DUBAI // The winners of a contest to make an advertisement promoting the Red Crescent's work with orphans have been announced.
Two videos were chosen from 32 entries that showcased the charity's 800 Red campaign in support of orphaned children across the Middle East.
The Red Crescent teamed up with YouTube and the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity to enlist the services of individuals who could make a 30-second video.
They had just seven days to produce their adverts.
"The two winning adverts touch upon the human spirit and I hope they will urge viewers to aid and assist those less fortunate than themselves," said Mohammed Abdullah Al Haj Zarouni, director of the UAE Red Crescent.
Mounaz Raouf, a graduate from Cairo, won for her film Never Underestimate a Child's Imagination, which depicts an orphaned boy building likenesses of his mother and father from sticks and household objects.
She was drawn to the contest after teaching art to orphans in Egypt.
"I taught a little orphaned boy at a church back home for five months who was traumatised, so I tried healing him through art therapy," she said.
"He was such a creative soul, he really inspired me to take part in the competition."
The second winner was Abey Joseph Yohanan, senior art director at UAE-based Birdie Communications, whose film Changing Birth Certificate impressed the judges with its message of hope for a child orphaned in Damascus.
Tarek Abdalla, head of marketing for Google in the Arabian Gulf and Levant, said: "It says a lot when an advert is created by the public.
"There is a lot of positive reinforcement that comes from that, like the message of helping the needy and the poor."
The Red Crescent will promote the winning adverts on its YouTube page and across social media, and hopes to put them forward for international awards or secure television slots.
[ ksinclair@thenational.ae ]
