A 13-minute documentary, an animated timeline and a 20-page retrospective report about world-changing work – NetHope at 20 was Stone Barrell’s biggest and most complex project of 2021.

We love a celebration at Stone Barrell HQ. So back in February 2021 (when Stone Barrell was still a baby) we were excited to get the opportunity to help nonprofit NetHope celebrate their 20th birthday! Fast forward months of research, days of interviews with people from some of the biggest nonprofits and technology companies in the world, and hundreds of hours of writing, editing and video wizardry and you have a package of inspiring resources to help NetHope launch their biggest event of the decade in style. 

It’s no surprise that there are countless stories to tell from the two decades of collective action nonprofit NetHope has fostered. For the last 20 years, NetHope has brought together some of the most impactful NGOs and technology companies in the world, utilising the powers of technology and collaboration to benefit communities across the globe and to help protect the planet.

This is an incredible (and massive!) story to tell.

Stone Barrell was commissioned to create a package of resources to help share and celebrate the impact of the NetHope community for its 20th Anniversary Summit. The videos, report, branding and web assets we created were the result of months of work: contacting and interviewing NetHope heroes past and present, from organisations such as Christian Aid, Cisco, HIAS, Meta, Okta, Oxfam, Plan International and Save the Children; carefully piecing together 20 years of NetHope history; and packaging it in a way that would engage NetHope’s vast audience, as well as potential future donors, nonprofit Members and technology partners.
‍

We've summed up 20 years of NetHope achievements in four minutes. You're welcome! Watch the animated timeline below.
‍

The videos, report and web assets we made for NetHope were launched at their biggest annual Global Summit EVER in November 2021. Attended by more than 1,800 people from across the globe, NetHope’s 20th Anniversary Summit brought together leaders from the worlds of technology, global development, relief and conservation. The Summit was a historic opportunity to celebrate 20 years of collective action and, with the world's most impactful nonprofits and tech companies together for a week, it was also a unique moment to collaborate, ideate and innovate for more positive impact for people and the planet in the future. 

The 13-minute documentary video featured at the top of this blog and created by Stone Barrell was played at the launch of the whole event.

As well as making two very different videos to tell NetHope’s 20-year story, we also created the brand identity for the Summit and NetHope's 20th year, compiled, wrote and designed a 20-page retrospective report and created a webpage to house all the 20th anniversary assets on nethope.org.

‍

Read the retrospective report.
‍

We loved getting stuck into this multifaceted project, working with the NetHope community to share some of the highlights of their two decades of collaboration. The communications assets we produced went down really well at the Summit, and helped to make the 20th anniversary of this world-changing community even more special.

Speaking about working with Stone Barrell to create these resources, Dianna Langley, Senior Director of Engagement at NetHope, said:

"The true test is not that we loved the work (which we did), but that our key stakeholders (our Board, our nonprofit Members, and our tech company sponsors) all commented on how impressed they were with these creative assets. I highly recommend Stone Barrell to others for their exceptional quality of work and attention to detail, as well as the easy camaraderie they bring to partnering them – it is this camaraderie that turns projects into a pleasure, and we all value when managing outsourced work becomes actually enjoyable!"

All that's left to say is... happy 20th birthday NetHope!