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A campaign to promote the world’s first accountability summit for disability inclusion, SYNC25, begins today.
Created by adam&eveDDB, and directed by Dan DiFelice in partnership with Biscuit Filmworks, the launch film aims to inspire and encourage the business community to accelerate their work to end disability exclusion and hold themselves accountable ahead of the SYNC25 accountability summit to be held in Tokyo on 3rd December 2025.
Taking inspiration from a murmuration, the awe-inspiring phenomenon in which very large groups of birds, fishes or insects move and change direction together, the film 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 beautiful things happen when we come together.
The film has been produced in various versions and formats to ensure accessibility to different audiences.
It includes a Manifesto Film, Audio Description and ISL & Captions.
The agency was briefed on the campaign by the Valuable 500, a charitable, global organisation of 500 partners and companies working together to end disability exclusion.
In order to make radical changes to the lives of those 1.3 billion people living with a disability worldwide, at SYNC25, 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, which goes live on the Valuable 500 social channels today, supports the recent publication of their 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, said: “Given that unemployment among persons with disabilities is as high as 80% 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.”
Katy Talikowska, CEO of the Valuable 500, said: “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 video brings together disabled people representing diverse, intersectional identities to showcase the beauty and power of synchronicity. Our recent white paper on Inclusive Disability Representation calls on companies to join us in developing a shared, global standard and set of practices that can be applied across various industries.
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.”
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Client Valuable 500
Founder Caroline Casey
CEO Katy Talikowska
Head of Brand Rachel Dymond
Agency adam&eveDDB
Executive Creative Directors Ant Nelson & Mike Sutherland
Creative Directors Darren Beresford & Richard Gayton
Agency Producer Nikki Cramphorn
Assistant Producer Holly Wormleighton
Business Director Adam Patel
Account Director Miti Shah
Planning Director Roisin Mulroney
Senior Planner Catherine Willoughby
Project Manager: Amy Waldman
Designer: Scott Silvey
Production Company Biscuit Filmworks UK
Director Dan DiFelice
Producer Adam Oyejobi
Managing Director & EP Rupert Reynolds-Maclean
Head of Production Emily Atterton
Director’s Assistant James Murray
Production Assistants Dalia Saeed & Adam Sarr
Director of Photography Harry Wheeler
Production Designer James Early
Stylist Wiz Francis
Casting Director Claire Catterson
Hair & Make-Up Phoebe Llewellyn
Choreographer Supple Nam
Synchronised Swimming Coach Adele Carlsen
Editing Company Trim Editing
Editor Steve Shaw
Producer Polly Kemp, Charlie Dalton
Post-Production Selected Works
Executive Producer Alex Fitzgerald
Producer: Libby Gandhi
Creative Director Francois Roisin
Lead 2D Artist Theajo Dharan
2D Artists Mahesh Chandrasekaran, Richard Roberts, Valeria Scalamandre
Online Artist Dave Wishart
Colourist Mikey Rossiter
Audio Post-Production String & Tins
Sound Designer Adam Smyth
Audio Producer Laura-Leigh Smith
Music Composer Luke Atencio
Soundtrack Name Synchronised
