Malaria No More UK and David Beckham highlight the “power of teamwork” to boost malaria science in new immersive experience

Storytelling has always been an essential ingredient in campaigning.

As AI and other technologies present new frontiers in what’s possible, we, as campaigners, can make the most of the latest tools to tell stories differently and reach and engage our audiences in an increasingly noisy world.

At Malaria No More UK we have always endeavoured to utilise new technology in our storytelling. With the Malaria Must Die campaign we were able to help audiences envision a positive vision of the future. Working with The Ridley Scott Creative Group and visual effects specialists Digital Domain, we were able to age David Beckham and have him deliver an address from a world where malaria had been ended. In another campaign, we utilised new AI or ‘deep fake’ technology to make David Beckham appear to speak nine languages and launched the world’s first voice petition against malaria.

It is with this in mind that we approached leading global creative network, The Mill and Technicolor Group, to help us design an interactive storytelling experience that would show how innovation and teamwork can tackle malaria. But, how could we lift complex data sets from a page and turn them into something bold, powerful and engaging? That was the challenge

The data behind the malaria fight tells an important story of the past, present and future, but it’s not one that’s always easy for audiences to absorb. We also wanted to go beyond just engaging audiences through their screens, instead producing content where people could also immerse themselves in the story.

We were fortunate to work with The Outernet in London and use their incredible immersive space and screens, as well as the experiential entertainment studios of ZeroSpace in New York in partnership with 4Wall Entertainment. Combining these innovative partners, with The Mill’s creative vision and new research from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, we created The Zero Malaria Experience.

The Zero Malaria Experience uses this new research to demonstrate for the first time the potential of future innovations like ‘next-generation’ vaccines and gene-drive technologies, alongside existing interventions, such as insecticide treated bed-nets, to save millions of lives.

The Experience turns the data from this new research into dramatic digital art. The different malaria fighting tools, both current and in future generations, are represented by icons. As these are added or withdrawn by the user, the digital art changes and audiences can see, on giant screens, the impact this has on the fight against malaria. Guests can also explore the progress that has been made over the past 60 years – understanding the millions of lives that have been saved across the world.

The research estimates that more than 13.2 million lives could be saved in sub-Saharan Africa over the next 15 years (from 2025 until 2040) from existing and viable future tools. And, as malaria disproportionately impacts children, over 10 million of the lives saved would be children under the age of five.

The Experience was launched today at The Outernet in London.

In order to reach audiences beyond the physical ‘Experience’, we also produced an awareness raising film, featuring Malaria No More UK Leadership Council member, David Beckham, alongside an alliance of leaders and campaigners in global health and malaria science. The film illustrates the teamwork that is needed to tackle malaria and shows the different leaders and campaigners themselves interacting with The Zero Malaria Experience.

The Experience and the film are launched at a critical moment in the malaria fight, as the world pledges financial support for the replenishments of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2025. These two organisations are two of the major driving forces that have helped save millions of lives from malaria over the last two decades and are best placed to ensure that the malaria interventions currently available can be deployed effectively to reach those who need them.

Malaria No More UK is calling on leaders of G7 countries attending the upcoming G20 Summit in Rio to fully fund Gavi and The Global Fund as well as to continue to invest in malaria research and development.
We are also calling on the UK government, specifically, to maintain its leadership on the international stage by continuing to invest in world-leading British malaria science in partnership with malaria endemic countries, as well as fully funding Gavi and The Global Fund.