Ukraine’s One Billboard campaign comes to Buenos Aires
Argentinian side hampers the Ukrainian delegation’s efforts
Buenos Aires, November 29, 2018 With the G20 Summit taking place in the capital of Argentina, Ukraine’s Ministry of Information Policy has launched a public awareness campaign. The goal is to tell world leaders, other participants and guests at the Summit about Russia’s aggressive policies, especially with regard to Ukraine, said First Deputy Minister Emine Dzhaparova during a press conference held at the Awwa Hotel.
The campaign is both virtual and real, both on- and off-line. A site called 100whys.org has been set up in three languages: Ukrainian, English and Spanish so that visitors can find out more about the war Russia is waging in Ukraine. The site presents 100 rhetorical questions that all start with the word “Why” and question the criminal, aggressive, imperialist nature of Moscow’s actions today. Related activities take place in various social nets.
The face of this campaign is 13-year-old Natalia Lafazan, who lost her mother during shelling by Russian forces in the village of Sartany, outside the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. Natalia herself lost one of her legs to the knee during the bombardment.
The main feature of the One-Billboard campaign was supposed to be a unique 3-D billboard to be placed on Avenida Costanera Rafael Obligado, not far from the site of the G20 Summit. The billboard shows a map of Ukraine with a huge circular saw and ax trying to cut away Crimea and part of the Donbas. The tools symbolize the Kremlin’s aggressive policy and so the places where they are cutting are covered in bright red blood. The billboard was also supposed to have a photograph of Natalia Lafazan and the 100th question on the project site: “The world has changed. Why?” Ukrainians know the answer very well: because of Russia’s aggression against their country.
However, the Ukrainian delegation was unable to set up the billboard because of opposition and a breach of our contract with the Argentinean side. Given the very short timeframe and the late refusal by the Argentinean side, it was impossible for us to re-do the billboard some other way. At the same time, we were able to present a small-scale copy of the billboard at the press conference to visualize the concept behind this campaign.
“We will use every possible opportunity to remind the world about the crimes committed by Putin’s Russia,” said First Deputy Minister Dzhaparova. “War has been going on in Ukraine for more than four and a half years, leaving tens of thousands of dead and wounded, and millions of people who cannot return to their homes. In Crimea, the occupation Russian Administration is engaging in ever more political persecutions and militarizing the population. Through this kind of creative campaign, using a contemporary, original approach, the participants at this Summit will find out more and be reminded that Russia is an aggressor state and her leader, Putin—a tyrant and killer.”
Media contact person: Oleksandra Nazola
