CAMPAIGN NAME

The Street of Life

CATEGORY

Best of Europe: Positive Change - Non-profit

CLIENT

The Documentalists Foundation

LEAD AGENCY

Noble Graphics

CAMPAIGN DESCRIPTION

Bulgaria has the lowest organ donation rate in the European Union, with only around 13 donations per year despite nearly a thousand people waiting for a life-saving transplant. Public awareness is extremely low, the topic is rarely discussed, and family consent is often withheld due to fear, uncertainty, and the absence of public dialogue.

Following the closure of the National Transplantation Agency, the issue became even more neglected. To bring organ donation into the national conversation, The Street of Life transformed a local organ donor into a lasting public symbol by naming the world's first street after them.

The campaign aimed to inspire awareness, encourage dialogue, and drive lasting institutional and behavioural change.

THE CHALLENGE

Bulgaria has the lowest organ donation rate in the EU, with over a thousand people waiting for transplants while only around 10 donor situations occur each year. Although organ donation is legally permitted through an opt-out system, family consent remains the decisive factor, and conversations around the topic are rare.

With limited institutional support, little media attention, and low public awareness, organ donation remained largely absent from the national discourse.

The challenge was to break this silence, bring the issue into mainstream conversation, and inspire greater public awareness and engagement around organ donation.

STRATEGIC APPROACH AND EXECUTION

The campaign sought to honour organ donors through a powerful symbolic act that would spark national conversation.

Inspired by the tradition of naming streets after individuals who have made significant contributions to society, the team created the world’s first street named after an organ donor: Georgi Nikolov Street, in the donor’s hometown of Varna.

Rather than relying on a traditional advertising campaign, the initiative centred on a single, highly symbolic moment - the unveiling of the street.

Timed to mark the anniversary of Georgi’s passing, the event brought together his family, medical professionals, and local authorities, generating widespread media coverage and turning one street into a national conversation about organ donation.