Christian Aid’s Lifeswitch website gets BAFTA nominations -8/12/04
Christian Aid’s Lifeswitch website gets BAFTA nominations -8/12/04
Christian Aidís LifeSwitch.org has been nominated for two BAFTA Interactive awards ñ the new media equivalent of the world renowned BAFTA prize. The site was shortlisted from almost 400 entries and is up against the likes of the National Theatreís Stagework, the BBCís Radio Times and Gucciís Alexander McQueen websites. LifeSwitch.org offers the user to swap lives with someone else around the world. The idea for the site was inspired by the ‘wish you were here’ postcard concept and the ‘chance birth’ theory, based on the question: what if you had been born somewhere else in the world? Launched in the run up to Christian Aid Week in May, users of the site are invited to choose a dream country for a new life and submit details about themselves. The site then matches the users profile with someone else’s in the country that has been chosen. the site enables the user to swap their life with someone else’s in a different country, under the slogan ‘The true you can be the new you’. Suranne Jones, who plays Coronation Street’s Karen Macdonald, was one of the first people to give it a go. “I was yearning for a change and a bit more sun”, said the award winning actress. However, having entered her details Suranne discovered that she would have been a rice farmer. “I was transformed into a young woman in Sierra Leone. My life had not been a happy one. Having been assaulted during the ten-year civil war by a group of soldiers, I was driven out of my home. But there was hope, I approached Christian Aid, and they helped me return to my village and become a rice farmer.” she said. Sara Chamberlain, Christian Aid’s web manager, said: “We take no responsibility for users of LifeSwitch catapulted into a life they may not have expected. While some users may find themselves living a life of luxury in the golden sands of the Dominican Republic, others will ‘experience’ the day-to-day struggle of poor people in developing countries.” Vik Sharma, Christian Aidís senior web producer, said: “Lifeswitch is an innovative and compelling online experience. We wanted to pique peopleís curiosity. The idea was to grab their attention with something entertaining and educational – something that would make them aware of life behind the glossy travel brochure headlines.”
Christian Aid’s Lifeswitch website gets BAFTA nominations -8/12/04
Christian Aidís LifeSwitch.org has been nominated for two BAFTA Interactive awards ñ the new media equivalent of the world renowned BAFTA prize. The site was shortlisted from almost 400 entries and is up against the likes of the National Theatreís Stagework, the BBCís Radio Times and Gucciís Alexander McQueen websites. LifeSwitch.org offers the user to swap lives with someone else around the world. The idea for the site was inspired by the ‘wish you were here’ postcard concept and the ‘chance birth’ theory, based on the question: what if you had been born somewhere else in the world? Launched in the run up to Christian Aid Week in May, users of the site are invited to choose a dream country for a new life and submit details about themselves. The site then matches the users profile with someone else’s in the country that has been chosen. the site enables the user to swap their life with someone else’s in a different country, under the slogan ‘The true you can be the new you’. Suranne Jones, who plays Coronation Street’s Karen Macdonald, was one of the first people to give it a go. “I was yearning for a change and a bit more sun”, said the award winning actress. However, having entered her details Suranne discovered that she would have been a rice farmer. “I was transformed into a young woman in Sierra Leone. My life had not been a happy one. Having been assaulted during the ten-year civil war by a group of soldiers, I was driven out of my home. But there was hope, I approached Christian Aid, and they helped me return to my village and become a rice farmer.” she said. Sara Chamberlain, Christian Aid’s web manager, said: “We take no responsibility for users of LifeSwitch catapulted into a life they may not have expected. While some users may find themselves living a life of luxury in the golden sands of the Dominican Republic, others will ‘experience’ the day-to-day struggle of poor people in developing countries.” Vik Sharma, Christian Aidís senior web producer, said: “Lifeswitch is an innovative and compelling online experience. We wanted to pique peopleís curiosity. The idea was to grab their attention with something entertaining and educational – something that would make them aware of life behind the glossy travel brochure headlines.”