Global Goals

Roof design at the Expo2020 in Dubai.
Credit: Sasha Pritchard, Canva Images

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SDG Storytelling Lab

Addressing the world’s greatest challenges, from climate change and biodiversity loss to gender inequality, requires action from all sectors and all individuals. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are humanity’s blueprint to tackle these challenges – in many ways they are the world’s ‘to do’ list – but progress towards them needs to rapidly accelerate.

As storytellers, the creative industry has a pivotal role in inspiring action to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Programme for People and Planet at Expo 2020 in partnership with Dignified Storytelling, United Nations Department of Global Communications and Edinburgh Science brought together creatives and change-makers to explore opportunities for progress and look for solutions that uphold human dignity.

Stories can be a powerful tool to bring people together in our shared humanity, amplify voices and foster agency for marginalised identities as well as influence positive social change. Through a masterclass with industry leaders and a collaborative design sprint, participants discovered ways to use their creative talents to tell stories that empower, inspire and help to achieve the global goals.

Speakers of the Day

This masterclass was created by industry leaders including Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations, Philip Thomas, Cannes Lions Chairman and President of Ascential’s Marketing Division and Till Hohman, Chief Creative Officer MENA Region at Ogilvy who shared their thoughts on creating impactful campaigns that expand on the principles of Dignified Storytelling. The session was followed by a collaborative design sprint that enabled participants to discover and share creative ways to tell stories that empower, inspire and help to achieve the global goals.