Visual Newsdesk: Concern Debates Final

We were really excited to take part in our second Concern Debates Final this year. It's a real institution in Irish life – a valuable one – and it's just so inspiring to hear the powerful young voices taking their place in the world and demanding positive change. The motion for debate – "The Trump presidency will be a blessing in disguise for Africa – was ripe for a little touch of lively visual provocation!

Concern hoped to engage young people across multiple social media platforms, and to encourage them to learn and take action on issues of global justice and human development. They wanted to get the message out on Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter – as well as to interact and promote participation inside Dublin's Helix among pupils attending the event in person.

Our approach included creating a series of six Snapchat and Instagram Stories – 20second animations that each had their own purpose, from building excitement in advance, to introducing the teams, increasing tension during adjudication and finally announcing the winner. We've compiled all six here - take a look!

Before the debate kicked off, Maria was upstairs in the Helix, encouraging attendees to write up their thoughts for the Interactive Tweet Station; and to take part in a touch screen poll on their attitudes to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The voting statistics from the touch screen poll were compiled, then visualised by Therese during the night & ready in time to be displayed towards the end of the evening when Concern's Michael Doorly announced the results.

Throughout the debate, Maria was capturing and editing key quotations from the speakers and Ruth & Therese created visuals from these, for Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. We followed up after the event with an animated video to celebrate 2017s debate series and promote participation next year. We'll add the link later, after it has gone live!