Beyond Barriers: Bringing SNV’s Equity & Inclusion Vision to Life

At Creativa, we’re proud to collaborate with organisations tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges – using creativity to spark awareness, drive action, and inspire change.

So when SNV approached us after seeing one of our social impact videos for the Water for Women Fund showcased at COP, we were immediately aligned in purpose. Like us, SNV believes in the power of storytelling to shift mindsets and highlight the human impact behind global development work.
This partnership was the beginning of an inspiring journey to bring their Equity & Inclusion (E&I) campaign to life – a campaign about breaking barriers, recognising hidden contributions, and championing inclusion at every level.

The Client

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a global development partner working across agri-food, energy, and water systems. Their mission is to enable equitable, sustainable futures by strengthening institutions, fostering inclusive governance, and empowering communities.

Their Equity & Inclusion campaign sought to highlight the need for systemic change – where women, youth, and marginalised groups move from the sidelines to the forefront of leadership and decision-making.

Challenge

SNV’s vision for Beyond Barriers was ambitious: create a campaign that would both inspire and inform – elevating real stories of change while articulating SNV’s technical expertise in gender equity and inclusion (GESI).

They wanted to connect emotionally with audiences like donors and partners, but also communicate complex, systemic work in a clear, accessible way. And with stakeholders across multiple countries, the challenge was ensuring consistency in tone, message, and creative direction across all deliverables.

The challenge was ensuring these videos remained professional yet approachable, distilling technical information into a format that candidates could quickly grasp and revisit whenever needed.

Our Creative Approach

From the outset, it was clear this wasn’t about putting the spotlight on SNV – it was about shining it on the people and communities driving transformation.
Together, we refined SNV’s in-house concept and campaign narrative, working closely with their global communications team to develop:

• A hero animation video that visualised the E&I narrative through a compelling and emotional storytelling arc.
• A suite of short videos spotlighting the campaign’s three core pillars – Recognition, Agency, and Inclusive Structures.
• Social media assets and illustrations, created for SNV’s global and regional partners to use and adapt, ensuring brand cohesion and accessibility.

Our writer recalls the scripting process as one of the most collaborative and rewarding aspects of the project:

“The challenge was to capture the breadth of SNV’s incredible work while focusing on impact over brand. The team had such clarity of purpose – it made it possible to craft scripts that were inspiring and factual, accessible and thought-provoking. Balancing structure with storytelling was key, and I’m pleased with how it came together.”

Visually, Director Sarah and our design team drew inspiration from SNV’s brand palette, combining moody blue-grey tones to convey urgency with softer pastels to represent hope and progress.

“We used colour intentionally – dark tones for the challenges, and light, fresh hues for the stories of change,” Sarah explains. “Each scene had its own emotional rhythm, mirroring the campaign’s journey from awareness to action.”

Our motion designer, Hannah, brought these ideas to life through fluid animation transitions and symbolic imagery – turning abstract concepts like empowerment, visibility, and agency into motion-driven metaphors.

To ensure the message resonated globally, we collaborated with a London-based voice-over artist familiar to SNV, working through a Belgium-based studio to coordinate recordings. This international collaboration ensured both cultural sensitivity and continuity in tone.

What we created

Equity and Inclusion video

Short One: Recognition

Short Two: Voice

Short Three: Agency

The Impact

The result was a campaign that not only showcased SNV’s voice in the equity and inclusion space but also humanised the systems-level work they do.

Through animation and storytelling, Beyond Barriers became more than a campaign – it became a statement: that true equity isn’t achieved by access alone, but by recognition, agency, and voice.

Early feedback from SNV’s global team has been overwhelmingly positive, with the videos being shared across social channels, internal events, and advocacy platforms. The adaptable social media assets have empowered SNV’s country offices to localise the campaign while maintaining a unified global message.

Behind the Scenes

From late-night calls across time zones to brainstorming sessions that blurred the lines between creative and strategy, this project was a true team effort.
For us at Creativa, it was a reminder of what we love most about our work – collaborating with passionate clients who are driven to make the world fairer and more inclusive.

“SNV’s team was deeply involved and incredibly passionate,” recalls Jay, the project’s Producer. “They cared about every detail – not for visibility, but to ensure the message was true to the people whose stories they were representing.”

Beyond Barriers, Beyond the Screen

Working on Beyond Barriers was more than just a creative partnership – it was an opportunity to amplify a global call for change.

At Creativa, we believe that storytelling has the power to shift perspectives and open possibilities. Projects like this remind us that animation and design aren’t just tools for communication – they’re catalysts for transformation.

Credits

Producer: Jay Shah

Director: Sarah Schwab

Writer: Ted Janet

Designers: Sarah Schwab, Hannah Lin

Animator: Hannah Lin

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