We start the build-up to the 2023 edition, with our annual Cannes Contenders series.
Campaign India aims to lead the charge from this region by showcasing all of India's entries to the festival through our 'Cannes Contenders' series.
This is based on the premise that Cannes jurors don’t get enough time to scrutinise and deliberate a piece of work they haven’t really come across before. This series is a way of acquainting them with the good work from India and South Asia before their judging stint.
Astral Foundation has two such entries:
Ranthambore National Park: The Jungle Story
Ranthambore National Park is one of the biggest and most renowned national parks in Northern India. It is one of the most celebrated tiger reserves in India. However, in the summer season, water problems arise in the mountainous areas for flora and fauna. Dry months in Ranthambore reserve bring out the diesel pumps and tankers as various plateaus run low on water. This leads to a higher carbon footprint of the park, and the high noises cause disturbance to the wildlife, and yet the water distribution remains inadequate. Deeply committed to environmental conservation, Astral Foundation addressed wildlife conservation challenges and water distribution in the Ranthambore reserve on this World Tiger Day.
Ice Stupas in Ladakh
In Ladakh, a stunning region between the Greater Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges, mountain glaciers are an irreplaceable source of fresh water for many people and an enormously important source of water for drinking and crop irrigation. However, due to global warming, year after year, the glaciers are melting faster than ever, leaving the villagers with less water in summer when they need it the most.
Due to water scarcity, residents are forced to leave their villages and migrate. Deeply committed to environmental conservation, the primary objective of this campaign was to confront the severe problem of water scarcity threatening lives in the region and adopt imaginative methods to alleviate it on the occasion of World Water Day.
The CSR arm of the company, Astral Foundation, contributed towards making nine Ice Stupas across Ladakh by collaborating with innovator and education reformist Sonam Wangchuk and his institute, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives.
Through the campaign, Astral Foundation positively impacted the lives of numerous people and helped them return to their abandoned villages. Astral Foundation’s #BehatarKalWithAstral campaign reached 1M people across the Interweb, creating a spike in impressions to 12.22M.
Social media influencers further catalysed the campaign to reach close to a million people.
Prominent publications like The Times of India, India Education Diary, India Frontline, and The Times Bureau, among others, covered this impactful human-interest story.
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