The Campaign

To address the growing sexual harassment in public transport, WIN created an app '2six4' that helps women contact their friends and the police with just a click. To create awareness about the app and fight sexual harassment, we found the solution inside the public transport itself - ‘Viridu Alert’. We collaborated with a famous local Viridu singer, Suranga Kavee and created a song that carried a strong message for predators lurking in buses and trains. It also encouraged bystanders to come forward and help. During their performance, Suranga and his pupils informed passengers about the '2six4' app that women can use in an emergency situation. For a change, Viridu Singers performed not just to earn a living but also for a good cause. Using Viridu as a medium we spread awareness about the issue and also gave people a solution in the form of an app, at their fingertips.

Creative Execution

In collaboration with Suranga Kavee, we wrote a new song that carried a strong message for predators. The song also spoke to bystanders and encouraged them to come forward to help women. Then, Suranga along with his pupils performed live in buses and trains. During the performance Suranga informed women about the ‘2six4’ app that helps them contact the police and selected friends with just a click. We carefully analyzed and selected the most crowded bus and train routes with over 200000 passengers commuting daily . The Viridu song also played in music systems in buses when Viridu singers were not around to perform. Thus, reaching a larger audience. The Viridu activation was executed on the routes that connect Colombo to suburbs. We are now planning to cover eleven other districts by the end 2018.

Derana FM, the number one radio station in Sri Lanka, played the Viridu Song during prime time for a week and helped us reach over 1,992,180 people The #ViriduAlert petition was signed and shared by 3400+ people Organic growth on social media, increasing the campaign reach to a towering 10400+ The '2six4' app gained popularity and now has over 1000 downloads

‘Viridu’ is an age-old tradition of Sri Lanka. It’s a narrative poetry and storytelling art form. It involves a singer performing in public places, singing verses about current events and common interests in simple and colloquial language. Thus, entertaining people in trains and buses. Viridu singers are often spotted in public transport during peak hours. This is their means of livelihood. People generously give them money after their performance. The repetitive rhythm of a Viridu song on the beat of rabanna (tambourine) attracts listeners. Viridu has been a big entertainment medium in Sri Lanka from the time of ancient kings.

To tackle the problem of growing sexual harassment in public transport, we found the solution inside public transport itself. We decided to collaborate with Viridu singers because they are commonly spotted in public transport, entertaining the public and earning a living. Viridu singers sing verses about current events and common interests. The repetitive rhythm of a Viridu song on the beat of the Rabana (tambourine) attracts listeners. We created a song in collaboration with a famous local Viridu Singer Sunranga Kavee. He performed the song that carried a strong message for predators and warned them that they are being watched. Thus, creating a safe environment in public transport. And driving home the message at the right place, where it is most needed. During the performance, Suranga and his pupils informed people about the '2six4' app that can help women contact their friends and police with just a click.