The United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC) has partnered with the Rock in Rio music festival to promote the SDGs.
Together, the Portugal Desk of UNRIC and Rock in Rio challenged the Lisbon City Council’s Urban Art Gallery to curate art that illustrates the Sustainable Development Goals and the themes on the top of the UN’s agenda.
The result of the challenge was nothing short of impressive several murals depicting the SDGs created by Portuguese urban artists.
Each mural contained a QR code with information on the SDGs. The murals showed the situation in Portugal, the initiatives that the festival is already implementing in pursuit of the Goals, and simple, sustainable behaviours that everyone should adopt in their daily lives through the Act Now Campaign.
Festival fans shared this initiative on social media. Over four days, more than 250,000 people attended the festival.
At the end of Rock in Rio, the murals were auctioned off at the traditional Solidarity Auction alongside guitars autographed by various artists and official footballs signed by big names in Portuguese football.
The funds raised from the auction will benefit two projects: one for reforestation efforts in Fafião and Pincães in the Municipality of Montalegre and another for an awareness project on ocean protection and beach cleaning involving communities and schools.