Don’t Panic’s Hypnotising Ad on Refugee Illiteracy

Hypnosis is not everyone’s cup of tea. British illusionist Derren Brown adopts it frequently in his cunning TV shows. While others sometimes use it as a form of therapy for overcoming suppressed memories or controlling and changing behavioural patterns.

But hypnosis has again controversially entered the public eye thanks to Don’t Panic’s new emotional spot for campaigning organisation ONE.org, asking participants: Could you forget everything you ever learnt?

Far from a wacky experiment, the campaign highlights the importance of education by referencing the lack of schooling available to refugee children.

Helmed by Pulse director Sam Wrench, the spot sees people of various professions lose their ability to read, write and spell as well as basic tasks, such as telling the time.

Apart from temporarily losing these skills, the subjects are otherwise themselves so some of them do get upset, frustrated and angry when they can’t communicate as they usually would.

“It’s like being in a place where no-one can hear you or understand you… and that’s not right,” says participant Helena (below), a playwright who breaks down when she can’t read her own work.

The powerful video raises awareness of a petition that will be presented at two world summits next week, where the refugee crisis will be discussed. It's hoped that the petition will remind world leaders to prioritise the education of refugee children. At the time of writing this, the petition had already amassed 87 percent of its 180,000-signature target.

While the campaign’s participants were only temporarily illiterate, for many refugees it is a permanent and very real problem.

“For the millions of refugee children who won’t get an education, it’s not just a scary few moments – it’s a lifetime of missed opportunities,” says ONE’s CMO Roxane Philson. “This can and must change."

Your signature could help effect change so do sign and follow the campaign’s development via its hashtag #EducationForRefugees.