Poster Exhibition “17FOR17”

Minister,
Ms. Blincoe,
Ladies and gentlemen:

Welcome to the opening of the poster exhibition “17For17”. The Director-General regrets very much that he cannot personally be with us today and he sends is warmest regards. He asked me to present the following remarks on his behalf:

“Ladies and gentlemen:
A warm welcome to International Geneva, the operational hub of the international system and the home of numerous key actors who are strongly engaged in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Why is Geneva playing such a special role in the implementation the SDGs? Because three key ingredients are coming together in a unique way and that’s commitment, collaboration, and communication.

Firstly: commitment. More than 100 operational and technical UN and other international agencies and organizations, combined with 178 Permanent Missions of Member States, more than 400 NGOs, a vibrant private sector and world class academia have grasped the challenge, demonstrated strong commitment and are working hard to implement the SDGs.

Secondly: collaboration. Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the actors of International Geneva have been strengthening cooperation across issues and organizations. This new way of working reflects the need to address today’s challenges together and to break down the existing silos. The creation of the SDG Lab in my Office aims to strengthen this cross-sectorial cooperation. The Lab creates avenues for knowledge exchange, by showing and amplifying best practices and innovation. It embodies everything the SDGs stand for – multi-stakeholder collaboration across silos, capitalizing on diversity and a new cooperative mentality to address the Global Goals in their indivisibility. And the Lab is generating results, to the point that it is almost becoming a victim of its own success.

Finally: communication. Two years before the SDGs were adopted and became our new roadmap for humanity, I created the Perception Change Project. Today, the project has more than one hundred partners and is all about communicating the collective impact of International Geneva on every citizen on this planet within any 24 hours. The PCP, as we call it, naturally came on board of our new joint mission to make the SDGs known to and understood by the wider public. It has found many different ways of illustrating in a fun and easily understandable way how agencies in this city contribute to realizing the Global Goals. To do so, the PCP launched a few projects, such as:

• Our #YouNeedToKnow campaign promotes the SDGs at airports. Following the airports of Geneva, Zürich and Heathrow, the campaign was also showcased across Greece, Spain, Portugal Morocco and Algeria. We are in the process of establishing the campaign at other airports.
• The “Fairy tales for a fairer world” remix the most famous children’s stories and highlight the SDGs all along the way.

Please have a look at the table over there for more examples of the work of the Perception Change Project.

Commitment, collaboration and communication are also at the heart of the exhibition “17For17” that we open here with you today. I am convinced that this exhibition will inspire us on how to further mobilize our energy for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. I would like to thank the organizers for this stimulating exhibition. My special thanks go to Denmark for helping us reach people’s hearts and minds with our joint 2030 Agenda. Thank you also to Chora Connection for initiating this creative project.

And thank you all for being here with us today and please enjoy the exhibition.”

These were the words of the Director-General.
Thank you.