Christian Aid wins prestigious PR award for peace project
-20/10/05
For the first time in its history, the UK-based international development agency Christian Aid has won the prestigious PRWeek Award 2005 (not-for-profit category) for its ëTree of Lifeí media campaign.
The sculpture was created from decommissioned weapons as part of the Christian Aid-supported Transforming Arms into Tools project.
More than forty organisations submitted their campaigns and six were short-listed for the sought after accolade created by PRWeek, the leading magazine for the public relations sector.
Runners up include the Red Cross, the Mental Health Foundation, Shelter, the Portman Group, and the Trades Union Congress.
The Tree of Life was announced as the winner on 18 October 2005. It was chosen on the basis of how cost-effective the campaign was, whether the objectives were achieved and how much media coverage it has received.
Kati Dshedshorov, Media Events/Online PR Officer of Christian Aid, said: ìGuns can be very persuasive; and so can bazookas. Fortunately for the journalists and editors we spoke to about the Tree of Life, the weapons had already been decommissioned and turned into fascinating sculptures ñ symbols of peace.î
The massive three-metre high sculpture, currently on display in the Great Court of the British Museum, was unveiled in February 2005 and will be in the African galleries until 2010.
More than 25 million visitors to the museum from around the world will have the opportunity to see it.
The Tree of Life image has become a symbol of peace. It was used as the leading image for promotional materials relating to the Africa í05 Season at the British Museum and the BBC.
A 30 minute documentary about the creation of the sculpture, the ëTree of Gunsí, was broadcast on BBC Four earlier this year and almost every major national newspaper featured the arms into art story.
Other projects include the commission of four gun sculptures for the last BBC1 Ground Force programme ñ ëA garden for Africa 05í.
The four sculptures represent African animals ñ a bird of peace by Hilario Nhatugueja, a gazelle by Fiel dos Santos, a crocodile by Kester and a snake by Adelino Mate.
The four animal sculptures will be auctioned next summer and the money raised will go to the artists and the Transforming Arms into Tools project.
The project is run by the Christian Council of Mozambique, a partner organisation of Christian Aid. It encourages ex-soldiers to hand in their weapons in exchange for building materials and equipment such as ploughs, sewing machines and bicycles.
[See the Tree of Life photo gallery and also the video]
Christian Aid wins prestigious PR award for peace project
-20/10/05
For the first time in its history, the UK-based international development agency Christian Aid has won the prestigious PRWeek Award 2005 (not-for-profit category) for its ëTree of Life’ media campaign.
The sculpture was created from decommissioned weapons as part of the Christian Aid-supported Transforming Arms into Tools project.
More than forty organisations submitted their campaigns and six were short-listed for the sought after accolade created by PRWeek, the leading magazine for the public relations sector.
Runners up include the Red Cross, the Mental Health Foundation, Shelter, the Portman Group, and the Trades Union Congress.
The Tree of Life was announced as the winner on 18 October 2005. It was chosen on the basis of how cost-effective the campaign was, whether the objectives were achieved and how much media coverage it has received.
Kati Dshedshorov, Media Events/Online PR Officer of Christian Aid, said: ‘Guns can be very persuasive; and so can bazookas. Fortunately for the journalists and editors we spoke to about the Tree of Life, the weapons had already been decommissioned and turned into fascinating sculptures – symbols of peace.’
The massive three-metre high sculpture, currently on display in the Great Court of the British Museum, was unveiled in February 2005 and will be in the African galleries until 2010.
More than 25 million visitors to the museum from around the world will have the opportunity to see it.
The Tree of Life image has become a symbol of peace. It was used as the leading image for promotional materials relating to the Africa ’05 Season at the British Museum and the BBC.
A 30 minute documentary about the creation of the sculpture, the ëTree of Guns’, was broadcast on BBC Four earlier this year and almost every major national newspaper featured the arms into art story.
Other projects include the commission of four gun sculptures for the last BBC1 Ground Force programme – ëA garden for Africa 05′.
The four sculptures represent African animals – a bird of peace by Hilario Nhatugueja, a gazelle by Fiel dos Santos, a crocodile by Kester and a snake by Adelino Mate.
The four animal sculptures will be auctioned next summer and the money raised will go to the artists and the Transforming Arms into Tools project.
The project is run by the Christian Council of Mozambique, a partner organisation of Christian Aid. It encourages ex-soldiers to hand in their weapons in exchange for building materials and equipment such as ploughs, sewing machines and bicycles.
[See the Tree of Life photo gallery and also the video]