Keep it Relevant, Keep it Simple

Sheikha

I have been blessed to have worked, and still continue to work, with many NGOs and CSR (corporate social responsibilities) projects. All have added immense value to the lives of many, including mine. The initiatives that I have had the honor to be a part of have been very diverse in nature. While some contributed to working for the benefit of sick children, some were for the welfare of abandoned animals and some were about refugees to the environment, amongst others.

In all, the heart and intention towards achieving a larger good was strongly present, but what was missing, in almost all of instances, was a clear and accurate form of communication. I believe that the right communication is an essential component in solving these challenges.

When I first thought of beginning a publication like Al-Nowair, the first thing I had to pay attention to was relaying the information in a different manner that was appropriate to the targeted group – the youth. It was important to excite this group to learn more, engage more and eventually create a momentum for the change that we hoped for.

One of the obvious steps in that direction was using amazing visuals alongside different forms of media including animation content, short clips and needless to say, social media. While it is difficult to create a success formula, I would say this was our best indentified route to convey the messages across. In essence, we work like an advertising agency that advertises for ‘positivity’.

Having initiated a Masters Degree a few months ago in communication, I can now see that giving information from top down is no longer applicable anywhere, as it was in the past. And if recipients do not engage in the message, the CSR programme has lost its interest and eventually this set of audience.

My takeaway, communication should always aim to listen, understand and eventually engage.

If I had one sentence to sum up my experience in the CSR/NGO community and in my communications study I would say – keep it relevant, keep it simple and please, please make sure it is aesthetically beautiful in message and visuals. Only then are we interested enough to give it a second glance.

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