A new video series directed by two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy brings Annie Lennox, Halle Bailey, Julia Roberts, Idris Elba, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams, John Legend and Gucci CHIME co-founder Salma Hayek Pinault together to speak out about what equality means to them, as the campaign ushers in a new decade of support for gender equality.
Ten years ago today, Gucci, together with co-founders Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Salma Hayek Pinault, founded the Gucci CHIME campaign, dedicated to advancing gender equality around the world. To mark the occasion, Gucci hosted THE SOUND OF CHANGE: LIVE, a global concert event on 1st June 2013 at Twickenham Stadium in London, to raise an alarm and call for global change. With a lineup including Beyoncé, Florence Welch, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, and more, the concert was broadcast to 1 billion viewers, raising $3.9 million to support girls and women around the world.
THE SOUND OF CHANGE: LIVE was the first global concert event to raise funds and awareness for gender equality, and the scale of the concert served as a harbinger for what was to come. Ten years on, Gucci CHIME has raised $21.5 million, which has impacted the lives of 635,000 girls and women globally through more than 500 projects in 92 countries through 185 non-profit partners.
To honor a decade of impact, Gucci has enlisted longtime Gucci CHIME Advisory Board member, collaborator, and Academy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy to lens a 35-video-strong series that continues the mission of the campaign to convene, unite, and strengthen the voices speaking out for gender equality. The series documents a wide range of artists, activists, organizers, and advocates chiming in on what equality means to them. Raw, impassioned, and emotionally charged, the videos are punctuated with personal anecdotes from the participants on their life experiences and hopes for the future. The films will be available to stream on Gucci's social channels and official YouTube account.
Gucci CHIME Co-founder Salma Hayek Pinault says, “While there have been some great advances in gender equality since we founded Chime 10 years ago, there is still a lot of work to be done. It has been incredible for me to have the opportunity to meet people around the world and see firsthand the impact the campaign has had on so many lives. I’m overwhelmed and inspired by how many people want to participate in the change, and I feel very hopeful for the future. It’s really a fight worth having, now, more than ever.”
Beyoncé's Freedom—a rallying cry for racial equality from the Grammys most winning artist’s pioneering visual album Lemonade—scores the videos, in a nod to the Gucci CHIME co-founder's enduring role in the groundbreaking campaign, and as a leading voice in the call for freedom and equality for all.
Returning to renew their support for Gucci CHIME and its mission are Salma Hayek Pinault, Florence Welch, Julia Roberts, and John Legend, who participated in the the campaign's launch a decade ago. Newer Gucci faces such as Idris Elba, Julia Garner, Halle Bailey, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams, and Jodie Turner-Smith join the voices calling for change. CHIME Advisory Board members Tanya Compas and Maryangel Garcia-Ramos, and activists Amanda Nguyen, Vee Kativhu, and Jaha Dukureh, among others, symbolize the brand's continued commitment to championing the next generation of change.
Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri also participates on behalf of the company’s 22,000 employees. “As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gucci CHIME, we reflect on the profound impact and influence the campaign has had on so many lives, through the tireless work and commitment of people around the world who fight for change every day. This is a journey that we embarked on ten years ago, but the work ahead of us is substantial. Today we recommit ourselves to the next decade of progress and positive change.”
