Brussels, July 5th 2012
Using the power of print to make a difference and influence positive change : winners of Sappi Fine Paper Europe’s 2012 Ideas that Matter Competition are announced, drawing attention to issues that are just on our doorstep.
Sappi Fine Paper Europe’s Ideas that Matter competition is open to both student and professional designers. The emphasis is on the realisation of design projects to generate awareness of well known, and less well known issues in the broad categories of Environment, Culture, Education, Healthcare, Human Rights and Society. The competition relies on the development of partnerships between the designers and non-profit organisations, with a view to making a positive difference to the world we live in through the medium of print. With a combination of financial and material support provided by Sappi, the third element in the partnership, winning ideas, are transformed into the meaningful and hard-hitting visual campaigns they have been designed to be.
Zoe Watkins from the UK is winner in the professional category with her PTO – (Please Turn Over) campaign, supporting an organisation called CHI (Community Healthcare Innovations). The organisation focuses on the health and well-being needs of local communities in deprived areas in the UK. Their objective is to help people to ‘turn over a new leaf’ through innovative techniques, hence the name of Zoe’s campaign. Initiatives include healthy living workshops and advice, smoking cessation, healthcare for the homeless community, first aid training and healthy eating for children through the Growing Kids Allotment.
The main challenges faced by CHI are of profile and awareness. Zoe’s campaign has been conceived to reach as many people as possible using the organisation’s leaf symbol which has been designed to represent hope. Paper-based materials including beer mats, playing cards and leaflets would be at the core of the campaign. According to Dirk Peremans, General Manager of Proximity BBDO and one of the judges, “we were attracted to the campaign due the ‘simple, recognizable graphics, and the smart media choice, exactly adapted to the targeted segment.’”
Emily Boonyingtan, also from the UK, is winner of the 2012 Student Ideas that Matter Prize with her Drawing Life Initiative (Creative Campaigning with the Homeless) in conjunction with The Big Issue. The campaign’s main objective is to help diminish the taboo surrounding homelessness, using art therapy as a means to build self-esteem for people who find themselves in this situation. The non-profit organisation she has chosen to partner with, The Big Issue, is a magazine written by professional journalists and sold by homeless individuals. It has become one of the UK’s leading social businesses with a structure that enables the homeless to earn a legitimate income, supporting reintegration into society.
Emily’s concept revolves around a series of open air art events for homeless people to come and draw. The central element is an Art Pack which is both an invitation to the event as well as a personal art pack containing sketchbooks with different types of paper, an information booklet, and a variety of implements for drawing. As well as using creativity to raise awareness of homelessness, the events are designed to foster collaborative creativity between the public and the homeless, and to use this as a stepping stone towards social interaction and integration. In this case the judges connected with Emily’s insight and the attractiveness of the leaflets and the art box, with its clear message. Dirk Peremans remarked that this entry was "a fresh example of the golden statement -' the medium is in the message' - inspiring enthusiasm with participants at first sight!"
Further information on Ideas that Matter please visit www.sappi-ideasthatmatter.eu
To get to know other Sappi initiative please visit our Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/#!/SappiEurope
ENDS
About Sappi
Sappi Fine Paper Europe is the leading European producer of coated fine paper used in premium magazines, catalogues, books and high-end print advertising. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Sappi Fine Paper Europe is recognised for innovation and quality. Its graphic paper brands include Magno, Quatro, Royal, Galerie and GalerieArt ranges. Algro, Fusion, Leine and Parade are the brands for speciality labelling, topliner, packaging papers and boards. Jaz is the paper brand for digital printing.
Sappi papers are produced in mills accredited with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification and EMAS registration for all our mills in the EU. SFPE’s mills hold chain-of-custody certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes.
Sappi Fine Paper Europe is a division of Sappi Limited (NYSE, JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with over 14,900 employees and manufacturing operations on four continents in 9 countries, sales offices in 50 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at www.sappi.com.
