2015 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

We’ve been working on Picon’s CSR campaign for a few years now; and it has evolved dramatically from where we started. We never wanted something traditional, and since our primary target were kids, we started by taking over numerous schools’ civic education course and integrating our own program. As the project evolved, the kids’ role in the program increased so we were able to engage them fully. This year, seeing that the country has been incredibly mismanaged by adults, we decided to give kids the chance to take matters into their own hands to make the country a better place. We launched the initiative through workshops that teach kids about Sustainable Development in general. We then encouraged the kids to come up with ideas to improve their regions; the ideas had to meet certain criteria, but most importantly, had to be sustainable. The kids submitted their ideas and a jury shortlisted the best ones, which were put online for a vote. Each region submitted a few ideas, and the winning idea per region was implemented. Our primary goal was to engage the kids, making them understand that they can they can truly make a difference, renewing their belief in a positive future for the country.

The Brief

The objective was to promote the abilities and capacities of children by introducing them to the true meaning of contributing to better their community. All kids will have a role to play in tomorrow’s society and they should know that through their cooperation and solidarity, they could accomplish many achievements that would serve their community. This initiative aimed to empower young people to promote their sense of belonging to their homeland. The project represented a platform for children to present and execute their creative ideas and demonstrate to the world the abilities of the next generation.

Results

We chose the winning project per region to implement: • Beirut: the kids created the first and only bicycle lane in Lebanon • North: the kids built a park as they were lacking green spaces in that area • South: the kids inaugurated a bus line serving 15 previously isolated rural villages • Bekaa: the kids prepared and painted 140 recycling cans for schools and set up a recycling process in their area through the cans Once the projects were completed, we invited the kids to present their projects to the media, therefore gaining even more traction and exposure: The results were great: • 1,000 kids became brand ambassadors for the project • 50 schools participated • 3,000 people voted online • 4 big projects were completed • Around 1 million USD in earned media

Execution

The “New Generation Project” was launched through a press conference which hosted by children, because we believe that the young people are the ones who will build the pillars of the community in which they will grow. 50 schools were selected to participate from 4 regions: Beirut, the Bekaa, the North and the South. Children were given the opportunity to work in groups with other students from other schools. Workshops were organized during which thousands of kids learned more about sustainable development and four categories of civic responsibility: Solidarity, Health, Citizenship and Environment. Every school, in collaboration with its students, submitted an idea for a project. A jury selected the projects that were later posted on Picon Facebook page for voting. The four winning projects were implemented. At the end of the year, children hosted a final event during which they celebrated their achievements in an exceptional setting.

The Situation

Since the country has been mishandled by adults for so long, children should be given the opportunity to play an active role in improving their country through an engaging civic responsibility program. School children, who were never exposed to real challenges, had to be empowered to face those challenges and find solutions that would eventually be implemented. Children should engage with civic education topics and apply them instead of treating this topic as a boring theoretical one.

The Strategy

With kids being our target, we reached out to schools in order to mobilize thousands of school children and turn them into spokespersons and activists for our cause. Kids were engaged in every step of the process. They played an active role in the success and the implementation of the initiative. An initiative that could only happen with the help and good will of those children that would, for once, see the impact of their young influence.