Vatican awarded international prize for video on migrants, refugees
By Robin Gomes
A Vatican video campaign on migrants and refugees has become an internationally-recognized best practice in promoting positive change in society through social advertising.
The International Social Advertising Festival or Publifestival awarded its “Best Strategy in Social Action” prize to a video made by the Section for Migrants and Refugees of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Promotion. The video was produced by the agency La Machi Communication for Good Causes.
The 12th edition of Publifestival took place Friday night at the Fernando Rojas Theater of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, in which agencies and advertisers from all over the world took part.
The 3½-minute piece has Pope Francis explaining the 4 active verbs on which he proposes basing the actions of governments, organizations and citizens to engage the problematic of human mobility: to Welcome, to Protect, to Promote, and to Integrate.
The video, available in nearly 30 languages, was first shown at the 'stock-taking' session for the United Nations Global Compact on Migrants (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico), in December 2017, and in the High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges for the Global Compact for Refugees at the Palais des Nations (Geneva). It has also been presented at UN headquarters in New York and many other places worldwide.
“Pope Francis gives the Christian and indeed civilized response to the pressing needs of vulnerable people on the move,” said Fr. Michael Czerny, the Under-Secretary of the Section for Migrants and Refugees of the Dicastery, during the award ceremony.
“In images, music and movement,” he said, “the video makes the Holy Father’s urgent appeal so real.” “We are happy to help this touching and indeed motivating message reach millions of concerned people everywhere.”
The Publifestival also gave an award to a video-spot on the latest Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, “Gaudete et Exsultate”, on the call to holiness in today's world. The 2½-minute spot was produced by Vatican Media with the collaboration of the La Machi Agency.
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