2019 was a big year for We Are World Change. We expanded our content team, worked with lots of new clients and produced more visual content pieces than ever before! Now in early 2020, our work has slowed due to COVID-19, which has prevented our content creators from shooting new projects. But that makes this time a great opportunity to reflect on our work from last year. In this post, we look back on some of our favourite projects from 2019.

Justin McLean: batyr – Run for the Herd

My favourite project was batyr’s 2019 City to Surf campaign: ‘Run for the Herd’. This was a short video designed to encourage runners to fundraise for batyr – a preventative mental health organisation focused on supporting youth. It was my first assignment with We Are World Change and I was definitely thrown in the deep end. The preproduction, the ambitious shoot schedule and the tight time constraints made it a really fun project to tackle. The 32 second video took 2 days to shoot, but it was worth the effort as the overall social media reception was really good.

Rishi Golembiewski & Isabela Celes: Raise Foundation – Sparkle Ball

Rishi: The project I most enjoyed working on in 2019 was filming the Raise Foundation’s Sparkle Ball, an annual fundraiser organised to secure donations to support their work in mentoring Australian youths. The event that was being filmed for prospective donors and I really enjoyed working on it. Not only was it fun collaborating other content creators from We Are World Change, but I could immediately see the impact that I was having simply by noting that everyone was very appreciative of our presence.

Isabela: My favourite project in 2019 was the Raise Foundation’s Sparkle Ball. This is one of their biggest fundraisers, raising $400,000 to support youths through the power of mentorship. I was tasked with editing together footage shot by other We Are World Change content creators, to assemble a short and fast-paced video to capture the essence of the evening. It was super fun to piece together the story of the evening and it was amazing to support such a great cause.

Julia Baston: TEDx Macquarie Uni – 2019 Event

In 2019, I volunteered as a photographer at the TEDx Macquarie University event. It was a super busy day, which mostly involved sneaking around behind the audience to capture stills of all the speakers and asking attendees for photos as well. This was my favourite We Are World Change project because I got some awesome experience in event photography AND also got to listen in on some amazing TED talks, participate in various activities and eat a glorious free lunch!

Josh Lorschy: Dreams2Live4 – JenniLee & Donatello

In late 2019 I worked on a video project with an organisation known as Dreams2Live4, which makes dreams come true for adult patients with terminal illnesses. It was inspiring to hear how their work brings joy and happiness to patients and their families, through extraordinary experiences such as travel adventures, being a TV news anchor for a night and sky diving. This particular project features JenniLee, whose dream was to own a pet pug! It’s not often that I get to work on projects that capture such authentic and real stories, so it was a pleasure to shoot and edit this video.

Laura Kikirekov: TLR Foundation – Save a Life

I really enjoyed working on a project for the TLR Foundation in February 2020. The TLR Foundation’s mission is to encourage more young people to donate bone marrow and stem cells for patients with blood cancers and disorders. For this project I had to design posters as part of a campaign that specifically targeted young people. It was fun to use a combination of creative design and publication skills to create an engaging, legible and well-structured poster. This project really taught me how to be creative within multiple constraints, and that great design is always possible when you put thought and care into it.

Monica Ruggier & Nikolas Gannon: Sony Foundation – Wharf4Ward

Monica: In 2019, I was a part of the annual Sony Foundation Wharf4Ward event as a photographer. This event saw over 1000 guests dining in the restaurants on Woolloomooloo Wharf, alongside entertainment from Sony artists, to raise funds for young cancer patients. The day was very fast-paced, requiring the team to photograph all the sponsors, artists and main events of the day. I got to see and capture the stories of many celebrities and young people with incredible stories. The event raised $9.5 million for young people with cancer. I am very proud that I was able to support the Sony Foundation at such a special occasion and hope I can be a part of Whard4Ward in 2020

Nik: The project I most enjoyed working on in 2019 was the Wharf4Ward event hosted by the Sony Foundation. The project was super fun because I had the opportunity to meet and photograph many celebrities, such as Johnathan Thurston and Jessica Mauboy. I also had some very inspiring conversations with cancer survivors and patients, who were working closely with the Sony Foundation to raise money for cancer research!

James Kellahan: batyr – Ambassador Stories

The best project I’ve worked on was a series of interviews for batyr. These interviews featured two inspiring young men who had battled with mental health and life’s challenges. Hearing their stories was powerful and I’m glad I had the privilege to capture them. These films are going to be shown to remote and rural schools, where batyr isn’t able to organise an ambassador to present in person. I’m sure many young boys and girls will be moved by their stories in the same way I was.

Josh Hernandez: Lifeline – 50 Years of Lifeline NB

The project I’ve most enjoyed to date was a video which I put together for Lifeline Northern Beaches, celebrating 50 years of operation. I edited together a series of interviews with Lifeline staff and clips of their community initiatives. In doing so, I also had the opportunity to learn about their great work. I enjoyed being able to tell their story and communicate their values – which is always a big responsibility when creating media for non-profit organisations – and I’m happy that I was able to contribute to their cause through my role as a content creator with We Are World Change.

Sera Buay: Lifeline – 50 Years of Lifeline NB Event

It was amazing to be a part of Lifeline NB’s 50 Year Celebration! This event took place in Manly Wine Suites to raise awareness around the organisation and thank key donors, ambassadors and supporters for backing Lifeline.