An online digital educational campaign by humanitarian organisation Save the Children and U.S. social media giant Facebook logged over 18 million impressions online centred on the campaign's Pacific Hub, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga Facebook pages.

The 18 million online impressions comprised the number of views resulting from ads, boosts, organic traffic and shares to various multiple platforms.  

The ‘I Am Digital’ campaign led by Save the Children lasted for five weeks throughout February until early March this year and was delivered through a multitude of resources on the social media giant’s platform, specifically targeting issues that concern young people from local communities related to the rapid increase in internet and social media use in the Pacific.

The campaign drew together the private, public and civil sectors to accomplish one common objective: make a difference in children’s lives and protect them from things that happen online.

There was considerable impact generated by the new campaign which targeted online audiences, especially children and young people.

The overwhelming number of impressions was a strong indicator that the campaign elements were viewed multiple times by the right audiences. This was confirmed via the impressive engagement noted in post interactions/comments, direct messages, likes and shares.

Shairana Ali, the Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children (Fiji), shared that the campaign messages have made an impact.  

“People are digesting the campaign messages that have been disseminated, and they’re educating their children. Children are also talking about the positive messages that have been shared," she said. 

Discussions are currently being held for the next phase of the campaign, where interested partners and stakeholders are quite keen to be involved in its roll-out for an extended period of time.

“There is a real need for this type of campaign, and the value is unchallenged," Ms. Ali continued.

"Digital and social media is the way to go in disseminating messages for future campaigns, and it was important to ensure that the campaign would establish a sense of sustainability after its first phase."

To ensure language inclusivity, educational materials were featured in English, Fijian i-Taukei, Fiji Hindi, Papua New Guinean Tok Pisin, Samoan and Tongan.

Developed by the youths and for the youths, the campaign resources will continue to remain available on their respective ‘I Am Digital’ Facebook pages and Save the Children Fiji’s website.