Expand your Global Horizon

The International Advertising Association (IAA) is deeply concerned about current happenings in Ukraine. In a matter of days, hundreds of lives have been lost, many properties destroyed, and many more families displaced. Our hearts go out to the people who have been displaced and are suffering as a result of this conflict.

The lives that have been lost in the impasse cannot be replaced and as such we ask all parties to be guided by compassion in all dealings. We are hopeful that meaningful dialogue will commence soon and pray that all parties choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong to make peace prevail once again.

The IAA encourages all parties to be compassionate and put the effects of their decisions on people and first, in all their considerations. Let us all strive to give peace a chance because in war, no one wins.

The hardest choices require the strongest will and commitment. Generations unborn will have a chance at a better life because we chose compassion and peace when it was within us to do so. We encourage all our Chapters and Members around the world, especially those in the affected region, to reach out and show care and compassion to all the innocent victims of this situation.

IAA Poland has collaborated with local members to develop a global crowdfunding platform (www.HeroToHero.eu) with a focus on helping both the refugees and their patrons. 

Anyone who provides housing to Ukrainian refugees (e.g. by already sharing their apartment, or by looking for accommodation for Ukrainians who are on their way to Poland) can publish their project and discuss their needs. Once published, such a collection becomes public and everyone can deliver the needed items or send financial donations directly to a specific refugee family. 

Using the platform is safe for both parties - the person in need and the helper. Each submission is checked for authenticity of the content before it is published, and all users setting up collections on the platform are subject to complete verification.

The unique thing about it:

1.    accessibility from all over the world

2.    (for now) 7 language versions

3.    each over 140 markets (with it's payment method)

How does it work: the main page contains a map with the locations of people in need of help (people supporting refugees from Ukraine) plotted on it. Under the map, there are individual requests for help (e.g., in the form of "tiles"). The website has a search engine allowing users to find requests for assistance corresponding to given keywords. The site will allow for:

• creation of new support request
  
• search for requests based on a map (e.g., all announcements in a given city, based on browser or mobile device geolocation)
  
• search for requests based on keywords (e.g., I would like to donate food, so I search for people who need that support)

We also bring to you the efforts that our Partners have taken in the last few days.

United Nations

Here is the UN’s crisis response page UN UKRAINE CRISIS HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE.  There are sublinks to all of the UN system actors working in Ukraine, such as UNICEF and UNHCR, etc.  The UN is constantly working to make sure we are getting and putting out accurate information, given the amount of misinformation that is out there.  All of their content comes from teams on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries. We encourage IAAians to seek and communicate accurate information relating to happenings in Ukraine.

Below are some of the specific steps Meta has taken. You can also read more details about their ongoing efforts here  in our newsroom post, which they are constantly updating.

• They have established a special operations center staffed by experts from across the company, including native Russian and Ukrainian speakers, who are monitoring the platform around the clock, allowing them to respond to issues in real-time. 
• They took down a network of about 40 accounts, Pages and Groups run by people in Ukraine and Russia targeting Ukraine for violating our policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior. They ran websites posing as independent news entities and created fake personas across many social media platforms.
• They have also seen increased targeting of Ukrainian military and public figures by Ghostwriter, a threat actor that has been tracked for some time by the security community. They have taken steps to secure accounts we believe were targeted and subsequently alerted these users.
• Meta added several safety features to help keep people in Ukraine safe, including the ability for people to lock their Facebook profile, removing the ability to view and search friends lists, and additional tools on Messenger.
• They are providing more transparency around state-controlled media outlets in addition to labeling when posts are coming from state-controlled media outlets, they are also prohibiting ads from Russian state media and de-monetizing their accounts.
• They are taking extensive steps to fight the spread of misinformation by expanding our third-party fact-checking capacity in Russian and Ukrainian
  

A few active donations across the Facebook platform -

• Medical aid and humanitarian relief for front lines
  Fundraiser by United Help Ukraine ·
  https://www.facebook.com/donate/337101825010055/
  
  
• Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine
  Fundraiser by Nova Ukraine
  https://www.facebook.com/donate/1137971146948461/
  
  
•  Медична допомога Військовим Шпиталям та Польовим Шпитялям. Закуп медикаментів для поранених військових
  Fundraiser for Revived Soldiers Ukraine by Irina Vashchuk Discipio
  https://www.facebook.com/donate/349402380213614
  
  
• PILNE: pomoc dla Ukrainy
  Fundraiser by Polskie Centrum Pomocy Międzynarodowej (PCPM)
  https://www.facebook.com/donate/2948107692167955/
  
  
• Razom for Ukraine
  Fundraiser by @RazomForUkraine
  https://www.facebook.com/RazomForUkraine

Google’s team has mobilized on every front: raising funds, on products like Maps and Search, security protections, and surfacing fact-based information.

https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/helping-ukraine/

Twitter thread from Google EMEA also lays out our Ukraine response including everything happening from a brand safety perspective.

https://twitter.com/googleeurope/status/1497312445303513094

Please see Google's "apartment map" with accommodation available for the Ukrainian people GOOGLE APARTMENT MAP

Here are some aid organizations which provide immediate help to people in Ukraine where IAA members can donate -

• Red Cross
  
  
• World Vision
  
  
• Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta
  
  
• Hungarian Interchurch Aid (member of the Act Alliance)
  
  
• Hungarian Reformed Church Aid