UNICEF Innocenti — Leading Minds

UNICEF’s Global Office of Research and Foresight, based in the historic Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence, does remarkable work that brings together academics, activists, experts and change-makers from governments and the private sector, connecting and combining their knowledge, insights and influence to bring about positive change in the lives of young people around the world.

Their Leading Minds events are a platform for thought leadership driven by young people, in which young activists from around the world gather to drive policy in a key area, chosen for importance in the lives of children and young people. The inaugural Leading Minds, co-hosted by the World Health Organisation, was focussed on mental health, and we were brought in to produce videos to support the work being done.

This process started with extensive pre-production, working with UNICEF Innocenti, alongside event producers and facilitators RedZebra, to hone the brief and determine what would be most useful to them —  short video pieces that distilled the complex ideas being discussed at the conference into succinct but nuanced introductions to the subject, and evoked the unique, innovative format of the event. On location in the beautiful and bustling heart of Florence, we worked around the packed conference schedule to shoot extensive interviews with a wide range of the amazing people on site, immersing ourselves in the powerful ideas being discussed.

This job was made extremely special and rewarding for us by the same thing that makes Leading Minds what it is: the centering and leadership of young activists from all around the world — profoundly inspiring people who give great hope for the future in the way they are responding to the challenges of the present day.