Children in developing countries may need our help, but they're anything but helpless.
It's what I discovered when developing the yearly fundraising campaign for Dubai Cares, a Dubai NGO that aims to support education in some of the world's poorest places.
Going under the surface of stereotypical ideas about children in developing countries, it became clear that those kids might have little resources but they're actually incredibly resourceful. So much so, that children in developed countries can learn a thing or two from them. This insight became the basis of a campaign that ended up raising millions of dirhams in donations. And, more importantly, help change the perception of children in developing countries.
The campaign integrated offline and online media, with press, outdoor, radio, in-mall activations, YouTube videos and an Instagram activation all working hand in hand to create something novel in the NGO landscape. Check out the case study below for the bigger picture. The tutorials were shot in Tanzania and Sri Lanka.
The campaign won a Grand Prix, 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze at Lynx, a Bronze at Cannes, a Bronze at the Loeries and Silver two years in a row at the Effies. More special even, JWT received a Certificate of Appreciation from the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed.
The campaign was developed together with creatives Adam Fierman, Mahmoud Alkhawaja, Carl Lundqvist and Mahesh Powar and strategist Omar El-Gammal. Aarti Kulkarni headed up the account team and Souraya El-Far was in charge of production.
Watch the case study.
Press ads.
The children of Dubai and their parents created the Instagram ABC Book - it's now used in schools in developing countries.
Watch how the tutorials from kids in developing countries became part of the curriculum in this primary school in Dubai.
Tutorial: How to make a kite from a plastic bag.
Tutorial: How to make a lantern from a newspaper.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, awarded JWT with a Certificate of Appreciation for the agency's efforts for Dubai Cares.
