Handicap International Switzerland
Campaign development in collaboration with Michel Le Roux
Communication that puts humanity and inclusion at the centre
Changing the way we tell stories can change the way we see one another.
How can we communicate about disability and humanitarian action without reducing people to their circumstances? And how can we create a meaningful connection between those who need support and those who can offer it?
These questions have shaped work across two successive year-end campaigns with Handicap International Switzerland. Since 2025, this collaboration has continued through Synarchy.
Our shared conviction is simple:
Inclusion should not only be what we communicate. It should also be reflected in the way we communicate.
2024: Rendons-lui ses rêves
More than walking. The possibility of dreaming again.
Building on Handicap International's positioning, Plus que marcher, the 2024 campaign shifted the focus from a child's disability to their aspirations.
“Rendons-lui ses rêves” —> “Let's give their dreams back.”
Featuring children whose lives had been changed by accidents, conflict or disaster, the campaign invited audiences to see beyond what they had lost and recognise what they could still become.
A donation was presented not simply as financial assistance, but as a contribution to a child's ability to dream, learn, play and shape their future. The campaign highlighted the wider journey towards inclusion: prosthetics, physical rehabilitation, psychological support and education.
2025: Un avenir solidaire
Their future is also ours.
The 2025 campaign took the idea a step further. Rather than focusing only on the dreams of individual children, it invited the public to recognise its own place in their future.
“Leur avenir est aussi le nôtre.” —> “Their future is also ours.”
The campaign featured Malak, a nine-year-old girl from Gaza who lost her right leg in a bombing. The creative approach deliberately moved away from familiar images of suffering and helplessness. Malak was shown smiling, holding a puppet, with her prosthesis visible: a child with personality and dignity, not simply a victim of conflict.
The concept challenged traditional representations of disability and the relationship between donor and beneficiary. The donor was not presented as a saviour, but invited to become part of a shared future. The campaign followed Handicap International's guidelines for inclusive, non-sexist and non-discriminatory communication: avoiding stereotypes, using accessible language and representing people with disabilities with dignity and agency.
Synarchy's contribution: the central campaign concept and creative direction. The campaign was developed and deployed by Handicap International Switzerland with its communication and media partners, including ESH Médias.
A campaign with measurable results
Running from 3 November to 31 December 2025 across French-speaking Switzerland, the campaign generated CHF 110,000 in year-end donations — an increase of 34% compared with 2024.
An awareness study conducted in February 2026 among 370 respondents also reported:
Campaign recognition: 25%.
Spontaneous awareness of Handicap International: from 13% to 23%.
Assisted awareness: from 50% to 58%.
Positive affinity towards the organisation: from 60% to 65%.
58% reported feeling a sense of closeness to the people represented.
These results suggest that communication grounded in dignity, inclusion and shared responsibility can connect with audiences while supporting a humanitarian mission.
Recognition for inclusive communication
The 2025 campaign was shortlisted for the 2026 Prix de la communication inclusive in Switzerland. At the awards ceremony, Marie Bro, Head of Communication and Media at Handicap International Switzerland, presented the thinking behind Un avenir solidaire and the organisation's approach to inclusive communication. Developed in partnership with Synarchy and ESH Médias, the campaign illustrates an important principle: inclusion is not only a subject to communicate about. It should also guide the stories we tell, the images we choose and the way we address the public.
Looking ahead: 30 years of Handicap International in Switzerland
In 2026, Handicap International Switzerland marks 30 years of commitment.
Following the two year-end campaigns, Synarchy has been invited to contribute to the organisation's anniversary communication. This new project offers an opportunity to reflect on three decades of humanitarian engagement and the continuing importance of human dignity, disability rights and inclusion.
The work is currently under development. Further information will follow as the project takes shape.
Communication as a contribution to inclusion
Synarchy's collaboration with Handicap International Switzerland reflects our belief that communication can help shape public understanding. The stories we tell can reinforce stereotypes or challenge them; create distance or invite connection. Through this work, we seek to contribute to public communication that respects people's dignity, recognises their agency and reminds us that a more inclusive future is a shared responsibility.
Their future is also ours.
