The best events of the year: purpose, values, emotion

Oro: The Breathing Space by Gjensidige

In this event (or more than an event, actually, a whole campaign) by agency NOSLEEPTILLBROOKLYN for Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige, a conversation room at a festival evolved into a national mental health project directed to Gen Z.

Mental health is the most expensive illness, costing the equivalent of two Norwegian health budgets, an illness which would require prevention. Gen Z is bearing the brunt with 36% struggling. The insight in this event was that they don’t want companies talking about mental health, they want someone to talk to. So instead of throwing a party, as part of their sponsorship of a festival, Gjensidige created “The Breathing Space”, a discreet room with mental health experts which also opened access to NGO MentalHelseUngdom’s digital chats. An event conceived to safeguard lives, increase help-seeking, and strengthen Gjensidige’s standing with Gen Z.

An unexpected but authentic action: the Breathing Space flipped expectations by offering stigma-free conversations. And it worked: +539% traffic to the campaign site, +75% increase in MHU help-chat use during the festival. A characteristic of this delicate action was combining small gestures (free water, calm design) with life-saving support.

They then extended this format to sports sponsorships, cinema takeovers, a mobile “on wheels” version, and Unity Arena’s permanent room. They now provide support including via chat lines at events nationwide.Gjensidige made a difference, proved a brand can be both relevant and trusted.

Des Vacances de Ouf

On August 20th, this event brought together in Paris 40,000 children from France and abroad for visits, activities, sports and concerts to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Secours Populaire, an NGO which has always placed childhood at the heart of its work.

The idea: holidays are a right but one in three children still does not go on holiday. They come back to school with not much to talk about. So this event takes action to ensure that no one is left out of holidays: the « Day for Children Forgotten by Holidays » gathered tens of thousands of children to enjoy a dream day of holidays
in Paris, filled with memories to cherish and share at school. The event was a huge leverage to highlight the injustice of not going on holiday, generate media coverage, social medias conversations and to fundraise.

The agency Auditoire created “Vacances de Ouf” (“Crazy Holidays”), around five pillars:

• A Paris takeover to immerse children in the cultural and historical richness of the city through visits to iconic sites.
• A graphic universe designed with and for children, co-created with them to reflect their imagination.
• A programme letting children live “1001 stories” in a single day through activities, concerts, and giant games.
• 10,000 volunteers including 200 event production experts.
• Collaborations with public services and companies to fund the event’s production.

Letters by Simone

The main objective of this event by Atenas.ag was to reinforce Itaú’s positioning as supporter of culture in Brazil, demonstrating that the bank goes beyond financial services, to offer experiences of social and symbolic value.

The idea: to create a cultural happening that would foster a connection with the public, bringing together different generations. Fernanda Montenegro’s reading of Simone de Beauvoir brought to light themes such as equality, legacy, and female leadership, inviting participants to reflect on their role in society. By engaging in a collective experience in a digital world, participants were impacted by the power of words and shared emotion, strengthening their perception of Itaú as a brand that promotes culture, encourages social reflection, and transforms public spaces into arenas of collective memory.

The creative idea was born from the contrast between today’s noisy digital world and the choice of an analog, silent format: transforming a feminist text into a mass spectacle in a public space, Ibirapuera Park. Itaú created a cultural experience uniting generations around collective reflection. The innovation did not rely on complex technologies, but on simplicity: mobilizing 15,000 people in silence to share the power of the word. The strategic design prioritized authenticity and human impact, with curated content, minimalist scenography, and spontaneous amplification through the press and social media. The event demonstrated that, in the digital age, true innovation can lie in the analog, in transforming public spaces into arenas of culture, belonging, and social memory.

Undoubtedly, in a troubled and isolated society, events can bring the best in people, bring people together, and simply make the world a better place. Congrats to three masterpieces of our industry!