Last Tuesday night, my party stepped into the Leonardo Royal Hotel near St Paul’s Cathedral in evening wear and high spirits – and walked away with five Learning Excellence Awards, three of them Gold. An astonishing result. Though perhaps not so surprising when I stop to consider the quality of the projects we’ve been lucky enough to be involved with.
All five awards were for work that draws directly on our Drama for Change methodology – an approach I’ve developed over the years to turn fiction into a catalyst for real-world behavioural change. I’m proud of the work, of course, but even more so of the organisations who commissioned and co-created these remarkable initiatives. These awards are shared wins, and richly deserved.
Breaking the Silence – with Grassroots Suicide Prevention
Gold: Outstanding Course or Initiative
Gold: Education (All Levels)
Breaking the Silence is the UK’s first quality-assured suicide prevention training for young people aged 14+. An initiative of the charity Grassroots Suicide Prevention and delivered through schools, it equips students to recognise the signs of suicidal thinking in their peers, respond appropriately, and seek adult help.
At the heart of the programme is a powerful drama – developed using the Drama for Change method – presented within carefully facilitated workshops. The response has been moving. Young people have not only reported greater confidence in helping others, but have already come forward to raise concerns about themselves or classmates. The aim is for these materials to be available to schools throughout the UK.
Thinking Differently – with Fiserv
Gold: Outstanding Innovation
This initiative, aimed at fostering neurodiversity awareness across Fiserv’s EMEA operations, is built entirely on drama. We created a series of short narrative films, co-designed with neurodiverse colleagues, to provoke empathy, discussion, and new thinking.
The storytelling is nuanced, often humorous, and deliberately structured to allow viewers to see situations from different neurodiverse perspectives. One 360 video offers a simulated experience of sensory overload. Delivered in chaired workshops, all the elements unite to form a narrative-led approach that invites participants to engage with workplace realities through fiction.
Drive like Dom – with Brighton & Hove Buses/Metrobus
Gold: Outstanding External Provider
Winner: Supply Chain and Transport
This is perhaps the clearest example of Drama for Change in action. A set of short, funny, highly relatable films featuring a flawed but familiar driver called Dom. Each episode explores a key risk factor for collisions – like impatience or distraction – and gets drivers talking.
And they are talking. These videos are now part of the CPC training programme, and have gained a real following among drivers. Feedback has been exceptional, with instructors reporting much stronger engagement, and managers observing that Dom has become a reference point in day-to-day conversations about road safety. That’s exactly the kind of culture shift Drama for Change is designed to support.
A Final Word
Drama for Change isn’t a just technique – it’s a way of thinking. It asks participants to consider dilemmas, reflect on responses, and talk through values and decisions in the safe space that fiction provides. When it’s done well, as these projects show, it can shift attitudes, build empathy, and inspire new ways of working.
The awards night itself was a pleasure. We won the first category of the evening, which set the tone beautifully. A judge approached me later to say how much he admired Breaking the Silence. These projects deserve that kind of response—and I’m deeply grateful to the teams at Grassroots, Fiserv, and Brighton & Hove Buses/Metrobus for their trust and creative partnership.
If you’d like to explore how Drama for Change could support your own goals, I’d love to talk.
Tom Hickmore
Creative Director,
Nice Media Designer of the Drama for Change Method
#LearningExcellenceAwards #DramaForChange #NiceMedia #LearningAndDevelopment #LEA25
