Behind the scenes of Stronger Together

Stronger Together is an R U OK? campaign developed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The R U OK? Advisory Group commissioned Aboriginal owned and managed creative agency, 33 Creative, to design and deliver this campaign.

We asked 33 Creative Co-Founders, Mayrah Sonter and Georgia Cordukes, and Stronger Together filmmaker from Ferment Collaborate, Steph Vajda, about their experience working on the campaign and why they wanted to get involved.

Why is this campaign important?

·Too many of our mob are struggling with life and we wanted to do what we can to help people through tough times

·There are things we can all do to help each other through tough times and we want to help do that by sharing stories with our mob

·Seeing real conversations about supporting each other can help people to relate and know that they are not alone

Why did you want to get involved?

·Suicide has affected our team in a very immediate way, and we want to be part of the work which can make change and prevent suicide wherever possible.

·We feel this campaign has the potential of really making a difference in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

·The opportunity to share real stories with a big audience helps shine a light on how we can get through hard times together

When doing the interviews and constructing the video stories what message/s stood out for you?

·That we all have the power to help change someone’s life, just by checking in and asking if they’re ok – no one knows exactly what to say, but the important thing is that you ask the question

·That the power of culture in healing is so important

·The strength of community, love and humour

·The power of sharing stories

·That the connection and honesty between people who support each other is the most important way to let the ones we love know that we're there for them

How have you found working on the project in collaboration with the Advisory Group, Talent, suppliers/creatives and the R U OK? team?

·It has been a wonderful collaborative process throughout this campaign. From the strong leadership of the advisory committee, to the generosity of our pairs to share their stories to help others to the wonderful creatives who have all pitched in to create these products which we hope will make a difference

·Big thank you to the RUOK team for being so supportive and engaged in this process, it has been our best one yet!

·Real collaboration and honesty in sharing real stories is a transformative way to share important messages. Thankyou to the whole team including the Advisory Group for being part of making this happen

What worked well and what advice/tips would you give for a similar cross cultural collaborations?

·Being given the space to be creative has been extremely beneficial to this process – being trusted to bring the stories to life

·Having a very clear sense of the process of how we work together, and being respectful of the skills and experience we all bring to the table to make this campaign as powerful as possible

·Creating the space for real conversations to drive how messaging comes through allows us to create media with heart and integrity that people can connect with

·Ensuring that storytellers drive the way that content is developed creates messages that are relatable and have meaning

Thank you to the team at 33 Creative for sharing your professional expertise and personal experience with us.

Find out more about Stronger Together, watch the video stories and download the campaign resources today at www.ruok.org.au/strongertogether

Don’t forget to use #RUOKstrongertogether when you share them with your social networks.