Who we are
We are two mothers who face the daily challenges of caring for and stimulating Arno and Emma our two, 6-year old children born with cerebral palsy. Even more difficult than the handicap itself is the misperception others have of those with handicaps that is the real struggle. We decided to take action and launch a campaign to create awareness and educate a wider public audience about the lives of people with motor disabilities. Our aim is simple; to offer a different perspective – that those individuals with disabilities can enjoy a life that is joyful, positive and colored!
What it’s about
We wanted to build a campaign with color and personality but in a creative and nimble way to get our message out to a wider audience.
With the help of a skilled production team and the director, Geoffroy Dubreuil in Lausanne, we took the hit single ’Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift and cleverly re-imagined it. The new version features a series of clips of parents and their children, with and without disabilities, shaking off a brightly colored powder in slow motion. This movement symbolizes ’shaking off’ our preconceived ideas of disabilities so that we may all live in harmony.
How the campaign works
- With a Challenge:
Prejudices generate misunderstandings. The ’Shake It Off 4 CP’ challenge ’shakes off’ our prejudices against those with disabilities, overcomes our preconceived ideas, and encourages us to transform looks into interactions.
Anyone willing to take a fresh look at those with disabilities can shake and make the campaign a participatory and collective event. They can post their videos on the campaign’s social media site and challenge other participants to mobilize for people with cerebral palsy.
- With a street event:
To launch the challenge, Saturday, October 10, the ’Shake It Off’ team will have a mini studio at Place Saint-Laurent in Lausanne! Passersby, provided with powder, glitter and confetti are invited to «shake it off» on the spot, filmed in slow motion. They can then «post» their videos on their social networks quickly and thus actively participate in the dissemination of the campaign!
From: 09:00hrs. to 15:00hrs.
- With posters:
Photographs taken by Zuzanna Adamczewska-Bolle during the Swiss video filming were used for a poster campaign that will be launched in the Lausanne public transport and on social media. The posters will summarize the campaign slogan and refer people to the video clip posted on YouTube.
And…
Prejudice is an issue that affects all types of disabilities. The campaign can be used to involve other associations who also want to use the concept and ’shake it off’.
But we need your help
We would like your help in order to cover the costs of this campaign and to help us keep it going. With our joint efforts, we can help more and more people to think and act differently about handicaps and ’Shake it off’, the move that moves prejudices.
Thank you in advance
With your donation, you can help improve the lives of 17 million people, like the children shown in the video, affected by cerebral palsy and other handicaps.