Launch video outlines ongoing ambition to change corporate attitudes to disability.
In Tokyo 2025, a group of committed activists and companies will unite for the world’s first accountability summit for disability inclusion, SYNC25.
And the campaign to promote the event has begun with a launch film created by creative agency adam&eveDDB and directed by Dan DiFelice in partnership with Biscuit Filmworks.
The agency was briefed on the campaign by the Valuable 500, a charitable, global organisation of over 500 partners and companies working together to end disability exclusion.
SYNC25 aims to effect radical changes for the lives of the 1.3 billion people living with and CEOs of these 528 businesses will unite to learn from failures, build on successes and set the stage for the work to be done as they strive towards achieving real, transformative change through true Synchronised Collective Action.
The launch film takes inspiration from a murmuration, the phenomenon in which very large groups of birds, fishes or insects move and change direction in harmony. It depicts a group of swimmers with and without disability, all collaborating to form a synchronised display, a metaphorical illustration of the power of Synchronised Collective Action and how positive things happen when people come together. The film has been produced in several versions and formats to ensure accessibility to different audiences.
Live on the Valuable 500 social channels this week; the film supports the recent publication of the organisation’s white paper on disability representation in media, marketing and product design in partnership with Yale University and research company Open Inclusion.
Richard Gayton and Darren Beresford, creative directors at adam&eveDDB, explained: “Given that unemployment among persons with disabilities is as high as 80 per cent in some countries, the need for an organisation like Valuable 500, and an event like SYNC25, which turns business promises into tangible change, has never been greater. We are proud to have been able to contribute in a small way to the incredible momentum already established by the Valuable 500 to end disability exclusion.”
The agency – which has studios in London, Berlin and New York – has worked for some of the biggest brands in the world, including LIONSGATE+, Adidas, Lucozade, PlayStation, Eurostar, H&M, Volkswagen and Mars.
Since its creation in 2019, the Valuable 500 has achieved its initial goal of getting 500 multinational organisations to make a public commitment to disability inclusion in their organisation, igniting a global movement for a new age of diversity in business. The Valuable 500 and its global impact partner, The Nippon Foundation, will work closely with the World Economic Forum and International Disability Alliance – bringing together a leading philanthropic organisation with the most prestigious global business network and the voice of the global disability community.
Katy Talikowska, CEO of the Valuable 500, adds: “With our partners and companies, we build accountability by working together and removing systemic barriers to end disability exclusion. The launch of this manifesto video also announces the name of the Valuable 500 Accountability Summit, which will take place in Tokyo at the end of 2025. SYNC25 will be a landmark event and a moment for our partners and companies to own their commitments, highlight successes, learn from setbacks and set ambitions for the future.
“This is vital to our ongoing work to drive positive change in disability inclusion across three Synchronised Collective Actions in Leadership, Reporting, and Representation. Unstoppable transformation cannot happen alone.”
