Seattle, WA and Washington, D.C. – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced it will transition ‘The Living Proof Project: U.S. Investments in Global Health Are Working’ to the global anti-poverty advocacy organization ONE (www.ONE.org) in an effort to reach millions of people around the world with the message that targeted investments in global health and development are saving lives and achieving real, demonstrable results.

The Living Proof Project was initially conceived by the Gates Foundation as a multimedia storytelling initiative to reach American audiences with positive stories about global health, emphasizing the progress, optimism and opportunity that have been created with the help of U.S. investments. There is clear evidence that targeted investments in global health are saving lives, preventing and curing disease, and helping people to escape from poverty. The purpose of The Living Proof Project is to get these facts out and to inform the conversation around the challenges and opportunities in global health and development.

ONE will expand The Living Proof Project to reach new audiences in more countries around an expanded set of development issues, including agriculture and access to clean water. ONE will also broaden The Living Proof Project beyond the U.S. to highlight the impact of European investments. The launch of this effort will include an event in London this fall featuring Bill and Melinda Gates. ONE will also collaborate closely with organizations working on the ground in developing countries to get the word out about the work they are doing to save lives and create opportunity.

With 2 million members globally and a record of creating cutting-edge advocacy campaigns, ONE will lead the next evolution of The Living Proof Project. ONE and its partners will incorporate The Living Proof Project content into their ongoing efforts to inspire and challenge people around the world to help secure long term, sustainable support from G8 and G20 nations for international development.

“Now, more than ever, stories need to be told about how investments in global health and development are achieving real, demonstrable results.  ONE is perfectly positioned to share this with a broader audience globally,” said Kate James, Chief Communications Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  “Millions of lives have already been transformed and saved with effective, affordable solutions. With the efforts of ONE and its partners, we can spread this message and have the potential to do much more.”

“ONE is honored to have been asked by the Gates Foundation to manage and expand The Living Proof Project. We know that investments in global health and global development are driving real results – from significant declines in child deaths to the reduction of poverty through proven agriculture programs.  We want to celebrate these successes, provide scale for the campaign and encourage more people to get involved,” said ONE President and CEO David Lane. “We look forward to working with other partner organizations to develop, research and share information about the progress that is being made on the ground in the fight against extreme poverty.”

As part of its expansion of The Living Proof Project, ONE is developing a content database that will give other non-profit partners working in development access to video, photography and other assets to support their efforts. ONE will also invite NGO community members to a storytelling workshop later this year.  At the workshop, media and communications experts and producers will work with NGO partner organizations on how to best mine, develop and sharpen on-the-ground stories of success and connect with The Living Proof Project.

“The Living Proof Project was a brilliant creation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Choosing ONE to help expand and enhance Living Proof will help to take the original project even higher. ONE has proven itself as a master storyteller of both the needs of those around the world and the success stories of those individuals and organizations rising to meet those challenges.  We look forward to working with ONE to broadcast these moving and inspiring stories of hope,” said The Hon. Mark Green, Director, Malaria No More.

More information on The Living Proof Project can be found at www.livingproofproject.org, a site that brings success stories to life with web videos, photo galleries, interactive graphics and personal profiles of people whose lives have been changed by global health and development programs.  Non-profit partners may also contact Margaret McDonnell ([email protected]) at ONE for additional information about the campaign and partner programs.