The Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development just kicked off today at the World Conference Centre Bonn – and it’s not the usual (boring) kind of conference you’d expect. In the words of Dr. Ingolf Dietrich, Director of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Festival is “colourful” and “unconventional” which is “exactly what we need [to achieve the SDGs].”
If you are not in town for the Festival, or missed out the webcast earlier, here are the best moments at the opening plenary for you to get a taste of the Festival:
1/ Mitchell Toomey, Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, opened the Plenary with an overview of what the Festival is like: it’s action-oriented, co-created by participants on-site and behind the screen.
.@SDGAction Global Director @mtoomeyUN about the @SDGglobalFest: “This festival is focused on the transition from ideas to action and entirely designed by you and by the people at the live stream”. Join the conversation via @UNWebTV and tweet with #SDGglobalFest! #ACT4SDGs pic.twitter.com/ddJ6g1B7dy
— UN SDG Action Campaign (@SDGaction) March 21, 2018
2/ We received a lot of love from Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of United Nations! In the video message, she invited all “doers and drivers” at the Festival “to overcome barriers and create systemic change – together.”
A message from the Deputy Secretary-General of the @UN, @AminaJMohammed: "We face many tests, but we have a blueprint for a better world, the #SDGs. And the SDG movement is led by people like you. Keep using your courage to think outside the box and #ACT4SDGs." #SDGglobalFest pic.twitter.com/kXj0hEgQkE
— Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Dev (@SDGglobalFest) March 21, 2018
3/ Climate change is related to all 17 SDGs, which is why we had Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to encourage every one to get on board for Agenda 2030.
"#Climatechange is connected to all 17 of the @UN's #GlobalGoals. If we do not achieve the #ParisAgreement #ClimateAction goals, we will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals" – @PEspinosaC at opening of #SDGglobalFest in Bonn. Watch webcast: https://t.co/JEG1G2zImV pic.twitter.com/LolHgrs3ET
— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) March 21, 2018
4/ H.E. Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire from Nigeria also called for more collaboration and inclusive action. This concluded the high-level speeches – read on to learn the fun stuff at the Plenary!
"If you want to go far, go together. No government alone can claim to have the simple magic to achieve the #SDGs. Business, academia, #women and marginalized people must be involved" – H.E. Princess @Adejoke_O_A, assistant to the Government of Nigeria on the #SDGs. #SDGglobalFest pic.twitter.com/9auUzvxMDY
— Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Dev (@SDGglobalFest) March 21, 2018
5/ The mobile phone is not only a tool to share our stories, but also a powerful agent of change. Yusuf Omar, Co-Founder of Hashtag Our Stories, gave us a quick tutorial on how to create impactful mobile stories, while actually demonstrating it on stage – it’s just that easy!
It’s easy to make social impact videos with your phone📱. @YusufOmarSA just did it at the #SDGGlobalFest plenary! pic.twitter.com/G3vS6xZeAT
— Hashtag Our Stories (@hashtagourstory) March 21, 2018
6/ How can we take a global agenda like the SDGs, translate it to a local policy, and make real impact on people’s lives? María Fernanda Olvera Cabrera, General Director of Youth Institute INJUVE, shared the success story of the MYWorld Mexico project:
El #HospitalDeLasEmociones nace en 2016, cifras mensuales registraron 36 mil 370 personas usuarias, 5 mil 500 padres de familia, es una política de la #CDMX para el mundo que ha despegado gracias al impulso de @ONUMX @MYWorld2030 @SDGaction @mtoomeyUN y de ti que nos das tu voz pic.twitter.com/JCt6uhsSTI
— INJUVE CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (@InjuveCDMX) March 21, 2018
7/ Youth leaders are rocking the stage! Aya Chebbi, Founder and Chair of Afrika Youth Movement shared with us that “our voice, our power, and our solidarity” are the secrets to the success of any global action!
"There is no democracy without #youth", said @AfrikaYM Founder @aya_chebbi. "To gather more youth, social activists, change agents and #SDG drivers we all should protect youth spaces & civil society opportunities." #SDGglobalFest pic.twitter.com/fnJPCjvZho
— Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Dev (@SDGglobalFest) March 21, 2018
8/ Need to get focused before a long day of talks and workshops? The Plenary had you covered – with Renata Faria, Coordinator of Medita Na Rua leading a group meditation to kick start the day.
A meditation session by Miss. Renata Faria l Coordinator – Medita na Rua. @Renatafariac pic.twitter.com/3F9pvwqq99
— Joshua Dilawar (@joshuavd) March 21, 2018
9/ Who would have expected the Plenary was “rapped-up” with a beatboxing performance by Y? and Kaila Mullady from BEATGlobal?! Turn on the audio to rap along!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BglLjnjlIz7/
10/ Think the Plenary would end with the conventional, everyone-waving-at-the-camera group photo? Think again! The main goal of the Festival is to foster partnerships and networks to accelerate action for the SDGs – that’s why we were given ribbons to pass around – and formed a colourful network that connected us all!
#SDGglobalFest: Coming together & building a global network of @SDGAction! https://t.co/t5kDKhkGZN #ACT4SDGs #SDGs #globalgoals (Photo: Neil Baynes) pic.twitter.com/MgBXqXJw7k
— UN SDG Action Campaign (@SDGaction) March 21, 2018
Follow #SDGglobalFest for more live-updates of the Festival!
