of civilian experts who are identified, screened and trained in advance, ready to deploy to peace operations across the continent. It is the only roster of its kind in the world that serves an entire continent. Its aim is simple: the right person, in the right place, at the right time.
A roster is only as strong as the people on it. The African Union, with funding from the Centre for International Peace Operations (ZIF), asked us to make a film that would reach experienced professionals across Africa and persuade them to join. The film had to work across countries and languages, and speak to people who may never have thought of themselves as peacekeepers.
We made it a story about people, not systems. A professional hears about the roster from a colleague, registers online, is selected, and arrives to work alongside military and police colleagues on a mission. Warm illustration and a clear, hopeful tone show what the work involves and why it matters.
What the client got
The African Union has a short, friendly film that explains the African Standby Capacity in a few minutes and invites the right people to join. It gives the roster a human face, and gives partners an easy way to reach professionals who would never read a policy document.
