#BADDERABBEEK (IWillTeachYouALesson)
UNICEF LEBANON
Issue 50 | March 2019
Agency
Leo Burnett Beirut
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: Bechara Mouzannar Regional Executive Creative Director: Malek Ghorayeb Managing Director: Nada Abi Saleh Creative Director: Rana Khoury Creative Director: Manal Naji Account/Planning Director: Diego De Aristegui Senior Copywriter: Christian Manasci Art Director: Despina Memarogli Art Director: Rami Rikka Copywriter: Lama Bawadi Communication Executive: Gaelle Feghali Community Manager: Rawan Badr
Production Team
PRODIGIOUS ME Executive Producer: Myriam Abi Wardeh Director: Danielle Rizkallah DOP: Alain Donio Post Production Producer: Roula Hasna Editors: Lina Moussallem, Maria Malek
Other Credits
MSL Beirut Managing Director PR: Jo Chemali PR Executive: Yara Basbous
Date
June - July 2018
Background
In Lebanon, 60% of the population believes that coercive and punitive methods are effective and necessary when it comes to the education of children. Although this number is believed to be much higher. UNICEF in Lebanon was about to launch a wide-reaching program aiming to tackle violence against children irrespective of their nationality and background. The budget at hand was limited, notably with the recent cut in US funding at the UN. The task was to launch a nation-wide campaign, tackling different audiences on different media touch points. The challenge was considerable. To not only tackle the taboo subject of re-questioning their educational methods, but also start challenging and changing a widely accepted method of education that is still passed on from generation to generation.
Idea
Lebanon is known to be lenient when it comes to coercive educational methods. They have institutionalized and normalized the use of violence. This is particularly true when it comes to children’s education. There are many reasons/triggers/causes that have helped develop this cult of violence against children in the country. They know that more than half the population employ violent methods, their data shows than even more people think violent educational methods could actually be effective. It didn’t take research-by-numbers to get to the insight, if you live long enough in the country the insight will jump right in front of you: The Lebanese have corrupted the usage of their language when it comes to education. They exclusively employ two words #BADDE-RABBIK in a negative and threatening way. These two words should mean “I WANT TO EDUCATE YOU” mean in fact “I WANT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON/HARM YOU”.
Results
The idea was to put children and parents in an un-scripted experiment to prove the insight. Their social experiments were launched on democratic media platforms (social media), in order to spark the first Lebanese public debate on violence against children. The public reacted instantly and a heated debate ensued between people against the usage of violence in education and some defending its usage. A day later after the social experiment was launched online, a televised press conference was held in presence of the acting Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs which was followed with a live retransmission of a panel debate between industry experts. They partnered up with all of the country’s prominent bloggers/influencers and started a pledge to always employ the #BADDERABBIK expression in the most positive of ways. A live Q&A session was launched online with a UNICEF child expert and a leading mom blogger answering detailed questions from the Lebanese.