UNITED NATIONS | THE PEOPLE'S SEAT | 2019
How They Built a 194th Chair at the UN With Zero Budget / UNITED NATIONS "THE PEOPLE'S SEAT"
The UN meeting room only had enough chairs for 193 countries. So they added a 194th chair. The one who sat in it wasn't a representative from any country — it was "people around the world."
The problem
COP24 in 2018 was a crucial meeting for putting the Paris Agreement into action, but it was in danger of getting buried without drawing much attention. There was almost no budget, and the challenge was how to get the world to pay attention to this huge international conference.
The insight
There were 193 chairs for the leaders of each country, but not a single seat for the "ordinary people" who are most affected by climate change. I think it's impressive that someone noticed this absence. The idea of simply adding a chair, instead of accepting the problem, is what really hits home.
The idea
They brought in David Attenborough and used social media to gather voices about climate change from around the world under the hashtag #TakeYourSeat. Those voices were then delivered as a speech from the 194th chair, "The People's Seat," at the opening ceremony of COP24. They also rolled out a Facebook Messenger bot called "ActNow," connecting the campaign to actions individuals could actually take.
What happened
The campaign reportedly reached an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide. During the conference, on 12/15, nearly 196 countries agreed on the rulebook for the Paris Agreement. The campaign won Gold and Silver Lions in the PR category at Cannes Lions.
Afterthought
"No budget" can easily become an excuse, but this project managed to turn the world's eyes toward COP24 just by adding one chair. I think that's what real idea strength looks like. The Earth's conference finally got a seat for actual human beings.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2019
