In a matter of days, United Hands had spread across social media - not just within Lebanon but also throughout the Lebanese community abroad. Over 7,800 people joined hands, including celebrities, politicians, and even the ex-Prime Minister. Then on November 30th, the online initiative inspired a real life human chain. Tens of thousands of Lebanese citizens gathered on the coast to join hands in the name of unity, making headline news on all major local TV channels and newspapers, as well as regional and international news outlets, as one of the largest human chains in Middle East history.
Creative Execution
With the streets being a delicate place to start mending the dialogue, the media team took to the internet to create the platform where people could come and express their unity. There was no better place to push the concept than through social media - where people could feel safe and comfortable being spoken to. By relinquishing all other forms of media, we were able to remove any kind bias towards the site, since in Lebanon all TV, radio and print outlets are viewed as mouthpieces for their relevant political parties.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
Beirut Celebrations is a non-partisan institution, building dialogue within the population by creating inclusive and purely nationalistic events, usually around the time of Independence Day. In a year, where the national day had been overshadowed by the growing divisions within Lebanon, Beirut Celebrations knew that this year had to be marked differently. With national unity facing complete destruction, citizens were on edge of where our country was headed. We created a portal where citizens could log on an join a virtual human chain, with a simple click of a button. Our target audience would be given the opportunity to mark their Independence Day with a renewed pride, as opposed to the anger and helplessness that was currently being felt, giving them a sense of unity in an all but hopeless time.