Tonight is Earth Hour from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, where for the sixth year in a row people across the world will turn off their lights in a sign of solidarity to show their support for our Mother Earth. it started in 1 city and tonight it will be in more then 130 countries.
YouTube has leveraged this event to create an innovative way to get people engaged, they are daring people to become part of the movement through their “I Will If You Will” campaign. And let’s be honest here, we know people love a good dare. Not only does a dare evoke a competitive streak, but it also evokes the emotion of wanting to belong. YouTube is encouraging people to engage not only their networks but with people around the world for the common goal of Mother Earth.
We love this idea for how it integrates social media with spreading the message about moving toward a sustainable planet. We can change the world, we can work together through innovative strategies to join hands for our planet! Well done YouTube, Earth Hour, WWF, this is the world’s largest voluntary act for the environment!
Mashable says it best:
YouTube Earth Hour Campaigns Dare You to Take Action for the Planet
by Zoe Fox
YouTube is launching a new platform called “I Will If You Will” for Earth Hour 2012, which lets users challenge others to take an environmentally friendly action for the planet.
Earth Hour, now in its sixth year, encourages people to turn off their lights for 60 minutes one day a year. It’s celebrated annually on March 31 between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. This year, the campaign is hoping its impact will last more than one hour.
“In its sixth year, with hundreds of millions of people taking part in Earth Hour, we want to go beyond the hour to encourage positive action for the environment,” Earth Hour co-founder and executive director Andy Ridley said. “The power of social media enables us to unite the global community in the endeavor to protect the planet.”
The “I Will If You Will” campaign is hosted by YouTube and was spearheaded by the Earth Hour founders, the World Wildlife Foundation and Leo Burnett. Supermodel Miranda Kerr is also on board.
As part of the campaign, Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax movie will turn the main character’s mustache green if 500 children commit to switch off their lights for the hour, the president of Fiji Epeli Nailatikau will walk 30 kilometers if businesses and NGOs make pledges, and Miranda Kerr will teach a yoga class to 500 fans who create their own challenge (a condition which was already met).
YouTube also plans to dim its entire site with a virtual light switch for the hour, as it did last year. The social video platform has donated nearly 15 million digital impressions for Earth Hour. Also joining in Earth Hour this year are more than 5,000 cities and towns in 147 countries.
Will you turn out your lights for Earth Hour? Will you challenge your friends to take action?
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