Sappi Ideas that Matter - Book 7

Europe
Freedom of Press
UNESCO Vlaanderen
In most European countries, freedom of the press is
taken for granted. Certainly in Belgium, readers of a
wide range of independent, uncensored newspapers
open their newspapers every day and expect unfettered
and uncensored news coverage. Imagine their surprise
then, when readers of ‘De Morgen’ found to their
horror that their newspapers had been stapled closed,
preventing access to the information within.
This disruptive tactic by the team from Dubois meets
Fugger in Antwerp, Belgium (comprising copywriter Ben
Van Asbroeck, art director Caroline Vermaerken, creative
director Peter Foubert and account executive Lien
Brouillard) was a deliberate ploy to alert readers to the
fact that, while they may take press freedom for granted,
there are many countries where readers are not so lucky.
Working with their client Marino Bultinck, this
intervention was remarkably successful. Readers, once
past their frustration with an inaccessible newspaper,
would discover a card stapled to the back of the
newspaper telling them “Freedom of press isn’t that
obvious everywhere”, alerting them to the plight of
the press in other countries and directing them to the
organisation’s website.
As a result of the campaign, hits on the organisation’s
website showed a dramatic increase – proof of a
heightened awareness of the general public to the
issues surrounding press freedom.
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UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation) describes itself as ‘a laboratory of
ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements
on emerging ethical issues’ – had chosen to focus on
press freedom for a full year in the Vlaanderen region.