Building a global S.T.E.A.M conversation
The Gates Foundation is one of the world’s largest private philanthropic organisations, working to improve health, reduce poverty and expand opportunity for people around the globe.
Founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, the foundation supports programmes in global health, education, development and public policy. Its work brings together governments, charities, researchers, educators and business leaders to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing communities today.
The Gates Foundation hosted a high‑profile event at the Science Museum in London, UK, featuring a public conversation between Bill Gates and Will.i.am, interviewed by Sarah Sands of the London Evening Standard.
The discussion explored the importance of STEAM education — science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — and the role innovation will play in solving global challenges.
While the event brought together an influential audience in the room, the foundation wanted the conversation to reach far beyond those attending in person.
The challenge was to ensure the discussion could be experienced live by a wider audience while creating digital content that would sustain interest and conversation around STEAM in the hours, days and weeks following the event.
We filmed and live-streamed the event from the Science Museum in London, capturing the conversation between Bill Gates and Will.i.am as it took place on stage.
Following the event, we developed a digital amplification approach to extend the discussion’s reach across social platforms.
Working rapidly after the event concluded, we reviewed the discussion and created packages of compelling content for distribution through social media, ensuring the most meaningful moments of the conversation were ready for audiences online while interest in the event was still high.
The edited content highlighted the most compelling insights from the discussion, allowing the foundation to continue the conversation around STEAM education well beyond the event itself.
The content was prepared for rapid publication across digital channels, ensuring the momentum generated by the live event translated into sustained online engagement.
The event reached a significant audience both during the live broadcast and through the digital content shared afterwards.
More than 10,000 people watched the discussion live online. The video content edited and published following the event generated more than 284,000 views on Facebook and over 21,000 views on YouTube, alongside additional engagement across other platforms.
By extending the life of the event through fast turnaround digital content, the work helped ensure the conversation between Bill Gates and Will.i.am continued to reach audiences interested in innovation, technology and the future of STEAM education.
