On August 18, the official opening of installations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took place on the territory of the capital's international airport Nursultan Nazarbayev. The exhibition was prepared by Kazakh eco-designer Aigerim Akenova for the first regional SDG summit held in Almaty in 2019.
Each of the art objects represents one of the global goals, revealing its relevance and suggesting possible solutions. For the production of exhibition items, the author used natural and innovative synthetic fabrics that cause the least damage to the environment. Responsible consumption and production is essential for a designer.
All installations have a description in three languages. Many art objects are interactive: for example, the installation for SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements” has a notebook with children's drawings about the cities of their dreams, which you can scroll through and leave notes.
The installation for SDG 1 "Eradicate Poverty" demonstrates that in the modern world, all people are interconnected thanks to digital technologies, and the gradual elimination of poverty is possible only through joint efforts.
The image of a child was also not chosen by chance, because children are a bridge to the future, and, at the same time, they are the most vulnerable category of the population.
The installation "Inexpensive and Clean Energy" in the image of a gold-colored man with a ball-shaped head and perforations on the crown symbolizes the growth of electricity consumption, each of his actions is associated with energy. This resource should be accessible to everyone and be environmentally friendly.
The installation “Decent Work and Economic Growth” portrays a woman with a disability demonstrates the need to promote inclusive economic growth and provide decent work for all, following the key principle of the SDGs “leaving no one behind”.
The installation "Fighting Climate Change" demonstrates the effects of climate change. The crouching figure of a metal-framed man demonstrates his helplessness in the face of climate change. On top of the mannequin's head are ice cubes that melt and flow down the stones, destroying everything in their path. There is a niche for collecting water in which the word "consequences" floats.
The event was held within the framework of cooperation between Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport JSC and Economic Research Institute JSC with the support of the United Nations Development Program.
“Sustainable development is possible when three main components are in balance: economic growth, social responsibility and environmental balance,” said Bauyrzhan Mkan, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Economic Research JSC, opening the exhibition.
According to him, environmental problems, global climate change, social and gender inequality are only part of the systemic crises and global challenges that countries, corporations and people have faced with aggravation at the present time. According to the speaker, this clash led to an awareness of the importance of sustainable development. “Sustainable economic growth in modern conditions, in addition to fast and well-coordinated steps, requires a wider involvement of the population. Therefore, the installations presented can serve as a signal to people about the need to take care of the limited resources of our planet, ”stressed the head of the institute.
Vitalie Vremis, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kazakhstan, in turn expressed UNDP's readiness to continue supporting national efforts to implement the SDGs in the country.
“Today's pandemic and the impacts of climate change, which we have felt in full this year, have highlighted the links between the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development like nothing else, while significantly slowing down the achievement of the SDGs in all countries of the world. In this regard, today more than ever, coordinated partnership work of the government, the private sector, civil society and citizens is important to make sure that we leave a better planet for future generations, ”said Vitalie Vremis.
The SDGs are 17 interconnected goals, developed in 2015 by the UN General Assembly as a global strategy that brings together social, economic and environmental issues.
On September 25, 2015, at the UN headquarters in New York, world leaders, including heads of state and government, adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals aimed at eliminating poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, and tackling the challenges of climate change.
In Kazakhstan, in August 2018, the Coordination Council for the Sustainable Development Goals was established under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The coordinating body of the Council's work is the Ministry of National Economy. In the role of the Secretariat for the SDGs, JSC "Economic Research Institute" was officially approved, which provides expert and analytical support for the implementation and nationalization of the SDGs in the country.
Article originally published on UNDP Kazakhstan