For the first time in history, the United Nations has asked for help from creators and influencers! Since we live in quite exceptional times, when the power of words, reach, and people considered by others as respected authorities can do more than any political or economic action, the UN has decided to take the equally… exceptional steps, asking for the help of creative artists from around the world.
“We are in an unprecedented situation and the normal rules no longer apply. We cannot resort to the usual tools in such unusual times,” says UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. “The creativity of the responses must match the unique nature of this crisis – the magnitude of the responses must match its scale.”
An open campaign has been published on the Talenthouse website, in which every creator can join in the fight against the coronavirus in his own creative way. How could artists, musicians, painters, and influencers contribute to the world and help save more lives? It turns out to be easier than you might think.
The creative fight against the coronavirus
The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading and coordinating the global health response to coronavirus, helping to ensure all countries are ready to prevent, detect, and respond to the pandemic. To be effective we need people everywhere to adopt public health precautions, act in solidarity, and prevent the spread of misinformation. That is why the United Nations is asking for the help of local artists to reach out to the communities of each country, avoiding the further transmission of erroneous data and instructions, stopping the growing – and as dangerous as the virus itself – spreading of panic, and encouraging people to act together to fight for a better tomorrow.
The UN is asking for help with translating critical public health messages into work that will engage and inform people across different cultures, languages, communities, and platforms. The provided content should use any creative medium to produce work that captures one of the coronavirus key messages – like personal hygiene, physical distancing, knowing the symptoms, “kindness contagion”, myth-busting, and “doing more” (e.g. donating) for the cause – in a clear, impactful and shareable way.
To avoid misunderstandings and to clarify the needs of the organization, a detailed list of recommended and discouraged actions has been published:
What to do?
- The campaign asks you to bring “your own magic” to the key messages listed above – giving them a creative twist, a cultural quirk, or an interpretation that helps amplify them to audiences not yet reached.
- Every submission should capture one of the above key messages and only include messaging derived from UN-guidance and being true to the spirit of the public health needs.
- Works can be submitted in any of these formats:
- Illustration and graphic design (formatted for social) – AI or PSD;
- Video (between 6 seconds and 3 minutes long) or GIF – MP4;
- Audio (music, PSA, comedy) – Soundcloud;
- Copy (news or magazine articles) – PDF;
- Activity concept (ideas for activities to do when staying home e.g. home concerts, sing-along handwashing, contagious acts of kindness) – PDF.
- All submissions should be high-resolution layered artwork files.
- Every creator should include the name and any social tags which the UN or any supporter should use were showing his/her work in the description of his/her submission.
- You have to include “Source: World Health Organization” where applicable.
- Works can be submitted in any of the following languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, German, Hindi, Bengali, Malay, Thai, Japanese, Indonesian, Urdu, Swahili, Nigerian Pidgin, Yoruba, and Turkish.
- And, above all, every submission should be originally created by you!
What not to do?
- You shouldn’t use the UN or WHO logos in your work.
- You can’t deviate from the key messages provided above.
- Don’t include language that is or could be interpreted as inflammatory, discriminatory, or stigmatizing.
- And don't include images or photos of people who are, or look under 18 years old. Only include images or a photo of someone once you have their consent to use it for the purpose of this brief. Obtaining this consent is the sole responsibility of the participant.
Help on a good cause an opportunity to gain publicity
The fact that the United Nations will not pay the influencers and creators for their work does not mean that if you decide to join the initiative you will have nothing of it – quite the opposite! Nowadays, reach, endorsement and popularity can be much more valuable (or directly converted) into money, and taking part in the action offers some kind of unique benefits.
A minimum of 10 pieces of work will be chosen by the selection panel from the UN. And in support of this global campaign, the selected creators will all:
- Have their work shared across UN and media supporter channels, reaching a global audience;
- Have their work shared across TLNT channels (including Talenthouse, Ello and/or Zooppa), reaching over 4 million creators and fans around the world;
- Have their work seen and potentially shared by a global audience across every industry;
- Potentially receive additional exposure through having their work showcased in digital galleries, physical exhibitions amongst other opportunities.
If you decide to take part in this action and help both the UN and the WHO, your profile of the Influencer on Brybe and similar websites can gain huge support among pro-social brands from all over the world – not to mention the fact that you can gain a lot of subscribers and followers this way.
Nevertheless, we encourage you to join the action not for subjective reasons but for the sake of humanity and in the fight for human life – at this address, you will find a detailed description of the entire initiative and links to the work of selected people in the future. You have time to send your submissions until April 9, 2020, at 6:00 PM and the winners will be revealed on April 22, 2020, at 6:00 PM London Local Time.