Telethon focuses on social media for its TV marathon

The 27th edition of the television marathon of Fondazione Telethon, which will be held from December 11th to 18th on Rai channels, will be all about social media and public engagement.

In fact, the television studio for the marathon, which as usual will be hosted inside the Rai Auditorium in Rome, will this year, for the first time, also house an innovative Social Studio, a true window of dialogue between the television studio and the world of digital communication, which will be led by blogger and it-girl Giulia Valentina.

The Social Studio will be a dynamic hub for interactions with Fondazione Telethon on various social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.). The contributions and photos of those who respond to Fondazione Telethon’s call with #presente, the name of the 2016 campaign and official hashtag of the initiative, will contribute live to enrich the large videowall located inside the studio with content, in a vibrant composite of user images whose stories will be explored during the TV studio connections.

The choice of host therefore could only fall on a professional with a strong social media presence, a so-called it-girl, who will follow and animate this space for discussion live: this is Giulia Valentina, an influencer and lifestyle writer, now in her second experience as a television host after leading a show dedicated to innovation and technology.

With a fresh and spontaneous approach, Giulia will give voice to the online community, gathering in an exciting overview the contributions and stories of users that will enrich the marathon’s offering within the TV studio where singers, actors, researchers, patients, families, and partners will take turns in a mix of entertainment, information, and fundraising to support and fund research on rare genetic diseases.

The Social Studio takes the baton from the positive experience of the Social Room on the web, tested during the 2015 Telethon marathon.

Also this year, the Fondazione Telethon social media team will be active throughout the week with in-depth features on patient stories, research results, the backstage of the television marathon, and fundraising in public spaces, in partnership with Rai Digital’s digital platforms, RayPlay, Rai1, Rai2, Rai3, RaiRadio1, RaiRadio2, RaiRadio3, Rai IsoRadio, RaiRadio7Live, and Rai’s Press Office.

As a testament to the contribution that social media can make to research on rare genetic diseases, from December 14th to 20th, in collaboration with IgersItalia, the largest community of Instagram enthusiasts, Fondazione Telethon will launch a photographic challenge, asking users to capture and post images of their personal response to the appeal. Instagrammers will be called upon to tell, through images, a gesture of love and care towards a loved one. The photographs will be accompanied by the hashtag #presente, with the aim of making the awareness and fundraising campaign for rare genetic diseases go viral.

The most significant photos will be published on the website and in a gallery on the Fondazione Telethon Facebook page.

To donate:

. From December 2nd to 20th, 2016, the solidarity number 45510 will be active. The donation amount will be 2 euros for each SMS sent from TIM, Vodafone, WIND, 3, Postemobile, CoopVoce, and Tiscali mobile phones. It will also be 5 euros for each call made to the same number from fixed-line networks TWT, Convergenze, and Clouditalia, 5 and 10 euros for each call always to 45510 from fixed-line networks TIM, Infostrada, Fastweb, and Tiscali, and 10 euros from Vodafone fixed-line networks. Furthermore, the CartaSi Freephone number 800.11.33.77 will be active from December 1st to 31st for credit card donations.

You can support Fondazione Telethon all year round through the website with a donation (http://www.telethon.it/donation/) or by choosing a solidarity product (https://www.telethon.it/shop-solidale), or by subscribing to the regular donation program Adotta il Futuro (https://adottailfuturo.telethon.it/).