The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By Amit Bapna, APAC editor-at-large

March 1, 2023 | 3 min read

In a bid to draw awareness to the ongoing issues surrounding modern slavery and the efforts, Hagar International, a global anti-slavery NGO has partnered with DDB Group Hong Kong to create the ‘Unbroken’ campaign.

The global impact of modern slavery is immense with estimates that 50 million people are affected, however, of those subjected to the abuse, barely 0.2% have access to any healing support, whether physical or mental.

Hagar International, a global anti-slavery NGO, which was founded in the aftermath of Cambodia's civil war, works with survivors of modern slavery to provide sanctuary, counselling, legal support, education, and safe empowering jobs to help them rebuild their lives.

To help support the organisations' ongoing work as it scales its humanitarian operations, Hagar has launched a global campaign in partnership with DDB Group Hong Kong.

Patrick O’Callaghan, global fundraising lead of Hagar International, told The Drum, that while on-ground solutions continue to be provided for survivors, it is imperative to upscale the efforts and extend their impact.

The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness of the issues globally while also helping attract potential donors in key markets such as Australia, NZ, Hong Kong, UK and the US.

The powerful 'Unbroken' campaign draws from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which is the technique of fixing broken pottery pieces by using gold to repair the cracks. The idea is that by embracing flaws and imperfections, one can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.

The visually compelling campaign uses Kintsugi to represent the restoration of life and dignity of those who have been oppressed. The campaign depicts Kintsugi artist, Yoko Kawada, restoring a shattered sculpture inspired by the experiences of real-life survivors.

Sharing the creative journey with The Drum, Andreas Krasser, chief executive officer of DDB Group HK says, “We wanted to focus on the recovery of survivors, and the journey they needed to go through to be healed from the cycle of trauma, emerging not only ‘whole’ again but also stronger.”

"We immediately saw the parallels to the art form of Kintsugi, which also requires time and dedication to restore broken objects into stronger versions than before," adds Krasser.

The campaign captures and shines a light on the survivor’s journey and how that can be the inspiration for many grassroots initiatives around this critical issue.

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