2022 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) is a foundation that was established by the UAE Government to improve the world through humanitarian, developmental and community work. It seeks to identify problems and challenges faced by the underserved and underprivileged areas of our world. In the winter of 2021/2022, with underprivileged areas globally facing a harsh COVID-19 winter, MBRGI wanted to launch a humanitarian fundraising campaign calling on everyone to help vulnerable people get through the winter. The campaign would seek to support hundreds of thousands of refugees and families in need in Africa and the Arab world. And it aimed to raise over US$10 million (AED 36.65 million) to provide food, winter clothing, blankets, mattresses, and critical aid to help displaced men, women and children prepare for harsh winter conditions. We wanted to create an idea that captured eye-balls out in the physical world and resultantly, online too.

Write a short summary of what happens in the digital or ambient execution or campaign.

“The Warm Winter Livestream”: We partnered with gaming influencer and content creator, the YouTube star Hassan Suleiman "AboFlah", who announced to his 22.7 million followers and the wider public across the Middle East that he would live in a glass box, right opposite the world’s tallest building – Burj Khalifa - starting on January 7 to raise $10 million in aid for refugees in the region. He vowed to remain inside the glass box, located alongside Burj Khalifa, until the money was raised. He would eat, sleep, rest and stay in that box. To unlock him from the box, just as in any game, people had to achieve the goal of $10 million. All experiences inside the glass box were documented live via a livestream on YouTube, as AboFlah encouraged people across the region to contribute whatever they could to help bring warmth to those suffering a cold, harsh winter.