One year ago today, Daniel Omar – a 16-year old boy of Sudan’s war-ravaged Nuba Mountains – used a 3D-printed arm to feed himself. Having lost both arms at age 14 when a bomb was dropped on this civilian territory, Daniel had considered his life not worth living.
Printed, built and fitted by trailblazer and entrepreneur Mick Ebeling, Project Daniel’s mission began after Ebeling read about Daniel’s story in a news article. As the founder and CEO of Not Impossible, Ebeling knew he needed to help, Daniel’s story exemplified Not Impossible’s mission to use “technology for the sake of humanity.”
Traveling with 3D printers, filament and some tools, and having trained with Robohand inventor Richard Van As, Ebeling brought the technology first to Yida Refugee Camp in South Sudan and then to a hospital in the conflicted zone of the Nuba Mountains where a war has raged for years and cost an estimated 50,000 people their limbs. With a philosophy of #HelpOneHelpMany, Not Impossible trained locals how to use the technology, and launched the world's first 3D-printing prosthetic lab and training facility.
Costing just $100 USD in materials, arms can be printed over the course of a day or two. In the past year alone, despite civil flare-ups in the South, and a bombing raid on the hospital that houses the equipment, the trained locals have printed over a dozen limbs for their own local community.
The work of Project Daniel has just begun, with its impact resonating through the global movement it has helped to lead. Ebeling remarks, “The thing I'm most excited about is this has awoken the realization that helping people gain access to solutions is not limited to big corporations and institutions. If we can continue to show people that technology is not this foreign, inaccessible thing, but is something that is very real and can help individuals in their worlds, then Project Daniel is just the first fuse lit for the many ideas to come.”
The life-changing project made with the support of Precipart and Intel, and which became the subject of Intel’s “Look Inside: Mick Ebeling” campaign, rose to global prominence swiftly, hitting 420 million earned media impressions in 14 weeks and scaling 800 million within 6 months of its CES launch.
Project Daniel has also resonated with juries worldwide, earning the team a host of awards, including the prized Titanium Cannes Lion, along with 1 Gold Lion (Product Design) and 3 Bronze Lions (Branded Content, Film and Cyber). Prior to Cannes 2014, Project Daniel garnered prizes including AICP’s Next Cause Marketing Award (from which the work enters the permanent film archives at New York’s Museum of Modern Art); 2014 One Show Gold Pencils for both Design and Intellectual Property & Products (tying for “Best in Show”); the 2014 Silver Telly and Bronze Telly Award; the 2014 Maker Faire Editor’s Choice Blue Ribbon for creativity, ingenuity and innovation; and a personal honor for Mick Ebeling as the 2014 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year.
Video Credits
Project: Project Daniel
Agency: NOT IMPOSSIBLE LABS
Production: The Ebeling Group
Directed by Mick Ebeling
Joseph Pineda
Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Carmelita Group
Contact Joseph via email
Media:
olia ougrik
communications coordinator
R A C O N T E U R
Contact Olia via email
2024 AICP Awards Tour Concludes with Stops in Dallas and Chicago
The 2024 AICP Awards Tour concludes with stops in Dallas and Chicago this month as it wraps up its tour of cities across the U.S. The National Tour brought presentations, panels and screenings to marketers, advertising agencies, production and post production companies. The AICP Awards will be in Dallas on Thursday, November 14th, at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, followed by the Chicago event, set for Thursday, November 21st at The Old Post Office. Tickets are available now for both events at www.aicp.com. In Dallas, the program kicks off at 6:45 pm with a happy hour, followed by the screening and panel discussion at 7:30. The evening ends with a networking reception from 8:30 to 11:30. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is located at 2201 N. Field Street in Dallas. Appearing in Dallas will be Abe Garcia, Chief Creative Officer, Dieste; Julia Melle, Director of Brand and Content, Southwest Airlines; and Isaac Pagán Muñoz, VP, Executive Creative Director of PepsiCo Foods. The panel will review selected winners from the suite of the AICP Awards programs, offering insights into what made them rise to the top of their respective categories and share their viewpoints on key trends in the industry. The Chicago stop starts at 6:00pm with a happy hour, followed by the presentation and screening at 7:00pm. A reception caps the event, starting at 8:00pm and concluding at 11:30pm. The Old Post Office is located at 433 W Van Buren Street in Chicago. The panel there will feature 2024 AICP Awards Curators and Winners from the marketer, agency, production and post production sectors who’ll highlight this year’s winners. The conversation will include a discussion about the winning work, including insights... Read More