Common cause in video format
On behalf of the Lower Saxony State Chancellery, we produced six real videos and social media shorts for the "Common Cause" mentoring programme of the "Niedersachsen packt an" alliance, which are intended to inspire personal commitment to the integration of refugees.
13 alliance partners and more than 3,000 supporters form a non-partisan alliance in which politics and civil society work together on the integration of refugees: The "Niedersachsen packt an" alliance, which is linked to the Lower Saxony State Chancellery, has been working in various fields of action for 15 years.
One focus topic is a mentoring programme, for which we shot six real videos and shorts for social media. They authentically show the "common cause" of mentors and refugees.
When mentors support refugees on an equal footing, it works both ways—as in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Smelser and Vira, who came from Ukraine with her two children: The Ukrainian mother of two small children finally feels safe and has found a surrogate family in Peine in this unfamiliar country. Vira, for her part, is not only involved in the church community. “They sang me a birthday song, even the little ones, with a Ukrainian accent – very sweet!” says Mr. Smelser, touched.
The sponsorship also works in both directions for Noori, who has a strong friendship with his mentor Marten that goes far beyond their joint sports club. Or for doctor Annegret, who can no longer imagine her life without the enriching experiences she had with Sarwan - now a paramedic himself and her adopted son.
These are just three of many examples of how members of the "Niedersachsen packt an" alliance have supported refugees as mentors. Personal relationships have resulted in cohesion and friendships, in sports, at church, at work or in everyday life. On behalf of the State Chancellery of Lower Saxony, we have captured how such connections lead to arrival and integration in six exemplary videos and video shorts for use on social media.
Based on the question "What was your best, most instructive moment in the mentorship", the tandems talk in interview form about their experiences within the mentoring programme "Common Cause". We advised on the conception of the videos, selected filming locations for different settings in various places in Lower Saxony (Cuxhaven, Hanover, Lehrte, Peine, Aligse) and carried out the filming after getting to know the actors and holding preliminary discussions with them.
At the same time, we designed elements such as an animated logo, belly bands and other graphic elements. These were incorporated into the resulting videos during post-production after viewing, selection and editing, before the finished portraits were ready for publication on the Alliance website and as short versions for social media advertising after audio adaptation, colour grading and fine-tuning.
The result is six entertaining, authentic and empathetic portraits of people and places that show how sponsor-mentee relationships help overcome difficulties and bear fruit for everyone involved. And which will hopefully encourage others to support new arrivals on their path to successful integration.