Media on Mars frequently partners with educational institutes and government departments, and we regularly found ourselves addressing accessibility compliance in tenders. Although the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC, 2014) states that all web content should be accessible, there remains a significant lack of awareness among mainstream organisations as to the need to implement the WCAG 2.0 standard.
We saw the opportunity for promoting digital accessibility, engaging users and spreading the message to a wider mainstream audience. The Centre for Accessibility is our collaborative answer to the accessibility problem. Created in partnership with DADAA and Dr. Scott Hollier and funded in part by an ILC grant from Disability Services, Department of Communities, the Centre for Accessibility was officially launched in June 2018.
Media on Mars developed a communication strategy that promotes accessibility as being about more than compliance. Accessibility is about people. We designed and developed the Centre for Accessibility website and developed a marketing campaign that puts people at the fore. The campaign aims to spread the accessibility message to a wider mainstream audience, as well as engaging accessibility specialists and people living with disability.
Studies have found that young people who leave school early are at greater risk of experiencing long-term unemployment, which can lead to many other risk factors including social exclusion, welfare dependence, reduced life satisfaction and mental health problems. Imagined Futures has been working with at risk young people since 2014 with the aim of keeping vulnerable kids engaged in education.
Imagined Futures has been funded through a combination of state government grants and member contributions, however further funding was required to ensure the ongoing sustainability of their work. Media on Mars helped develop a suite of photography, program video, an elevated brand and a campaign for attracting funding. We helped organise a stakeholder event to share the work of Imagined Futures and promote their collective impact approach.
Millennium Kids is a non-government organisation empowering young people to be active and aware in the environment. The Millennium Kids processes allow young people to identify environmental issues and look at the opportunities to solve these problems, consulting with stakeholders and learning new skills along the way.
Media on Mars has been assisting Millennium Kids to turn their ideas into reality. The latest venture is a reusable bag stand that encourages shoppers to use and return cloth bags. Their pitch to SUEZ Waste Management resulted in funding for two prototypes. Mars assisted Millennium Kids to turn their ideas into a working prototype, a video and a pitch to IGA, local councils and local shops. Once the prototype has been tested Millennium Kids hopes to introduce the stands to as many other independent stores as possible.
“The ‘Make it Happen’ approach that Media on Mars uses not only gave us confidence in our project but it offered a range of perspectives that we may not have considered otherwise. It feels like a partnership; a team of people working to the same end, and allows us to exchange open dialogue, ideas and information.”
— Catrina-Luz Aniere, CEO Millennium Kids Inc
LORE / LAW is a long-term, skills-for-life project of the Law Society of WA, facilitated by Millennium Kids and led by the Aboriginal Youth Leadership Team. The project aims to support a reduction in the high rates of Aboriginal youth contact with the WA justice system.
To address the complex issue, Mars has worked with a steering committee that includes Aboriginal representatives from The Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People, Family Matters WA, the Association of Independent Schools of WA, Sevenoaks College and representatives from the Department of Justice, the WA Police, Curtin University and the Chief Justice, a non-Aboriginal patron.
In January 2019 the LORE / LAW project was awarded $200,00 funding under the State Government’s Criminal Property Confiscation Grants Program, administered by the Department of Justice. The program will train a group of young Indigenous people so they can work with at risk communities to design programs to address the root causes of youth incarceration.
Hygge (pronounced “hue-gah”) is about an atmosphere and an experience; it is about feeling safe and at peace. The Danish word originally relating to wellbeing has evolved into a social movement that is enriching lives around the world. Hygge Community Life is bringing this concept of belonging into social housing and providing a solution to systemic poverty and Australia’s broken social housing system.
Media on Mars assisted Hygge to develop their brand strategy and create a comprehensive and concise pitch deck for funding applications and pitching events. Identifying and capturing a clear story, demonstrating need and showing a pathway for results has been essential to Hygge in their quest to secure funding.
SECCA is a non-profit organisation designed to support people with disabilities in their efforts to learn about human relationships, sexuality and sexual health. Media on Mars developed a new identity and website for SECCA, plus a range of collateral including business cards and stationery, brochures, videos, photography, workshop sheets and email marketing templates.
The largest and most complex of SECCA projects has been the SECCA App. Over three years of collaboration, research, scoping with stakeholders and extensive user testing was conducted before any commitment to final design. Based on this research and continued close consultation with SECCA, Media on Mars developed several interactive prototypes to test and refine user experience and functionality of the app. An illustrator at Media on Mars expanded on the original 200 tiles to create an extensive collection of over 1800 illustrations and 350 photographs.
The SECCA App is a free resource used in education, medical, allied health and justice settings, providing lessons for sexuality education and protective behaviours. The app is the first of its kind that teaches and communicates early and advanced concepts about human relationships and sexuality for people of all ages and abilities, their families and carers.
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