The Advertising Association of Nepal is appealing to Asia’s advertising community for help after a second earthquake struck the Kathmandu Valley on Tuesday.
The organisation is working with the government to raise an earthquake relief fund, and is appealing to Asia’s ad community for ideas to raise the money needed to restore Kathmandu Valley’s ancient heritage sites, which pull in 10 per cent of the country’s GDP through tourism.
“We’re in a very difficult situation. Kathmandu was a city of temples. Now it is a city of tents,” said Ujaya Shakya, vice-president of Advertising Association of Nepal.
“The first earthquake measured 7.9 on the richter scale and claimed 8,000 lives. A second earthquake measuring 7.4 on the richter scale came two weeks later, just as people were going back to their normal lives. It brought the confidence of our people back to ground zero,” he told Mumbrella today.
“We thought that by June everything would be back to normal, but after the second earthquake struck, and with after shocks still being felt in the valley, we are uncertain when normality will return for people and businesses,” he said.
Many advertising professionals working in and around Kathmandu have been unable to return to work because of damage to offices and infrastructure. There are fewer ads running in newspapers and on television, as “the mood is not right for advertising,” Shakya said.
AAN has received some support from India’s ad industry in the form of fundraising events. An exhibition showcasing the photography of India’s top creative directors aims to raise funds through auction.
AAN has also appealed to the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations for help.
“We are open to agencies helping us with their ideas and creativity,” said Shakya, who can be reached at [email protected].
“It is an obligation for both Nepalese and the world to restore these structures in its former glory despite both technical and monetary challenges. It is just simply impossible to imagine Kathmandu valley without them,” he said.
