Exactly one year after the violent death of Jina Mahsa Amini, which triggered an unprecedented wave of protests in the fall of 2022, Amnesty International therefore took a stand against forgetting. Therefore, Amnesty International wanted to find a way for the death anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini to raise public awareness for the violation of human rights in Iran. Not just to judge but to make a positive change for the country itself. It’s not about getting people out, it’s about bringing back a change to a country, where people used to have rights and freedom. A country, people once happily called their home. Besides the public awareness for the human rights, a sense of belonging and community should be established and a recall of the positive emotions regarding the country. This was coupled with political demands directed at the country’s governments, an online petition, and the collection of donations.

Under the motto "I ran from Iran", Iranians from the diaspora stepped in front of the camera and gave deep insights into their lives before and after fleeing. In touching content pieces, they spoke about their feelings towards their homeland and explained why there was no other option but to flee.

As a strong key visual, the country name Iran itself served, which, through the visual staging, received a new meaning and dramatized the escape.

The campaign was rolled out on social media, online, print, OOH (Out of Home), and DOOH (Digital Out of Home) in Austria and was later adopted by Amnesty International around the globe. For the first time the voices of the Iranian diaspora were united and heard worldwide. That put the conflict in Iran back onto the political stage and sent a clear message to the people in Iran – telling them that they are not alone.

The tragic death of Jina Mahsa Amini made her the face of a movement. And Austrian refugees give their face for a campaign that wants to help the movement bring a change. Starting with Amini’s death anniversary, outspoken and known Iranians living in Austria shared their stories and their desire about a place they once called home. With this emotional impact, Amnesty had the fitting awareness for their political demands and raised support in form of signatures and donations. Targeting of the audience could be very specific thanks to the mobile first approach. And the community of the participating influencers helped the cause and made it so big, that it generated earned media and raised public awareness. Raising the pressure on governments in order to help make the change. We were not limited to known influencers: Via FaceFilter, anyone could become part of the campaign.

The campaign was rolled out on social media (via participating influencers and Amnesty International), online, print, OOH (Out of Home), and DOOH (Digital Out of Home) in Austria, on the death anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini and was later adopted by Amnesty International around the globe. For the first time the voices of the Iranian diaspora were united and heard worldwide.

The pro bono campaign managed to generate a lot of interest and earned media. In Austria 6,5 million people were reached (which is quite impressive for a country with approx. 9 million inhabitants) as well as ad impressions of approx. 4 million. All without almost any budget.

The press conference was picked up by national tv and various journalists and the demands were presented to the government.

Our ambassadors proudly communicated the campaign with overwhelming positive feedback of the Iranian community.

In the first three weeks, donations of almost 33.000 Euro were collected in Austria (which is according to AI a very good result) and 8.000 people signed the petition for the demands regarding the human rights in Iran.

The Austrian campaign was picked up by other Amnesty International departments, which was a first and hopefully the start of more coordinated campaigns between countries.