Budgets are being slashed and whole creative teams are getting dropped at many of the organisations that I work with. The comforting news is that the staple, expensive, old style of communication is out, and there’s a new, more cost effective, more engaging approach on the scene.

"This is painful in a way that we can't forget" - Mariam

In 2022 we got to sit with four amazing women who had travelled to Juba from four conflicting tribal communities to tell us about their stories of loss. They wanted to communicate a message of peace to their respective communities in a way that might cut through.

Kier Starmer seems happy to be known as the ‘Boring One’ and this safe pair of hands are rebuilding trust in both the Labour party and our political system one brick at a time. 

‘Whenever you fight, we are the ones who suffer. We are the ones who who are battling the pain of of losing a loved one. We are the ones losing resources and we are the ones coming to struggle with the families after the conflict. So we as we are the centre of this struggle, …and no one wants to stop the conflict.’

With all of the belly laughter and back slapping it’s easy to forget that everyone in the room has been affected by the ongoing tribal war, on different sides. Those in attendance make up (most of) Peace Canal’s peacebuilding team, drawn together from the Nuer, Dinka and Murle communities of Lakes State and Jonglei-GPAA in South Sudan.

How do you make people change their attitudes and behaviours without them ending up resenting you?…

More in Common released an interesting report on Saturday, on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, whether people really are fed up of it, and how we can communicate it in a way that works. 

Campaign design is the art of pairing human experience with data, and my friends at More in Common are positively ‘Heston Blumenthal’ in how they do just that.  

‘Finding a Balance - How to ensure Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is for everyone’ had my lips smacking as I devoured the report on the train this morning. EDI is a topic that pervades a lot of our communications work and is a dynamic that flavours daily life for a lot of my friends and loved-ones. 

Bitter and sweet.

I’ve just returned from two weeks in South Sudan, spending time with representatives from warring tribal groups from some of the most violent parts of the country. I am inspired.

These representatives make up Peace Canal - an organisation that’s working to put an end to organised violence in Africa’s poorest nation.

We’ve recently been appointed to support Peace Canal with their strategic communications, so my last two weeks have been spent getting a thorough orientation from my new colleagues…

‘The Pope just waved at me! Do you think he recognised me?’ I shouted through the noise of the crowd.

‘Apparently he has a really good memory’ said Archbishop Justin’s chaplain affirmingly.

I’d been standing at the verge of the red carpet, which cut a long line from ‘Shepherd One’, through the baking tarmac at Juba airport. Huge freshly printed PVC welcome signs bearing Pope Francis’, Archbishop Justin’s and Moderator Ian’s larger than life faces covered the railings, as a flank of battered military trumpets unleashed a fanfare under the hot sun.

This was one year ago this week, when I was a part of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s small entourage for the 3 day ‘Pilgrimage of Peace’ in South Sudan.