DE FACTO
A personal look into the United Nations Millennium Goals
This exhibition was inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and it was presented the week of the United Nations world leaders’ gathering in New York for the Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.
After the United Nations Summit in 2015, the general debate of the 70th session of the General Assembly took place.
Back then, the 8 resulting Millennium Development Goals were discussed, and new goals for development were launched: the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the early days of the new millennium, world leaders committed to the achievement of eight goals to fight poverty and its consequences.
The plan was to reach these goals—the Millennium Development Goals—by 2015.
The works in this exhibition were inspired by the 8 Millennium Development Goals. The pieces are sculptures that capture the essence of the goals in the shape of wearable objects and jewelry.
The idea was to create pieces that, while being visually appealing, made people think about these issues, going home with a reflection in mind.
The goals represented by this wearable work were:
1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. To achieve universal primary education
3. To promote gender equality and empower women
4. To reduce child mortality
5. To improve maternal health
6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. To ensure environmental sustainability
8. To develop a global partnership for development
According to the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals have given place to the most successful anti-poverty movement in history.
Data showed that some goals were partially achieved, and significant progress has been made in most of them.
However, because it’s not an easy thing to measure, the big question remains: How reliable is data?
The undeniable truth, also a worrisome fact, is that still in the 21st Century, even with all advances that humanity has accomplished, billions of people around the world still suffer the ravages of poverty and war.
Exhibition photography by Dan Fenstermacher