Meio & Mensagem Sets Up a Rio+20 Committee

The purpose is to raise awareness of the issues to be addressed at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development

There are just five months left before the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) begins, but the issues to be addressed before, during and after the three days of the event still have not made it to the news – let alone to everyday conversations – in Brazil.

To start changing this situation, Grupo Meio & Mensagem has accepted a request made by the UN and invited leaders from agencies, advertisers, media outlets and other organizations to discuss strategies to communicate the issues and goals of Rio+20, which is going to take place between June 20 and 22.

Meio & Mensagem is in charge of organizing the marketing and communications initiatives to communicate the goals of the event, which is going to be attended by over 190 heads of State. The project was accepted because it involves a worthy cause. In addition, the UNO is an integral part of the movement.

“Our first challenge is to raise awareness of Rio+20 among civil society organizations. The second is what’s going to be done at the conference itself because it’s not just three days, but rather a series of events before and after it. The third challenge is to get the media to cover the issues that will be discussed,” explains Mr. José Carlos de Salles Gomes Neto, Grupo Meio & Mensagem’s CEO.

Some initiatives – such as the ad campaign for the event, organized by the Rio de Janeiro chapter of ABAP (Brazilian Association of Advertising Agencies) – have already been kicked off. Overall, companies from 15 different industries are involved in the mission. The goal is for the group to have a finished communications project by its next meeting, on February 15.