NEWS: Togetherness Through Film-making: Norfolk’s Joint Social Media Campaign
At a time when divisive narratives dominate our screens, we need to inspire connection, unity and hope. In August, our Togetherness filmmaking initiative culminated in a successful social media campaign, which collaboratively shared a powerful collection of short stories created by the community for the community. Back in the Spring, we hosted film-making workshops with 36 grassroots community leaders, statutory professionals and local residents and volunteers, supporting them to unlock their skills and build their confidence in film. Inspired by 32 Steps to Togetherness, and supported by our team, these community leaders have captured their own stories of Togetherness. Their locally-created films nudge the people of Norfolk to connect and unite, as well as inspiring national audiences. Besides leaving behind lasting skills and stories that continue to spread positivity, this collaborative campaign has also strengthened relationships between community groups and partner organisations.
Watch some of the films created as part of the campaign:
Why do we need to inspire connection, unity and hope?
There has never been a more critical time to invest in bringing communities together.
Toxic and inflammatory narratives are becoming more and more widespread across social media, mainstream news and politics. People’s longing for community, belonging and voice is making them susceptible to misinformation and scapegoating.
The way we connect with each other has been significantly disrupted by the pandemic and through our increasing use of and dependence on new technologies. As well as creating the conditions for division, disconnection and the loss of community is having a significant impact on our mental health.
How do we restore community? Ultimately, it comes down to prompting and enabling people to create new day-to-day behaviours.
The Steps to Togetherness movement
Two years ago, we launched a national movement called 32 Steps to Togetherness, which is all about building connections within and between communities. Our dream is a behavioural and cultural ‘revolution’ at the grassroots in order to build connection, health, camaraderie, tolerance, trust, hope and unity from the bottom up.
Centred around 32 ideas of practical actions we can all take, the movement leverages and supports a network of grassroots leaders, as well as a wider partnership of organisations. Though working in different places, on different issues, they are all united behind the 32 Steps to Togetherness vision.
Why create and share grassroots films?
The 32 steps are loved for being so practical - and we have countless success stories of people telling us about how they have been inspired to make small but significant changes to their day-to-day which has changed their lives. However, to really inspire people to adopt new behaviours, we need to show people those behaviours in action: storytelling. What better way to share those stories than through short films broadcast across social media channels. If we work together to share these stories, we can be seen and heard beyond our own networks to reach the widest possible audience.
We saw an opportunity to bring together the people and groups we’ve been working with to build their skills and confidence in film making, whilst strengthening relationships between voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) and statutory organisations.
Stories are an incredibly powerful way to connect with people, showcase the impact of work happening in communities, and - most importantly - inspire others to change their perceptions and behaviours. Film is arguably the most powerful way to tell a story fast, and filmmaking is a skill that the VCSE sector needs to master in order to empower itself.
Togetherness film-making workshops in Norfolk
In March 2025, we delivered creative and practical film-making workshops to grassroots organisations and community leaders in Norfolk. We continued to work with the participants over the following weeks and months: we supported them to get their short films over the line and suitable for sharing on social media. The result is a rich tapestry of stories of togetherness, told from different perspectives across Norfolk.
Watch a short film explaining what we did
These films were collaboratively shared in a joint social media campaign - coordinated by us, but led by the film-makers - throughout the month of August.
The film-making workshops and subsequent campaign has given participants the knowledge and confidence to turn stories into powerful films, which they can take away into all areas of their work. As intended, this collaborative campaign has also strengthened relationships between people and organisations involved, setting the stage for greater collaboration within and between the VCSE and statutory sectors at a time when we desperately need it. Most importantly….these films give inspiration and positivity, helping to drown out the negative and divisive narratives that many people see when they switch on their phones.
Become part of our movement
We believe stories have magical powers to change perceptions and behaviours, to heal divisions. We want to flood online spaces with films that celebrate unity, belonging, and humanity. You can too:
Watch & share — Visit our Instagram page, explore the films created by grassroots voices, and share them to spread hope and positivity.
Bring it to your community — Commission us to deliver filmmaking workshops and/or a social media campaign in your area, empowering local voices to tell their stories of togetherness.
Together, we can replace toxic narratives with stories that inspire trust, compassion, and connection.
“The Togetherness campaign made it so much easier for local groups to start honest conversations about loneliness and helped people feel truly seen. We watched partners reach new audiences and build a real sense of momentum that will last well beyond the campaign. It’s been even more successful than we ever imagined and has had a huge impact on the Norfolk VCSE community. It’s genuinely been a joy to be part of it”
“This was more than just a workshop - it was a shift in thinking. It’s made us reflect more deeply on how we communicate our messages, manage expectations, and express our vision, achievements, asks, and gratitude, not just through written or animated posts, but with real people and stories, through video.”
“I really enjoyed celebrating the voluntary community groups that deserve so much recognition for making their communities shine. The films were like windows on small community groups that may only meet weekly, fortnightly or even monthly for a few hours but bring so much warmth to the attendees.
I am now offering to support further groups with film making and who knows enter a local film festival next year with my social media clips that light up our wonderful communities.”
“Civil Society Consulting has given me a platform to grow as a videographer and deepen my connection with my community.
The workshop itself was an inspiring, welcoming space where creativity thrived, and the Togetherness film campaign is an excellent example of that.
One of the highlights for me was meeting people from such diverse backgrounds; it offered a unique perspective into the Norfolk community and sparked new relationships that continue to grow beyond the workshop.”
