Ad Competition Create4theUN Selects 30 Finalists, Public Vote Winner Announced

A Europe-wide UN competition calling for advertisements on ending violence against women has selected its 30 finalists from 15 countries. Organized by the United Nations Regional Informational Centre (UNRIC) for Western Europe and UN Women, the competition Create4theUN received more than 2,700 entries from 40 countries. The winning entry will be selected by a jury and announced in October at a ceremony in Brussels.

“Our aim was to raise awareness on this issue, help break the taboo, and do this by reaching out to the European creative community, said UNRIC Director for Western Europe Afsané Bassir-Pour, who praised the enthusiasm that the competition received. “A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. So thank you Europeans.

The public cast 120,000 votes on the competition website, choosing Gjoke Gojani's “Treat me like a woman as their favourite entry.

“I think I won because people thought my work was original and that it is not only treating women as a passive object, but also as participants to combat the violence that women face, Gojani said.

A panel of distinguished jury members, led by veteran French advertising guru and Havas Vice President Jacques Séguela, will select the competition winner, which will be announced in October. Fabrica, the Benetton Group communication research centre, will select the Youth Prize and the winner will be announced next month.

View the top 30 ads at www.create4theun.org. High resolution downloads are available by request for publication from web[at]unric.org.

For more information, please contact Afsané Bassir-Pour, Director, UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, +32 278 88470-71, bassirpour[at]unric.org