This project consists of 2 Posters, 5 social media posts, a micro-site and 5 T-shirt designs that are intended to bring the RAD foundation back into the limelight and to attract more beneficiaries. The RAD Foundation works with the youth in rural communities in the Western Cape to inform them on basic social issues such as HIV/AIDS, recycling and many more by making use of African methods of teaching/learning that includes art, dance and storytelling. 

In earlier years, traditional African methods of education like Ubuntu was practiced to teach youth how they fit into the community. This included virtuous qualities such as pride, respect and community responsibilities. Today, western methods of education are adopted by young Africans. This is in direct conflict with the community’s way of teaching. Children don’t learn the lessons they need to become responsible pillars of society. They are lost without guidance and do not know their place in the community. 

This campaign intends to reconnect African Youths to their roots through ancestral community lessons of virtues. These lessons are portrayed as treasures which need to be found. It gives the idea of a treasure hunt for your true African self. By learning these lessons (unlocking these treasures) you are ultimately unlocking virtues that will guide you into the future to ensure that you are on the correct path. The first implemented stage is the posters which youths in the community can see, where after they can scan the bar-code on the poster what will lead them to the social media invites. These posters makes use of sensual sayings that reflect African ways of teaching. Repeated use of African symbols like the African form, pattern design and the shield logo seeks to provide a modern African aesthetic. The chosen target audience is youths between the ages of 15-24 because they will be able to understand the concept and make the connection between these virtues and the idea of treasure. The tagline for this campaign is “A guide to your true African self”. This tagline connects the idea that these ancestors (virtues) need to guide youths into the future so that they can reclaim their place in the community and explore the traditional African way of being.

The Treasure hunt is built around 5 major lessons/treasures. Each treasure is represented by an ancestor character, specific color, hand gesture and African animal. The specific chosen lessons are honesty, loyalty, hard work, forgiveness and respect. Other visuals are used throughout the campaign such as a sunrise and a textured map aesthetic. The tone of voice for instruction is rhyme to indicate rhythm. Further words are used such as rediscover, reclaim and reconnect to indicate that the treasures they seek are already embedded into their person-hood. Along with the posters, a social media campaign will run on Instagram. Each of these posts represent and elder/lesson that needs to be learned for someone to become a good member of an Ubuntu society. The Instagram posts make use of the hand gestures to represent the lesson that must be taught. A hashtag is used (#jointhehunt) to be a call to action for the target audience to participate.

Both the Posters and Instagram posts will lead the audience to the website where they will be asked to create a profile and then a personalized map will follow according to RAD foundations activity in the specific community, and the lessons that the children have learned. When completing a lesson, the face changes from serious to exited. Rhyme is used as riddles to give the idea of rhythm. After the whole course is complete, the audience is rewarded with a T-Shirt of their choice between the five ancestral characters.

T-Shirt designs serve as the reward for a job well done! The audience will receive a shirt of their choice after completing the treasure map and receiving all five virtues. By creating this project, the target audience has a new and fun way of participating with the NPO to create a larger reaching pool.