O&M London and Amnesty International #TakeAction in New Campaign

With social media awash with cries of outrage at the current refugee crisis Twitter witnesses close to 10,000 tweets a day from users pledging their sympathy, Amnesty International is looking to convert outrage to support with its latest social campaign #TakeAction. 

A world first, the global campaign created by O&M London will be filmed on the ground in Kenya & Lebanon & feature real time responses from refugees to tweets sent by social media users who reference their sympathy toward the current crisis. 

The campaign has been created part of Amnesty International’s OUTRAGE IS NOT ENOUGH drive to create global support for a global solution to the urgent refugee crisis – a crisis it believes can be solved, but only if people and governments turn words into actions.

Mick Mahoney, Chief Creative Officer, O&M London:

It's not enough to tweet your outrage at the appalling treatment of the world's refugees. You must take action. That is the message real refugees will be sending directly to slacktavist tweeters around the world. Together with refugees in camps in Kenya and Lebanon we are filming realtime video responses to send almost immediately the tweets are received. We want to give these refugees the voice that governments around the world are denying them.

Supported by a 24/7 command centre located in the Ogilvy Sea Container offices, the team will select public comments from Twitter users & reply to them in real-time with videos of refugees. These responses will be filmed in a bid to bring refugees into the audience’s world, and elevate support for the crisis. The refugee will thank the tweeter for their show of support from the other side of the globe but remind them that outrage is not enough – calling on the tweeter to #TakeAction and sign a global petition hosted at http://amn.st/60028rT6K. 

This petition will be presented to UN secretary general António Guterres, previously UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on 6 February, calling on the UN and governments around the world to act together to tackle the global refugee crisis.

Working alongside renowned photojournalist agency MAGNUM PHOTOS, the short films will tell the moving stories of refugees throughout Kenya & Lebanon. Further content will be created to provide a behind-the-scenes look into the individual stories of the refugees featured in the short films. The campaign will run from Tuesday 31st January through to February 3rd. 

The campaign launches just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively prevent refugees from seeking resettlement in the USA, blocking people fleeing war and persecution from war-torn countries such as Syria from seeking safe haven in the country.

“Without action, the global refugee crisis, particularly the poor conditions faced by refugees, can only get worse. But it can be solved. It will take genuine leadership and political will,” said Osama Saeed Bhutta, Communications Director at Amnesty International.

“That’s why we’re calling on everyone to #TakeAction and help us pressure governments around the world to do the same. This is a global crisis that requires a global response.The problem is not the number of refugees but that far too few nations are sharing responsibility for supporting refugees. And it is the wealthiest nations that do least.”