Using Storytelling to Inspire System Change

The Client Youth Sport Trust

The Challenge

Our relationship with movement, how we move, think, feel, and connect, influences our likelihood of being active throughout life. To drive positive, system-wide change in physical activity and wellbeing, it’s vital to help more people understand the concept of physical literacy and why it matters.

However, the term physical literacy can often feel abstract or academic, making it difficult for practitioners, educators, and the wider workforce to translate it into everyday practice.

Youth Sport Trust asked thinkpublic to create an animation to shine a light on physical literacy and bring it to life in a clear, accessible, and emotionally engaging way, helping to translate the concept into plain English, inspire the workforce, and drive action across the system.

Our approach

We leveraged the power of storytelling and animation to create an engaging and emotive film that resonated with a diverse range of audiences. We worked closely with Youth Sport Trust and a systemwide advisory group to develop a clear narrative that made the concept of physical literacy accessible, human, and inspiring.

The animation was designed to:

• Explain what physical literacy is in plain, practical terms

• Highlight the value of positive movement experiences

• Evoke emotion and empathy through storytelling

• Inspire action among stakeholders, practitioners, and policymakers

Through thoughtful visual design, scriptwriting, and animation, we crafted a piece that helps people connect both intellectually and emotionally with the importance of lifelong physical literacy and feel empowered to embed it in their own work.

The Outcome

The animation was successfully launched at the 2025 School Games National Summit. It aims to inspire a wide range of sector leaders, educators, and practitioners to recognise the value of embedding physical literacy. It's now available as a training and awareness tool to help advocates translate physical literacy into everyday practice and spark new conversations across the system.

By making this complex concept clear and relatable, the animation is set to help children and young people build positive experiences of movement and sport, supporting their wellbeing now and into the future.

“It has been a pleasure to work with thinkpublic on this important project. They have a unique ability to take the seed of an idea and shape it into something beautiful and impactful, always guided by passion and purpose. In this case, they created a thought-provoking, informative, and inspiring animation that I’m confident will reach across the system and positively influence the movement moments of young people nationwide.”

Emma Mackenzie, National Development Manager – Education Innovation, Youth Sport Trust