Attendees of this week’s World Science Forum bore witness to an unusual and highly impactful sight along the banks of the Dead Sea, thanks to the latest initiative carried out by leading creative agency Y&R Amman, in partnership with the Jordanian Ministry of Environment.
With some of the world’s leading scientific minds and global policy influencers gathered at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre, Y&R Amman saw a pivotal opportunity to raise awareness about one of the most alarming crises of our time: the large-scale pollution of the world’s seas. After securing the support of Jordan’s Ministry of Environment, the agency employed its creative expertise in order to develop an eye-catching and effective awareness campaign. The result was an extraordinary 60 x 8 meter installation placed on the shores of the Dead Sea. The installation, which was made of plastic bottles, featured the phrase, “One Dead Sea is enough,” highlighting how waste and plastic are killing marine life across the globe and doing irreparable damage to the environment.
In the last 10 years alone, more plastic was produced than during the entirety of the 20th century, and the waste that has accrued as a result is making Earth less and less habitable for life of all kinds. Each year, an average of eight million metric tons of plastic ends up in our oceans, causing irreparable damage to the planet’s delicate marine ecosystems.
His Excellency Yaseen Khayyat, the Jordanian Minister of Environment, gave his wholehearted endorsement of the initiative, underscoring the fact that Jordan’s own coastal city of Aqaba is facing serious risks as a result of this pollution – particularly with regard to its iconic coral reefs.
Underscoring the rationale behind the Dead Sea installation, Y&R Amman’s Creative Director, Emad Khayyat, explained, “If we simply listened more to what nature is telling us, I believe that we would take much better care of our planet. With that in mind – and recognizing the symbolic importance of the Dead Sea, both to Jordan and the region – we tried to imagine what the sea would say to us if she could. And so we created an installation that would let her speak for herself.”
Y&R Amman’s Managing Director, Ivan Milovanovic, also spoke about the campaign, saying, “With the 2017 World Science Forum being held at the Dead Sea, we saw a great opportunity to deliver a vital message about one of the most pressing issues of our time. As one of the Kingdom’s leading creative agencies, it is such an honor to be able to employ our strengths in ways that are meaningful and impactful. I would like to thank the Ministry of Environment, and His Excellency in particular, for giving us an opportunity to flex our creative muscles for the good of our planet.”