jess hamilton

Heaps Better (Greenpeace/Audiocraft)

To move themselves out of climate anxiety and into climate action, hosts Ash Berdebes and Jess Hamilton make a pinkie promise to protect the planet and their sanity.

Heaps Better is a 4-part podcast series produced as Greenpeace AU’s first major podcast. Utilising research in climate psychology and climate comms, myself, co-host Ash Berdebes and Greenpeace’s Ella Colley developed a framework for action and engagement that armed listeners with the knowledge, tools and confidence to take effective action.

Ash and I recorded interviews with high profile experts across climate finance, technology, policy and psychology alongside inspiring everyday stories, we sourced field recordings and archival sounds, and I edited and sound designed episodes. Within the first month after the launch, 1,089 people downloaded an accompanying ‘action kit’ to follow through on actions, and 70% of listeners surveyed said the podcast prompted a change in their behaviour.

The series had 100+ positive ratings, frequently stating the podcast inspired ‘positivity’, ‘optimism’ and ‘hope’. It averaged 4.9/5 stars; featured on Apple browse, Apple Recommended, and Spotify Recommended charts. Heaps Better was featured by The Guardian, Broadsheet, ABC Sydney, Media Week, FBi Radio, Ethical Made Easy and more. LISTEN HERE

DIGI Engage 2020 (Love Frankie)

DIGI Engage 2020 was a 2-day virtual event to inspire ideas, action and collaboration in the age of COVID-19 and beyond to counter hate and extremism.

This event was a partnership between the Department of Home Affairs and The Digital Industry Group in collaboration with global tech leaders Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Verizon Media, with behavioural change agency Love Frankie as a strategic partner. It’s strategic purpose was to arm young people in leadership roles with the expertise, skills and network to counter online hate, extremist content and racial intolerance.

I worked with Love Frankie’s research and team to design an engaging and accessible online forum and program that included sessions led by international experts including skills-building workshops, issue deep dives and space for mentorship and collaboration for participants to find creative solutions to counter isolation, intolerance and hatred. It was attended by 100 hand-picked youth participants, and facilitated an ongoing network of mentorships and collaboration beyond the event.

YouTube Creators For Change (Love Frankie)

An annual program to empower creators to produce informed content to counter online extremism and hate based on one’s race, religion, gender or sexual identity.

Working with Love Frankie’s research and strategic comms team, I oversaw the Australian arm of the Creators For Change program, that debuted in APAC as ShareSomeGood in Australia in 2016. Working with Google/YouTube policy teams, CFC aimed to empower aspiring young filmmakers and YouTube creators with the knowledge and skills to create content to counter online hate, and to become leaders in their online communities, in partnership with local NGOs. This involved 6 month programs of expert-led boot camps, mentorship programs and supported content production. I also designed the YouTube ‘Channel Some Good’ activation - a physical chat box that simulated online chat rooms to bring empathy to conversations with strangers - that featured at other tech industry events.

The global CFC program has contributed to over 100 videos combating extremism, hate and intolerance in partnership with 30 civil society organisations. Videos have been viewed more than 30 million times, driving dynamic digital discourse around key themes.

Locally Made Journal

Locally Made is an online project exploring the connections between people and the clothes we wear.

Co-Founded with Sydney-based artist and fashion designer Annie Hamilton, it featured long-form interviews with makers, designers and people within the textile industry who are actively working to strengthen sustainable, local production and counter fast fashion. The project aimed to give readers a deeper understanding of the people and processes behind fashion production, as well as to strengthen a network of local makers and creatives. It launched in Sydney with a panel discussion and screening of The True Cost film.

Secret Garden Festival

Secret Garden was a two night boutique music and arts festival that ran at a secret dairy farm over 12 sell-out years.

As part of the creative ‘Family’ team, I helped design and run themed, immersive parties and stage areas. These included ‘Farmageddon’ - a party for the last day on earth held at the farm, the ‘Secret Gar-Con’ sci-fi convention, and more. Working with actors and artists, we designed immersive spaces were designed to encourage play and escapism, building pillow forts and giant ball pits for grown ups, organising farmer versus zombie games, building a church for patron confessions on their final day, and interactive spaces that allowed guests to play into the rules of the world or set their own, and encouraged respect for the site, land and community.

Known for its stellar local line ups, fancy dress and imaginative spaces, SG was a much loved highlight on the Australian festival scene, a multi-award winning event, and raised over $500,000 for various charities.