Students of Department of Mass Communication at Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) ran one-month long social marketing campaigns supervised by Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, Mr. Syed Muhammad Saqib Saleem in Spring 2022 as part of their course MCOM 415 (Communication Campaign Design). The campaigns involved community engagement and were based on some of the Sustainable Development Goals by the UN designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The campaigns focused on various social issues such as climate change, saving water, women empowerment, depression, drug addiction, food wastage and transgender rights.
As part of these campaigns, students carried out various activities including conducting podcasts and seminars with professionals and representatives from certain communities, paying visits to voluntary organizations, schools and underprivileged areas of Lahore, making informative awareness posters, videos and documentaries and sharing success stories of their campaigns. Some of the field visits included a visit to an underprivileged area in Lahore to raise awareness among people living there, and an interactive session with the students at St. John’s School in Bahar Colony. A visit to Safari Park was also made to participate in tree plantation there as part of mitigating the effects of climate change. Students also visited a free Dastarkhwaan at Allah Hoo Foundation and participated in food distribution and different Rehab Centers for drug addicts.
Apart from all these field activities, students also conducted a social media campaign side by side which helped them reach a greater audience to spread their message. They held Zoom and social media live sessions and shared complete guidelines for their audience to instigate a change in their attitude and behaviours towards different social issues.
All these student-led campaigns were highly encouraging and their success indicated that with a slightest effort from each one of us, we can help achieve these SDGs and work towards not just a better Pakistan, but also a better planet.
