DUBAI – Discover the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), feel their spirit and be inspired to become a change-maker, as artistic performances, engaging educational journeys, interactive technology, stunning visuals and more bring the Goals to life like never before.
Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Goals Week, from 15-22 January, sees artwork across the impressive 22-metre tall Entry Portals, Expo signs and walkways, key touchpoints throughout and more – ensuring every visitor crosses the path of the SDGs and captures Instagrammable moments that also spread awareness.
The spectacular Kaleidoscope lights festival will steal the show after sunset, harnessing the beauty of photography, light and visual arts, while Expo’s beloved robot Opti, will be on hand to inform visitors about the various ways they can learn about the SDGs on the Expo site.
For Expo 2020 passport enthusiasts, Change the World is a new interactive and educational journey where visitors can collect SDG stamps from locations across the site in a special edition Global Goals stamp card, with a chance to earn a certificate and a food and beverage voucher worth AED 100.
Linked to an SDG each, stamps are earned by completing Flip Your Worldview quizzes, based on the Gapminder quiz, downloading the Act Now app and making commitments towards the SDGs. Stamps can be collected in 10 Majlis and seven pavilion areas, including Mission Possible – The Opportunity Pavilion; Alif – The Mobility Pavilion; Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion; the Women’s Pavilion; The Good Place; the UN Hub; and the Best Practice Area.
On 21 January at 1600 GST, visitors can join the Expo 2020 Walk for Climate Action, with Michael Haddad, UNDP Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Action. Despite his paralysis from the chest down, the inspirational athlete will lead a one-hour walk from the UN Hub in the Opportunity District to the Sweden Pavilion in the Sustainability District, spreading the message that we can all walk away from the climate abyss and preserve our planet.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s leading contemporary dance company and Arabs Got Talent winners (2014), Sima Dance Company promises a one-of-a-kind artistic interpretation of the Global Goals on 22 January at 1500 GST at Sun Stage. Accompanied by a live vocalist, the performance is inspired by the Arabic language, and driven by dignity, a desire for peace and a sensitivity for both people and planet – much like the Global Goals themselves.
Founded in Damascus by renowned Syrian-born Palestinian choreographer Alaa Krimed, Sima Dance Company has collaborated with the UAE’s key cultural organisations and events. The Expo 2020 performance forms part of Alserkal’s Cultures in Conversation series.
The 17 SDGs are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, as a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Expo 2020’s Global Goals Week, in association with the United Nations, will serve as a platform for world and thought leaders from around the globe to connect and work towards achieving the Global Goals at a critical time of uncertainty in the midst of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
Global Goals Week is the seventh of 10 Theme Weeks under Expo 2020’s Programme for People and Planet, offering an exchange of inspiring new perspectives to address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time.
(Subcribe to Asianherald: Kaleidoscope Light Festival at Al Forsan Park)