Problem: In China, an autistic child is born every 20 minutes. One million families suffer from autism. Public unfamiliarity with autism causes parents with affected children to have to confront the predicament alone. They are as lonely as their children.

Mission: Shanghai QingCongQuan Autism Foundation (an NGO that assists families with autistic children nationwide) held an event on April 2, 2011, World Autism Day, to raise public awareness of the plight of families with autistic children.

Idea: We created an exhibition of “Living Sculptures” in Shanghai Central Library. A mother and her child, both dressed entirely in black, sat respectively at each end of a 20-metre long, black netted, cage, vividly presenting the psychological distance between the autistic child and its parents. Relevant knowledge and pictures were disseminated at the site along with a donation box.

Result: This event attracted the attention of over 120 media outlets, including TV, radio stations, newspapers, magazines and web news portals, generating over 100 million RMB worth of free media. By reaching an audience of over 50 million and stimulating 379127 discussions on social networking sites, families with autistic children have now become a concern for all society.