No matter the distance, the height or the fight
For them, living is already winning
#LivingIsWinning
Athletes perform amazing
physical feats to win; men, women and children fleeing war, poverty and
violence also surpass themselves. But they do it simply to survive.
This
parallel struck two young French creatives, who wanted to counter the negative portraits of refugees in the media. They took
the opportunity of the official announcement of Paris 2024 Olympics to talk
about the dangerous journey many refugees have to take – crossing lands,
deserts and seas and facing countless obstacles - in order to win their right
to live.
The result is “Living is Winning”, a refugee awareness
campaign launched on September 14, the day after Paris was officially set to
host the 2024 Olympics.
The campaign, which features a series of posters, three films and a
campaign website, was created and directed by Valentin Guiod (Josiane Paris)
and Min-Hyung Choi (AdamandeveDDB London), with the support of Josiane and OTSO
Paris, and led by La Cimade, an independent humanitarian organisation
protecting refugees’ rights.
“In France, some people started to see
migrants as hobos whereas they are just humans who are forced to leave
everything, surpassing themselves to flee conflict and persecution,” explains Min-Hyung Choi. “This idea of surpassing yourself rang a bell. They are doing it not to win golds, but just
their right to live with dignity. Then there was this debate on Paris 2024 in
the French media, which we saw as the perfect opportunity to bring back another
debate on the table.”
Their initiative has received lots of support, including from the
award-winning photographer Espen Rasmussen, who lent his images to the
campaign - and was extensively covered in the French media and on social media with more
than 140k views and 2900 shares on Facebook.
Now, they want to spread their message to an international audience. So please,
do share it.
#LivingIsWinning
