Capturing the essence of a charity’s purpose on film

Conversation Over Borders (COB) is a UK charity that exists to support people fleeing war and persecution who are seeking safety in the UK. Offering one-to-one online befriending, English classes, mental health support, and digital access and inclusion, COB has a unique approach based on bridging borders through conversation. It believes we all have more in common than we do dividing us and that by bringing people together and supporting forcibly displaced people to share their experiences with the wider public they can spark cross-cultural conversations and help make our communities more inclusive places.

In the UK, the topic of refugees is increasingly divisive. Whether in the news or as part of political debate, the people involved are often reduced to numbers, dehumanising them as part of a drive to gain more views and spark higher engagement. This dehumanisation causes a huge amount of isolation in the people who’ve fled everything they’ve ever known in search of a safer life, free from persecution, where they can truly be themselves – but in a country where sometimes they can’t even communicate with the people they meet, making it hard to settle and create a new home.

Fighting back against this wave of isolation is Conversation Over Borders, a charity that helps forcibly displaced people through one-to-one befriending sessions, English classes, mental health support, digital access and inclusion. As a whole, its operations are designed to help people fleeing war and persecution for the safety of the UK to find settle in their new home.

The charity’s work is admirable, but in order to progress, to reach and positively impact more lives, it needs to tell its story well in the media, online and in at in-person events. Our programme of work together sought to help them define that story, connecting the various parts of its operations, and to give its spokespeople the tools and the confidence when they share that story with others.

Following work on messaging and coaching, our work culminated in a film, hosted on the charity’s website and shared on social media. Through the lens of Paul, a refugee from Tanzania, the film seeks to show the positive impact that it can have on someone’s life. It shows how COB break down the barriers of isolation and, in doing so, gives someone the opportunity to not just survive, but to thrive in their new life in the UK.

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