Paddle to Paris Wins a Shorty Social Good Award

At this year’s Shorty Social Good Awards, the #PaddletoParis campaign won the award for Environment & Sustainability.

#PaddletoParis was a partnership with Purpose, Ford Foundation, Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques, Coica Amazonía, and others that created the world’s first indigenous-led, global social media campaign. #PaddletoParis elevated indigenous voices and the critical role they play in fighting climate change.

#PaddletoParis worked with indigenous groups and leaders from around the world to unite behind a single message and hashtag. The campaign brought together coalitions across Central America, South America, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia behind a single message and hashtag. There were 117 social media graphics created using photos submitted by indigenous leaders from across the globe.

The #PaddletoParis video–with subtitles in Portuguese, English, and Bahasa – reached a total of 3.7 million people with nearly 1M views, the video had over 20k likes, comments, or shares. Over 60 organizations and influencers—including WWF, WRI, Climate Action Network, SumofUs, and Cameron Russell— shared the #PaddleToParis campaign on social media. The campaign also earned media coverage on MSNBC, AOL, and El Financiero (Costa Rica), Yahoo (Germany).

117 indigenous leaders and their communities participated in the campaign. The #PaddleToParis video reached a total of 3.7 million people. With nearly 1M views, the video had over 20k likes, comments, or shares. The campaign video was distributed by MSNBC, AOL, and over 60 climate NGOs.

The Shorty Social Good Awards is an award program honoring the social good initiatives brands, agencies & nonprofits are taking on to make our world a better place.

Here’s is an excerpt of the acceptance speech from the Shorty Social Good Award Ceremony:

“The tremendous progress we’ve seen in the climate movement over the past year – from the COP in Paris and beyond – now hangs in the balance and is significantly more threatened today than it was just a week ago. Now, more than ever, we need to find ways to amplify and elevate the voices of those frontline defenders who are on the ground fighting day in and day out for these causes we purport to serve. The organizations and companies in this room represent enormous access to platforms, media, and strategies that can help advance and aggregate the voices of the many, so let’s continue to push one another to prioritize using that access for others.”

Purpose is honored to have been a part of the #PaddletoParis campaign, and is deeply grateful for all of the partners who made it possible. 

You can learn more about the Shorty Social Good Awards here, and check out the full list of 2016 Shorty Social Good Award Winners here.

Learn more about #PaddletoParis here.