Climate and human health storytelling partnership reaches 10 million
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For too long, the most powerful story on climate change has been ignored: that the climate crisis is a health crisis. Open Planet’s latest storytelling project in partnership with Wellcome, with film production by Studio Silverback, aimed to raise awareness and drive meaningful dialogue on climate and health among diverse audiences at a local and global level.
Content created as part of the initiative reached more than 10 million people across digital platforms and directly engaged over 12,000 decision makers, local leaders, citizens and youth through targeted events – from community film screenings to keynote presentations for global leaders in politics, science and education.
Through the partnership, award-winning filmmakers, Studio Silverback, were commissioned to work with local crews and producers in Kenya to capture compelling new footage of the most pressing issues and community-led solutions, with a spotlight on the informal settlement of Kibera in Nairobi.
This high-quality footage was made freely available on Open Planet, equipping a growing network of changemakers and storytellers with the visual tools they need to create impactful content on climate and health.
Central to the project was the creation and amplification of stories by impact partners. Open Planet established bespoke collaborations with African organisations Crtve Development and Docubox, as well as global organisations including The ONE Campaign, the World Economic Forum, and the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health.
The extensive collection of assets on Open Planet, combined with authoritative interviews from global experts, enabled the creation of diverse, powerful films, told from unique perspectives – bringing local stories to global audiences.
400 clips of powerful new footage made freely available to storytellers on Open Planet.
10m+ reached on social media through impact partners, including The ONE Campaign and African content creators, with the #KiberaUnmuted film series trending #1 on X in Kenya.
8,000+ decision-makers engaged at high-profile events including COP28, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and the Planetary Health Summit Malaysia.
4,000+ Kenyan community members, local leaders and youth mobilised through a film screening programme led by Crtve Development and Docubox.
Organic uptake of footage through Open Planet, including by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
This bespoke storytelling partnership stands as a testament to the power of film and narrative in capturing hearts and minds to deepen engagement and motivate action on planetary issues. By reaching decision makers, mobilising communities, and leveraging digital platforms, the initiative helped drive vital conversations on the fight against climate change and promote solutions towards healthier, more sustainable communities in Kenya and across the world.
"Building a better understanding of how climate change affects health and what solutions are available is central to our mission to put health at the heart of climate action. Open Planet provides the visual resources vital for communicating compelling climate and health stories, amplifying the lived experience of the communities most affected and driving conversation on social media and at global events. It’s been fantastic to see the impact that this initial project with Open Planet has had and we are looking forward to seeing the platform grow so more important stories can be told.”
— Dr Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at Wellcome
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African content creators and filmmakers played a crucial role in sharing the story of climate and health in Kenya. Engaged through Crtve Development, the local creators combined Open Planet footage with other creative elements such as animation to produce a series of engaging and thought-provoking short films – reaching 10+ million people through digital amplification and in-person screening events.
Martin Welsh, Special Project Consultant at Crtve Development:
“Working with creatives on the ground, I have become acutely aware of the unique challenges they face documenting their community’s experience of climate change. The Open Planet library is important to such creators as it provides a valuable resource of base footage that they can build upon, allowing their limited resources to go further.”
“The creators have delivered films that resonate with the people of Nairobi and reflect their community and experiences. The discussions at impact screenings have been fruitful in socialising the themes of climate and health while providing a platform for highlighting community-led solutions from students to community leaders.”
– Martin Welsh, Crtve Development
The film screening programme, which continues to tour Kenyan communities, festivals and schools, has served as a catalyst for local engagement, helping to spark conversation and awareness. It included screenings at the Kenya Science & Engineering Fair in April 2024, led by our impact partners Docubox, which welcomed a diverse audience of 1,000 young innovators from across Kenya, as well as teachers, ministry officials and stakeholders.
Susan Mbogo, Programs & Partnerships Manager at Docubox:
“Impact screenings of science and climate-centric films not only fostered understanding and sensitised students on climate change and health but also inspired the young innovators to come up with community-based solutions to urgent issues.”
“It is imperative to continue leveraging the power of narrative to cultivate a generation of empathetic and visionary innovators. The use of storytelling to highlight the intersectionality of climate change and health is very impactful as the stories are not only empathetic but also personalise the context of the effects and lead to people wanting to change their behaviour.”
– Susan Mbogo, Docubox
Explore the #KiberaUnmuted film series
Watch the full series of films by African content creators, telling the story of climate change and human health in Kibera, Nairobi.
Through our collaboration with global organisation The ONE Campaign, we were able to bring stories of local communities to global audiences. A powerful short film, produced for ONE by Studio Silverback, shared the story of Weather Mtaani: a group of local leaders in Kibera helping to protect their community from extreme weather events.
The film brought together visuals from Open Planet and compelling interviews with community voices and global health experts. It was shared across ONE‘s digital channels ahead of the first ever ‘Health Day’ at the COP28 climate conference.
Anne Paisley, Associate Director at ONE, said:
“We have known how important having real-world examples would be to communicate our message and policy asks. But these stories are hard to find, and high-quality films like this are beyond most campaign budgets. We were thrilled to help share Weather Mtaani’s story. This video shows the power of storytelling – especially in such a high-quality format – to effectively reach audiences and communicate important policy messages through an impactful, personal story. The video was one of our best performing of the year, and our audiences really connected with the story and message.”
Engaging leaders on planetary health
To reach and engage decision-makers on climate and health, we established bespoke partnerships with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, centred on delivering impact through visual storytelling at major events.
As part of the 2024 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, a specially produced film combining Open Planet footage and expert interviews provided a bold scene setter to four high-profile events. This included a session on ‘Climate and Nature: A Systemic Response Needed‘, with the film also shown on screens in the main Congress Centre throughout the week.
In collaboration with the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, a new film produced by Studio Silverback helped drive conversations on climate and health at two world-leading events: COP28 and the Planetary Health Summit Malaysia – reaching thousands of decision-makers across science, policy and education. The latter welcomed a keynote presentation by Professor Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, and Colin Butfield, Co-Founder and Board Chair of Open Planet (pictured).
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Explore and use high-quality footage from our library to help amplify this story and raise awareness of the climate-driven health crisis.
Artistic expression by Waxxes Animation illustrates a hopeful future for Kibera
Waxxes Animation
Combining creative animation with footage from Open Planet, this short film explores the journey of Kibera and offers a glimpse into a thriving future that reflects the hopes and dreams of the community.
Inspiration
Planetary Health Summit Malaysia drives conversations on climate and health
Sunway Centre for Planetary Health
This film combines footage from Open Planet with expert interviews to highlight the intrinsic links between humanity’s prosperity and the wellbeing of our planet, screened to over 1,000 leaders at the Planetary Health Summit Malaysia.
Inspiration
Nurse Thandi explains the effects of climate change on human health
Lwazi Msipha
With visuals from Open Planet, popular animated character Nurse Thandi visits Kibera and explains how climate change worsens floods, causing health risks like cholera due to poor infrastructure.
Inspiration
ONE shares the story of Kibera’s fight against climate change
The ONE Campaign
From floods to disease, this short film uses footage from Open Planet to share the story of how climate change is shaping the community of Kibera, Kenya.