Short overview:
At the Arvamusfestival this year the Estonian partner of Bridge 47, AKÜ, as Coalition for Sustainable Development hosted a two day campaign to promote the Sustainable Development Goals through various interactive GCE activities that provided a fun and engaging way for people who had no previous knowledge of the goals to learn more. Coalition partner Government Office facilitated a wider area/stage “Estonia 2035” and hosted various panel discussions about Estonian future and sustainable development. Bridge 47 National Officer for Estonia, Kristen, was also invited to join a panel discussion organised by Coalition partner Governments Office and event partner Open Estonia Foundation.
Partners:
- Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Coalition, initiative for the wall)
- Government Office of Estonia (Coalition, facilitating discussion area/tent)
- Open Estonia Foundation (external partner, one of the panel discussions)
With support from other members of the Coalition for Sustainable Development.
Conception:
Idea for the Sustainable Development Goals campaign came from Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was part of the #2030isNow initiative among all other European MFAs and asked (as a future member of Coalition For Sustainable Development) us to facilitate the event. An interactive wall was set up and remained as an ongoing activity throughout the two days. The different activities included watching videos, listening to stories, expressing opinions on different SDGs, learning more about the specifics of the SDGs, drawing, taking selfies with friends, picking favorite SDGs and making pledges. The wall setup is shown in the pictures.
The interactive approach was extremely popular and we had altogether thousands of participants. It was overall a huge success and a model for campaigning for the SDGs in the future, feedback from participants and partners was very positive.
Our campaign was also visited by the President of Estonia Ms Kersti Kaljulaid at the Festival. The President tried out several games on the “wall” and signed hundreds of sustainable promises left on the wall by Estonian people.The President also joined a panel discussion organised by the Government Office.
The panel discussion organised by Open Estonia Foundation was a broad discussion on the topic of young people and the future of Europe. The other participants were a Swedish young politician Gustaf Göteberg, Klen Jäärats from the European Union Secretariat and Lukas Ilves from Guardtime. The panel was livestreamed and can still be watched online.