For the first time ever, a refugee team was going to compete in the Olympics. There were 10 athletes with no national team, no flag, no anthem to call their own—until we gave them one.

We partnered with refugees across the globe to create a flag and an anthem to represent the athletes. The Refugee Nation flag was designed by Yara Said, a Syrian refugee artist who was inspired by the colors of the life vests. According to Yara: “Orange and black is a symbol of solidarity for all the brave souls who crossed the sea, looking for the safety of a new country.”

The artist herself wore a life vest when escaping war. Her design gave an identity to those who would be otherwise invisible, and turned a team of ten into a team of millions, all in support of the 65 million displaced people worldwide.

The Olympic Games is a meticulously orchestrated event that takes years of planning. So in order to bring a “symbolic nation” to the games, we had to break with their protocols. We presented the refugee athletes with the national symbols they lacked: their own flag, their own anthem, their own identity. The refugees were then featured in a series of online films.

With no media budget, the idea grew organically through major media. It was listed as “The World’s Most Notable Work” by Wired and “The Most Headline-Making Design of 2016” by Dezeen.

Thousands of flags were seen in Rio and around the world. And while the Olympics are long over, the flag continues to make headlines. It’s been recognized by world leaders and NGO’s; it has been in Global Summits and at the Oscars; it’s been exhibited at MoMA and is in the permanent collection at the V&A London.

In just a few months after its release, The Refugee Nation earned over 2 billion media impressions. The flag is more than a hand-sewn piece of fabric, it’s a powerful symbol for these forgotten people. It awareness, sparks positive conversations, and challenges the prejudices refugees face across the globe.

The flag was embraced by refugee athletes, refugee communities and supporters worldwide. It was recognized by world leaders, celebrities, the media, the US State Department, NGOs, Global Summits and at the Oscars. It’s been exhibited at MoMA and is in the permanent collection at the V&A London.

Stickers featuring the flag turned stores and restaurants into refugee-welcoming businesses. In partnership with the social initiative Makers Unite, refugees are manufacturing flags out of real life vests from the Greek shore. In doing so, the flag is creating the first job opportunity to refugees arriving in Europe.

The Refugee Nation is more than a brand. It’s a powerful, symbolic nation created to raise awareness around the refugee cause. To bring this new nation to life, we partnered with refugees across the globe to ensure they felt represented. The brand was launched during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. And today, long after the event, The Refugee Nation continues to make headlines as a powerful show of support for the 65 million displaced people around the world.

Our goal was to unite the world in support of refugees. But with a media budget of zero, our only chance to do so was to have an idea so powerful that it would make headlines organically. We set our sights on the global stage of the 2016 Olympic Games, where national pride is at its peak. Here, we raised the flag of the Refugee Nation and got the attention of every major media channel. It was an instant hit. Our project was embraced by refugees around the world, and by supporters of our cause. Together, we gave an identity to those who would otherwise be invisible.

For refugees, 2016 was one of the toughest years on record. Not since WW II have we seen so many people forced to flee their own countries. At yet, the indifference towards and the prejudice against refugees continued to grow. At this crucial moment, Amnesty International came to us with a huge challenge: bring awareness to the refugee cause, ignite a positive conversation, and engage the world to support refugees.