International Year of Biodiversity Flashmob

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity.

A flashmob is a gathering of individuals in a public place that carry out actions agreed in advance, before dispersing quickly. The event is usually organised through the internet, through social media such as Facebook. The buzz created on the internet unites participants around a common cause. You can see many examples of what a flashmob is on Youtube.

Our goal is to raise awareness of the public to the conservation of all living species on our planet and the threats they face. We wish to convey the message of the United Nations for the International Year of Biodiversity:

Biodiversity is life

Biodiversity is our life

The Event

We hope that the International Year of Biodiversity Flashmob can take place in as many cities and locations around the world as possible.

We invite organisers to coordinate flashmobs in their respective countries and we call on governments, NGOs and other partners to help spread the word and to support the event nationwide.

See if there’s already an organiser in your city/country.

Kiff Media, a communication agency, has agreed to liaise and coordinate with partner organisers around the world. Please announce your flashmob organisation at http://w.kiffmedia.com/2010enrollment.

If no one in your city is organising the flashmob, why not organise it yourself? As you start announcing it in your networks, more and more people will join and make it happen!

Proposed scenario

Click here for a presentation

1. A local celebrity stands with the crowd behind him/her. Everyone wears green as much as possible. He/she says: "Now is the time to act" in local language.
2. Zoom out, we see the entire crowd. The crowd shouts "Biodiversity is life, biodiversity is our life" in their local language.
3. Image from above. The crowd stands in the shape of a local or symbolic species (animal, plant, etc.).
4. Image from above. The first species transforms into a different species.
5. Image from above. The second species transforms into the Convention on Biological Diversity logo or the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity logo .
6. The crowd looks up to the camera and shouts "Biodiversity is life, Biodiversity is our life".

Three outlines traced on the ground will be necessary for the placement of individuals; these should be drawn with coloured chalk or other eco-friendly medium. The cameras should film the crowd from above to see the shapes. If you wish to make more shapes, you are welcome to do so. For technical details, please contact Kiff media.

Video clip
Each video clip that we receive will be posted on the website of the International Year of Biodiversity, in the multimedia section and/or on our Youtube channel. Videos should try to respect the following criteria:

• Size of the crowd
• A beautiful metamorphosis (fluidity, artistry, imagination)
• Image quality

Important note
Please make sure that this activity does not disrupt public order and have your local authorities’ permission and/or support to organise the event.

We are aware that some may have technical limitations -do what you can- and be creative. We will be honoured to receive all video clips, pictures, audio tracks, comments, etc.

Please do not lose sight of the main purpose of this event: to inform people about biodiversity. We kindly ask you to mobilise people for this cause and show the importance of biodiversity for our lives.

Register as organiser

See if there’s already an organiser in your city/country

Questions?