Striking the right balance
We all have the right to safer sexual experiences, healthier relationships and the freedom to understand our sexuality.
Have You Seen My Rights? is a campaigning coalition of 40 youth organisations, together demanding that these rights are respected.
The coalition’s principle goal is to make sure young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are better represented and protected as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by the United Nations.
Working with young advocates, the coalition urges decision-makers to sign up to five pledges, such as committing to youth-friendly health services, comprehensive sexuality education, and removing legal barriers that prevent people getting the help they need.
The challenge
We started by reviewing the campaign name. Initially we considered positioning it more closely with sex and the body, to help make the coalition’s focus clearer. But in some countries, strong allusions to sex would have created a problem for advocates.
Our partners at Restless Development, convening the project, helped us work through the constraints with the coalition’s global working group, and together we came up with a creative route that would resonate across countries and cultures — from Russia to the Philippines.
Shifting the emphasis
Our theme was ‘unanswered questions’. This would shift the emphasis on to our audience — by asking them to consider their morals and step into the shoes of young people. Questions that would encourage people to share in the accountability and inspire action.
The idea was powerful enough to engage both young people and world leaders, without being controversial or alienating our varied target audiences.
We then translated this into a visual identity. A question-mark icon, we thought, could be used as a standalone device to represent the campaign, without always having to use the name. This gave it a lot of flexibility.
Building on the concept
By allying the question mark with a speech bubble (to form the dot), we emphasised the invitation for advocates to voice questions and challenge the status quo.
We chose a minimal yet dynamic colour palette — of black, blues and greys — and large, bold uppercase typography for an eye-catching, concise brand language.
An actionable toolkit
The coalition wanted communication materials and a toolkit that would give young people the right information, and the power, with which to demand change and influence policymakers.
A user-friendly online hub was, of course, a pivotal element of this activity. We designed a simple, mobile-friendly campaign website with a clear, flat, scrolling structure; where everything users needed would be accessible from the homepage. The site included a blog and a wall of tweets to help keep the conversation alive.
We designed and built the site in just two weeks — a record for us. It was made possible by great partners who were digitally savvy and put trust in our expertise.
Outcomes and learning
The team at Neo was able to create a strong campaign identity while engaging a complex network of partners. We would definitely work with them again.
– Bobby Dean, public relations senior coordinator UK, Restless Development
At Neo, we believe in being brave and pushing boundaries. This project reminded us that when delivering global communications campaigns, cultural sensitivities are important. Sometimes, being able to strike a comfortable balance is the most important thing.
Bobby Dean, UK public relations senior coordinator at Restless Development, said: “The team at Neo was able to create a strong campaign identity while engaging a complex network of partners. We would definitely work with them again.”
For young activists, youth leaders or global development organisations, it was now simple to keep up to date and get involved with Have You Seen My Rights?.
In 2016, the coalition ran numerous events around the world, led by local youth advocates. The new website formed the essential digital hub, hosting the resources that supported young campaigners everywhere in making a clear call for their sexual and reproductive rights to be respected.
