AUCKLAND, Today: A team of NZ creative businesses have produced a campaign calling on the ad & media sectors to support colleagues in Eastern Europe, as the Ukrainian refugee crisis continues to grow.
Toro and Amo Group NZ founder Sam Witters, and a team led by screen sector specialist Felicity Letcher, were instrumental in the 2020 Your Creative Business Can Happen Now campaign, supporting creative industries through the impact of Covid by enabling collaboration to bring projects to New Zealand’s regional areas.
Now they are turning this collaborative spirit to the Manaaki Ukraine– Aotearoa’s Creative Businesses Helping Ukraine Now campaign.
Witters says he was confronted by the enormity of the challenges faced by Ukrainian refugees entering Poland, after contacting friend and colleague Izabella Wylie who is general manager and senior vice president, Central Eastern Europe, at entertainment group A&E Networks EMEA, based in Poland, to see if the Toro team could help.
Witters said: “Izabella shared her on-the-ground experience of supporting the refugees flooding into Poland from Ukraine.
“She is shocked and heartbroken by what is happening on her doorstep, and implored us, her friends in Aotearoa, to do what we can to help meet overwhelming need.
“We’d love Kiwis in the creative community to share support by downloading the creative assets and utilising social media tiles, campaign badge, zoom background, and email signature.”
“Women and children are arriving frozen, physically and emotionally, after queuing at the border for over 50 hours, having left their husbands and homes, father and brothers. With inter-generational memory of war ever-present, Izabella and her compatriots are in disbelief that such horror should be witnessed in Europe again.”
Now Sam Witters and her team have launched the Manaaki Ukraine campaign, encouraging New Zealand’s creative businesses to contribute to the charity World Central Kitchen.
“Manaaki means to support, take care of, give hospitality to, protect, look out for, show respect, generosity and care for others. So was an ideal word to use as a banner for the campaign.
“World Central Kitchen is operating inside Ukraine and around the clock at all eight border crossings into Poland, providing meals from their kitchen and supplying food to more than 55 cities, including Odessa and Kyiv. As well as providing meals, WCK helps stock humanitarian warehouses and restaurant partners that are bravely working day and night to feed people in need. The team hope to raise over $10,000 through New Zealanders’ generosity.
“Here in Aotearoa, we understand the connection between kai and care, and the aroha and comfort that comes from a meal prepared with love. That’s why we are asking the creative community in Aotearoa to Manaaki Ukraine and support the World Central Kitchen as it provides hope – one meal at a time. Sometimes complex problems have simple solutions – in this case over one million meals warming frozen hearts, from the inside out.”
“The Manaaki Ukraine campaign calls upon Aotearoa’s creative community to share the manaakitanga of providing nourishment, comfort and connection through food, by donating to World Central Kitchen and crediting your donation to Manaaki Ukraine so that we can share our impact with our community.
“We would love for Kiwis working in the NZ creative community to be part of this initiative and share their support by downloading the creative assets and utilising social media tiles, campaign badge, zoom background, and email signature to show support.”
CREDITS
A + E Networks, Eastern Europe: Izabella Wiley
Morley Design Group: Rees Morley
AMO Group: Sam Witters
AMO Group: Felicity Letcher
Mrs Woolf: Lauren Woolf
Archer: Angela Spain
Studio Unlimited: Sam Currie & Tony Masterantonio
The Social Good: Katie Brown & Rovania Naidoo
The Public Good: Tamar Münch
TORO Technology: Matt Oakley
TORO Studios: Cherise Mersham
TORO Studios: Fe Grimshaw
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