Words in Action: 4 Videos Inspired by the FrameWorks Institute’s Work

The FrameWorks Institute, a nonprofit communications think tank, helps grant makers and charities craft language to change how advocates talk about their causes and how the public perceives them. Here are some videos, produced by FrameWorks and its partners, that show how those words and concepts are being used to convey ideas.

In the three-part web sitcom “Life Coach,” by the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, a recovering addict named Joe must contend with a pair of well-intentioned friends, Terry and Alex, who are determined to “fix” his addiction. The video explains the neuroscience of addiction, what triggers it, and what doesn’t help (spoiler alert: Terry and Alex).

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Another Alberta Family Wellness Initiative production, “How Brains Are Built,” uses animation to explain brain development in childhood using terms like “serve and return” (the back-and-forth communication between a baby and a caregiver), “executive function” (like an “air-traffic control tower in your brain”), and “toxic stress,” which describes the impact of trauma or neglect on a child’s mind and future health.

[video url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVWOe1ky8s " align="center” size="full-width” class="" starttime="" caption="" credits="Alberta Family Wellness”]

This video, produced by the National Education Association, looks at two children born on the same day in the same city — but in different ZIP codes, which determines the quality of their education and, ultimately, their future. FrameWorks testing found that the value of “fairness across places” resonates with the public in helping to make the case for funding school districts equitably.

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FrameWorks’ research on climate-change advocacy resulted in the creation of the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation. The network has produced a series of educational videos for zoo and aquarium patrons that explain the impact of climate change on various species, including this one on sea turtles, which uses the FrameWorks concept for a “heat-trapping blanket” to explain the ill effects on the planet of carbon-dioxide buildup.

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