NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15TH 2023 - Global movement Avaaz has brought the real jungle to the concrete jungle, filling the Manhattan skyline with 1,000 drones displaying iconic Amazon rainforest images and messages calling on the Brazilian government to save the rainforest. As President Lula returns to the UN General Assembly, Avaaz is drawing attention to the crucial role the Amazon plays in protecting the planet and underscoring that Bolsonaro’s departure does not mean the Amazon is safe.

The show aims to bring life to New York City's sky: A pink dolphin swimming over Manhattan's skyline, a powerful Sumaúma, one of the largest trees of the rainforest, emerging from the skyscrapers; the Brazilian map, and a globe in flames with the message "Amazon burns, The world burns" are among some of the impactful images brought by Avaaz.

Diego Casaes, Campaign Director at Avaaz, says:  "No matter where you live in the world, the Amazon rainforest is protecting you, and if this forest falls we all fall. That is why 9 million people around the world are calling on President Lula and the rest of the world’s leaders to commit to protecting this forest at all costs. People think that the rainforest is safe because Bolsonaro, the enemy of the Amazon, is no longer in power. Let’s not be fooled. This forest will only be safe when there is a commitment to end the mining, drilling, and logging that has devastated this heartbeat of our planet, and when all Indigenous peoples have their land rights secured.”

Txai Suruí, an Indigenous leader named one of the TIME 100Next, who joined the Avaaz campaign, says:  "The Amazon’s fate is our fate. Wherever we are in the world, this forest plays a crucial part in our lives, helping regulate the global climate. We’re all held in a web of interdependence that we haven’t even begun to understand."

Over 9 million people around the world have joined Avaaz and Txai in a campaign to demand world leaders to adopt vital, science-based protections for the Amazon and its peoples.

The drone projection is part of The Projecting Change NYC Drone Show organized by Projecting Change, in partnership with Avaaz, Eat Differently, The Ford Foundation, Nova Sky Stories and The Oceanic Preservation Society, to draw attention to the global climate crisis and inspire action at scale.
The Projecting Change NYC Drone Show has been directed by Academy Award-winning director of The Cove and Director of Projecting Change, Louie Psihoyos, and is co-created and Executive Produced by Projecting Change CEO Christopher Lejeune. The drones taking flight are powered by Nova Sky Stories, the global leader in drone show experiences founded by entrepreneur Kimbal Musk.

You can find photos free for editorial use  in this link.

You can find videos free for editorial use available here , including impressive footage recorded from a drone, and sound bites from Diego Casaes, Avaaz Campaign Director, in English and Portuguese.


For more information and interviews:
Please connect with us at media@avaaz.org, luciana@avaaz.org and will@avaaz.org, Mobile & WhatsApp from our media team on site: +1 (571) 621-2896 and +1 646-628-1210.