I just came across this great campaign that was run in Malmö, a city in Sweden with about three quarters of a million people. The campaign organizers recognized that in order to get people to change their behavior and not make ridiculously short car trips, they’d need to be creative, a little bit clever and use humor.
Members of the public could ‘confess’ to their unnecessary journeys, unloading their guilt into a wall of other peoples stories. And like many good campaigns, there was an element of competition. People who made the most ridiculous car trips would be rewarded bicycles. It’s got the same kind of appeal as the ‘Postsecret‘ project, but with the aim of encouraging more sustainable transport habits. The result? A lot more people in Malmo cycling for short distance trips rather than using their cars.
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
