Encounter at eye level: World Down Syndrome Day campaign promotes diversity

Last year, attention for World Down Syndrome Day took a back seat due to the Corona pandemic. Many planned campaigns had to be cancelled at short notice. With a cross-media campaign for World Down Syndrome Day 2021, the initiative "Down syndrome enriches" in cooperation with the German Foundation for People with Down Syndrome therefore wants to promote diversity and acceptance all the more this year. The video "Moments 21", featuring the eyes of children and adolescents with Down syndrome, is the focus of attention. It emphasizes the uniqueness and individual beauty, as well as special features of Down syndrome such as "brushfield spots" or the typical "almond eyes". The fact that the topic is Down syndrome is only revealed at the end of the video. "We challenge viewers to open their eyes and themselves to people with Down syndrome. We encourage a change of perspective and an encounter at eye level," explains co-initiator Vanessa Kristahn. "We have succeeded in taking very expressive photographs in this project, which convey our messages excellently." 

In order to reach as many people as possible who previously had little or no contact with the topic of Down syndrome, the initiators rely on connecting the out-of-home and social media channels in the cross-media campaign. In the course of the video's release on trisomie21.net, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, the public is asked to take photos of the digital Ströer screens with the "Augenblicke 21" motifs on March 21st. These should then be posted with the hashtags "augenblicke21" and #downsyndrombereichert. This way, everyone has the opportunity to support the campaign and show their own solidarity for diversity and acceptance. As media partner, Ströer supports the campaign and makes all screens of their public video network available nationwide on March 21st.

"For the Ströer Group, sociopolitical responsibility is a central component of entrepreneurial action. Through our outdoor advertising media, we are able to generate a high reach as well as the greatest possible public awareness. That is why Ströer supports the initiatives and the video project with what we are good at: Generating attention to draw as many people as possible to the important work of the initiators and to World Down Syndrome Day 2021," says Alexander Stotz, CEO Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH.