Change how a global organisation speaks.
UNICEF UK came to WAF with a challenge that went beyond campaign strategy. They needed to fundamentally shift how they communicate, moving away from saviourism, colonial narratives, and sanitised language toward an anti-racist, equity-driven tone of voice that centres the agency and dignity of the communities they serve.
WAF developed a comprehensive Anti-Racist Tone of Voice guide, a sector positioning framework, and research stimuli for testing the new approach. The work was built using audience and brand positioning research, internal stakeholder research, and the expertise of consultants with lived experience from Sudan and Bhutan.
From saviourism to solidarity.
WAF mapped UNICEF UK's current position on a sector-wide communications axis spanning human-centred to transactional, and saviourism to anti-racist. The mapping showed UNICEF UK sitting closer to emotion-led, saviour-oriented storytelling, with organisations like Amnesty International and Choose Love further along the anti-racist axis.
The goal: move UNICEF UK toward communications that highlight community efforts, advocate for systemic change, and are informed by lived experience. Not a cosmetic change. A structural shift in how the organisation talks about the people it works with.
Language is never neutral.
By using language intentionally with an equity justice framing, we can help reshape narratives. Every word chosen reflects a stance on power, history, and whose voice gets centred.
Five principles. One standard.
FIVE PRINCIPLES.
WAF developed five core principles to guide every piece of UNICEF UK communications, from social media captions to long-form appeal pages.
HUMANISING NARRATIVES
Show children and communities as resilient and resourceful. Avoid tropes like the lone child or helpless victim. Use human details that create connection and empathy.
PEOPLE-CENTRED LANGUAGE
Use specific, respectful terms. Centre the voices of those with lived experience. Reject generalisations: say 'Syrian families in Daraa' not 'people in the region.'
COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLING
Emphasise partnership with local leaders. Acknowledge history. Position donors as allies, not saviours: 'Your support helps families rebuild' not 'You saved a child.'
OPTIMISM AND ACTION
Combine urgency with achievable outcomes. Show tangible results. Let data breathe rather than overwhelming with numbers.
EQUITY JUSTICE LANGUAGE
Say what you mean. Don't sanitise. 'The racism they face' not 'the issues they face.' Ground stories in systemic and historical realities.
Intelligence before the guide goes live.
WAF developed research stimuli to test the Anti-Racist TOV guide before full adoption. Working alongside OKO and consultants with direct lived and professional experience in Sudan and Bhutan, WAF created Red and Green versions of copy across emergency and long-term development contexts, covering email and social media formats. The Red versions represented the closest to UNICEF UK's current tone. The Green versions embodied the anti-racist ambition. Amber annotations showed the pathway between the two, giving UNICEF UK a practical, staged route to adoption rather than an overnight overhaul.
"Your donation saves children."
"Your support helps children thrive."
"Thanks to you, UNICEF is the solution."
"Together, we build solutions that last."
"No one helps children more than UNICEF."
"Supporting children, alongside communities worldwide."
Built with, not about.
A central commitment of the Anti-Racist TOV project was that the work could not be developed without the input of people with direct lived experience. WAF embedded a Sudanese consultant with expertise in storytelling, fundraising, and filmmaking into the Sudan stimuli development. A Bhutanese consultant with experience in storytelling, international affairs, and political economy grounded the Bhutan context.
Their perspectives shaped not just the content but the framing, ensuring the guide reflected the realities of the communities UNICEF UK serves, not assumptions about them.
Language is never neutral. By using it intentionally with an equity justice framing, we can help reshape narratives.
WAF Anti-Racist Tone of Voice Guide for UNICEF UK, 2025
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