A million young voices for peace
Brand, website and film for Global Peace, ACCORD's initiative to put young people at the centre of peace and development.
The need
Who they needed to reach
Young people around the world, and the leaders, innovators, investors and implementers who work with them
What stood in the way
ACCORD has spent decades working to resolve conflicts in Africa, and found that peace cannot be sustained without development. Global Peace extends that experience globally, and puts young people at its centre: the generation that will live with the results of today's conflicts, and that has the ideas and energy to solve them. Through Inter-Generational Dialogues, young people sit down with leaders to shape their present and future. A new initiative with this ambition had to speak to young people in their own terms, while still earning the trust of heads of state and partners.
What success looked like
Young people around the world who see Global Peace as theirs, and join the dialogues, alongside leaders and partners who take it seriously.
How we met the need
We treated Global Peace as one launch, not three separate jobs, and made young people the heart of it. The brand is built around the Mpatapo knot, a West African Adinkra symbol of reconciliation, so the identity carries the initiative's purpose. The same visual language runs through the website and the event branding. The film is told through young faces, from city streets to dialogue halls, and looks ahead to the future they will build, from the Global Peace Futures Forums to healthcare and employment.
The process
Global Peace is an initiative of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), one of Africa’s leading peace organisations. After decades of resolving conflicts, ACCORD found that peace does not last without development, and that the people with most at stake are the young. Global Peace works through young people across the world, connecting them with leaders, innovators and investors to find practical answers to poverty, inequality, unemployment and conflict.
Its main tool is the Inter-Generational Dialogue, where young people sit down with presidents, ministers and community leaders to talk about the future they want. The first was opened by the President of Ghana as the start of 100 dialogues in 100 cities. The aim is to mobilise a million young people to commit to making peace possible.
Because we have been ACCORD’s agency for 25 years, we could deliver Global Peace as one package: brand, website and film from one team, telling one story. The identity is based on the Mpatapo knot, an Adinkra symbol from West Africa that stands for reconciliation, a fitting mark for an initiative that brings generations together. It was unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Graça Machel at the BRICS Outreach Summit in Johannesburg in 2018.
The film is told through young people: faces on city streets, friends sharing a moment, young voices at dialogues around the world. It moves from the present to the future they will shape, from the Global Peace Futures Forums to new approaches in healthcare and employment. The website carries the same look and gives young people and partners a way in, with news, online dialogues and a toolkit for anyone who wants to host one.
What the client got
One identity, one website, one film to bring young people into peace
Global Peace was launched in Johannesburg in July 2018 at the BRICS Outreach Summit, where President Cyril Ramaphosa and Graça Machel, the initiative's Chairperson, unveiled its logo. It has since grown into a youth movement, with Inter-Generational Dialogues planned for 100 cities, a goal of mobilising a million young people to commit to making peace possible, and participants from more than 146 countries. The brand, website and film give it one consistent face, at dialogues, online and on screen.
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