The United Nations’ celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The solemnity of the significant anniversary is overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which draws attention to the fact that we can only face the global challenges of our time together in order to build a better future for all. Therefore it cannot be stressed enough that 2020 should be a year of dialogue. To this end, the UN Office in Geneva announced the Future We Want International Art Competition in May 2020, open to all permanent representations accredited to Geneva. The winners of the competition were Lithuania, Liechtenstein and China, however, between 22 October and 12 November 2020, all the submitted art works will be exhibited at the Palace of Nations. At the International Art Exhibition Hungary proudly presents the work of a Hungarian artist, László Herbszt.

At the opening of the exhibition, the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN, Ambassador Zsuzsanna Horváth, also paid tribute and inaugurated the work of art submitted by Hungary.

 

 

Not only the exhibition bears the ’Future We Want’ title, but also the final document of the Rio+20 conference on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. During the conference, the UN General Assembly set up a 30-member open working-group with the task of developing the 17 SDGs. The working group was led by Csaba Kőrösi on behalf of Hungary and Macharia Kamau on behalf of Kenya in the form of co-presidency. Achieving the SDGs and supporting the least developed countries has been a priority for Hungary ever since.

 

Forrás: IISD, 2013

                                                                                   Forrás: IISD, 2013

 

The Covid-19 pandemic had a critical impact on global sustainable development and also brought a slowdown in the achievement of 17 SDGs. According to the 2020 SDG Report published in April this year, the virus pushed 71 million people into poverty, kept 500 million children away from access to education, increased the incidence of domestic violence by 30% and made the world face the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. In these difficult times, the UN is constantly drawing the attention of states and citizens to the importance of cooperation and empathy, as that is the only way we can get through the crisis and build a better, more sustainable future.