The New Word
Background
In Uzbekistan, patience is a value taught from early childhood. Sayings like “Patience is gold” and “The patient one reaches the goal” shape a culture where the ability to endure is seen as a virtue. Behind it lies a harsh reality: one in three women in the country faces violence, and most of the time the only answer she hears is a single word, “chida”, endure. Humiliated? Endure. Beaten? Endure. Thrown out of the house? Endure. The word chida is so deeply rooted in the culture that the language had no negative form of it.
Idea
So we created a new word: CHIDAMA, “don’t endure”. A word that had never existed before. We turned it into a cultural symbol and gave it to the voices the whole country listens to, Lola and Konsta. Together they recorded the song “Chidama”, an emotional manifesto for millions of women. For the first time, music gave women the right to say: “I will no longer endure.”
Results
The song instantly entered the top 3 of the national music charts. The hashtag #CHIDAMA trended on Twitter. Thousands of women started recording videos to the track, sharing their personal stories and using a word that had never existed before.
The project reached more than 20 million people and was supported by the leading national media. Society gained a new word and, with it, a new stance. CHIDAMA became the word that gave women the right to refuse to endure violence, the word where change began.
Credits
Agency: Synthesis
Creative Director: Farrukh Sharif
Independent Creative Director: Denis Eliseev
Managing Partner, CSD: Alina Mirzaeva
Copywriter: Sergey Gorobtsov
Copywriter: Shohruh Jamoliddinov
Copywriter: Anora Sabirova
Designer: Vlada Idunova
Designer: Javlon Rakhimjanov
Designer: Sabrina Akrami
Account Manager: Anna Kim
Account Manager: Liya Gerasimova
Account Manager: Daria Gerasimova
Account Manager: Valeria Shamakova
Editor: Khodjiakbar Lutfullaev
Client: National Agency for Social Protection under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Director: Oloyorov Mansurbek Polvonzoda
First Deputy Director: Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva
Head of PR and Communications, Press Secretary: Dilfuza Ruzmetova
Lead Specialist, PR and Communications: Sitora Latipova
Specialist, PR and Communications: Doston Kodirov
Song: Chidama
Performed by: Lola & Konsta
Lyrics: Sharifjon Abdullayev
Music: Alinur Rashidov
Production: DBLA
Production team: Anastasia Li, Dania Kiyaeva
Director: Ivan Proskuryakov
2nd Director: Iuliya Polyak-Braginskaya
Director of Photography: Boris Litovchenko
Production Administrator: Mikael Mkhitaryan
Focus Puller: Pavel Ryzhkov
Steadicam Operator: Ilya Vdovenko
Production Designers: Miya Mubinova, Alexey Kozlov, Yuldosh Yuldashev, Giyoz Kozlov, Ibrokhim Jalilov, Danil Fradov
Stylists: Oksana Klimkina, Anton Filatov, Larisa Tursunova, Madina Rakhimova
Casting Director: Feruza Kamalkhodzhaeva
Makeup Artist: Nigora Fayzieva
On-set Sound: Abdurashid Obidov
Storyboard Artist: Alexander Kukushkin
Service Team: Konstantin Gofman, Konstantin Nemenok, Shakhzod Safarov, Timur-Malik Kabiljanov
Editor: Dilshat Chorukov
Colorist: Viktor Mogilat
Sound Design and Mixing: Doniyor Abdullakhanov
Lighting: Bayram Films
Gaffer: Denis Tabaev
Lighting Technicians: Maks Derecha, Ali Fayzullaev, Islom Mansurov, Mukhammad Alimov, Khamid Sabirov, Serega Morozov, Lyosha Museev, Akhtam Baltabaev, Misha Minosyan, Davron Lutfullaev, Botir, Abdulaziz Usmanov, Nikolay Morozov, Bakhrom Jalilov