The Public Toilet – interactive sculpture launch on World Toilet Day

This Saturday a four and a half metre tall squatting man will appear beside London’s Tower Bridge. The artists’ collective greyworld has created this huge interactive sculpture called The Public Toilet for World Toilet Day.

With a screen on the face of the statue, the public can show their support for World Toilet Day by uploading a short five second video (or photo) of their face via www.thepublictoilet.com. The videos are then streamed onto the statue’s face and shown on the website.

Unilever’s hygiene brand Domestos and the World Toilet Organization (WTO) commissioned The Public Toilet, to symbolise the plight of 2.5 billion people who don’t have access to improved sanitation, of whom 1.1 billion are forced to practise open defecation.

Viet Nam: world’s first Unilever-sponsored Toilet Academy opens in 2012

Unilever is partnering with the World Toilet Organization (WTO) to set up Domestos Toilet Academies around the world, starting with a pilot Academy in Viet Nam opening in 2012.

The Domestos Toilet Academy will run month-long training courses for local people interested in setting up their own businesses to source, sell and maintain toilets, and educate local communities on the importance of sanitation.

In Viet Nam, only half the population has ‘some sort’ of sanitation facility, and 82% do not have access to facilities that meet the hygiene standards of the country’s Ministry of Health. “Only 12% of schools actually have hygienic toilet access, with rural areas suffering the most”, said WTO founder Jack Sim.

Unilever will also be partnering with UNICEF to help promote health through improved hygiene and access to toilets, stated Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Unilever.

Domestos is the Unilever brand name for its bleach products (also sold as Domex, Glorix, Klinex).

Source: Unilever, 14 Nov 2011