Ecofund – Infoclips for an ecologic NGO in Dakar/Senegal

In cooperation with the environmental NGO ecofund, based in Dakar (Senegal), twenty interactive media students - organised in seven teams - produced seven animated information films during the summer semester 2013. The aim was to explore the format of the information film, to organise communication with international partners and, last but not least, to find stories about African environmental projects. Other partners were McCann Ericson's regional office in Dakar and the Senegalese IT start-up Inaota. Throughout the project, we were in constant contact with Ecofund co-founder Markus Fachina and his colleagues. We had weekly Scype meetings to discuss the progress of our work. This also reinforced our goal of service-learning, which combines expertise with civic engagement. An important aim of our involvement is to develop the format of the info-animation. The new animations are part of a long-term effort to produce short informational films in the 3D department. Highly acclaimed films from our department include Our Little World and Otto. An important lesson of our project is the unity of ecological integrity and social awareness of quality of life. The destruction of marine life through overfishing and plastic pollution deprives local communities of natural resources. Sociologist Ulrich Beck has coined the term 'ecological dispossession' to describe this element of the crime. It became clear that Augsburg and Dakar are very close to each other, while international corporations plunder the Senegalese coastal sea and logging endangers our singing birds. In our project, the core idea of Ecofund became clear: to support local initiators and activists for ecological and social projects with advice, funding and communication. Ecofund calls such initiators champions.

The short film PLASTIC WORLDS shows the nightmare of nature turning into a plastic world. Plastic fish will end up on our plates. Eating them will make a squeaking noise.
In MOUSSAS WORLD, the fictional champion Moussa discovers turtles on his walks. But the turtles are caught by poachers or die in rubbish dumps. Moussa wants to help nature and applies to Ecofund via the Internet. Moussa gets help and is empowered to get involved in a constructive way: with helpers he can collect the rubbish and put up information boards about the natural heritage. The short film demonstrates the services provided by Ecofund.

Augustin is the protagonist of THE STORY BEHIND. Augustin lives near a forest that is threatened by poaching and deforestation. He gets help from Ecofund. He presents his idea of building a fence on the Ecofund website and finds sponsors. By protecting the forest, new species of wildlife are discovered and the forest becomes a place of identification and a source of income through tourism. The film tells this story in the style of an animated children's book.

The three short films in THE ECOFUND PRINCIPLE visualise the Ecofund principle. The films begin with a specific problem, such as wasted or lost nylon fishing nets, the endangerment of sea turtles or the destruction of bird nests. The story then focuses on a champion who demonstrates a solution.

The intro STANDING TOGETHER FOR A GREENER FUTURE visualises the idea of Ecofund in a symbolic way. It starts with the logo characters standing on a dirty globe. One of them is an Ecofund champion. When he shakes hands, the globe turns green. When you zoom out, the globe becomes the o in the word Ecofund.

EVERYBODY CAN BE A CHAMPION in the sense of Ecofund. Everyone can help. This short animated film follows the sports metaphor. At the beginning, the protagonist puts on his champion's suit, picks up his instrument, a spade, and goes to work. He digs holes for planting.

Ecofund relies heavily on filmmaking to promote its ideas. These films can be narrative or documentary, but they are all very creative and often experimental. As the films use different formats depending on the projects and artists involved, it is good to have a logo animation that clarifies the corporate identity and strengthens the brand. The logo animation is careful not to compete with the content of the film, but with its playfulness and clarity it describes the DNA of Ecofund.