Be Hope
When Hope becomes Action
- Theme:
- General
- Type:
- Camapign / Communication
- Partner:
- Yinka Ilori / ONE / Sing for Hope
- Location:
- UK / Global
- Year:
- 2025
The challenge
In difficult times, hope can feel in short supply
With conflict increasing and support for global health, nature and climate under pressure, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the challenges facing the world.
But progress is happening. The challenge was to make those successes visible and remind people that change is possible, turning hope into a force for action.
The idea
Make hope impossible to ignore
Project Everyone created Be Hope, a campaign using creativity, culture and data to show that progress is already happening and inspire people to believe in what is still possible.
Working with artist and designer Yinka Ilori, the campaign brought hope into public spaces through his vibrant Hope Island artwork and the Be Hope Piano, alongside a new Hope Report produced with ONE Campaign and a global lesson plan from World’s Largest Lesson.
what happened
Art, music and evidence came together to tell a different story
Yinka Ilori’s Hope Island artwork appeared in locations across the UK, while a specially designed Be Hope Piano launched on London’s Carnaby Street with surprise performances from Rae Morris, Camden Stewart and the London Youth Choir.
The Hope Report highlighted evidence of global progress, while creators helped bring its stories to new audiences online. In classrooms around the world, the Be Hope lesson invited young people to create and share their own visions for a better future through a global digital story map.
790k+
children participated
11.8M
#BeHope hashtag reach
50+
partners supported the campaign
3
creators with audiences of more than 1 million
“One thing we all share is hope. It surrounds us, uniting us in our aspirations for a better future.”
Yinka Ilori
Multidisciplinary artist and designer
The Halftime Campaign
The word needs a halftime talk
- Theme:
- General / SDGs
- Type:
- Campaign / Communication
- Partner:
- Project17
- Location:
- Global
- Year:
- 2023
The challenge
At halftime, the world was behind
September 2023 marked the halfway point between the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and their 2030 deadline.
But with just 15% of the Goals on track, progress was falling far short of what was needed. The challenge was to convince leaders and the public that this was not the moment to give up, but the moment to recommit and push harder.
The idea
Treat it like the greatest comeback of all time
Project Everyone partnered with the UN Office for Partnerships to frame the halfway point as Halftime in the greatest match of our lives.
Using the language, energy and drama of sport, the campaign called on everyone, including world leaders, to come together for a Halftime Huddle and make the second half count.
At its heart was a new version of Al Pacino’s famous Any Given Sunday locker-room speech, recut with global news footage and featuring newly recorded lines from Pacino himself.
what happened
The Halftime message went global
The campaign film premiered during UN General Assembly week and was shown at the United Nations, Global Citizen Festival, Reuters Impact Summit and other major events.
Donated advertising spots put the film into the halftime breaks of major sporting events on NBC Sports and Sky Sports, while high-profile supporters including David Beckham, Coldplay, U2, Jennifer Garner and Forest Whitaker helped amplify the message online.
The campaign culminated in the SDG Halftime Show at the SDG Pavilion at UN Headquarters, bringing together global leaders, activists and performers including Mia Mottley, Amina Mohammed, Orlando Bloom, Yo-Yo Ma, Angélique Kidjo and Yemi Alade.
331M
potential campaign reach
2,000+
pieces of media coverage
11
high-profile supporters amplified the campaign
2
major sports broadcasters carried the campaign film
“I’m genuinely optimistic that with the right action and political will, in seven years, we could be looking back at one of the greatest second-half comebacks of all time.”
Richard Curtis
Co-founder, Project Everyone
The World’s to Do list
A plan to fix the world's biggest problems
- Theme:
- Communication / Campaigns
- Type:
- General / SDGs
- Location:
- Global
- Year:
- 2022
The challenge
The world has a plan. Now we need to get it done.
The Global Goals set out a plan to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, from poverty and inequality to climate change. But with 17 Goals and 169 targets, that plan can sometimes feel complex and distant from everyday life.
The challenge was to make the Goals feel simple, urgent and actionable, while building momentum around key global moments and reminding governments, businesses and individuals that everyone has a part to play.
The idea
Turn the Global Goals into the world’s to-do list
Project Everyone created The World’s To-Do List, reducing some of the world’s biggest problems and solutions into something everyone understands: a sticky note.
Developed with Karmarama and spearheaded by the Global Goals Business Avengers, the campaign transformed the Goals into a series of short, actionable tasks. A simple creative device became a flexible global platform that brands, activists, leaders and individuals could use to show what still needed to be done.
what happened
Sticky notes appeared around the world
The World’s To-Do List launched during UN General Assembly week in September 2021 through digital campaigns, films, billboards and large-scale public activations.
The campaign film was shown at the opening of the UN General Assembly and by Global Citizen, while outdoor activations appeared across the UAE, Nigeria, UK, US, Canada and India. The To-Do List was projected onto London’s Southbank Centre and Unilever headquarters, appeared on electric DPD vans and was later brought to COP26 in Glasgow through installations, events and local businesses.
Companies representing more than 700,000 employees even gave up space on their own websites and social channels to replace branded content with Global Goals sticky notes and their own commitments to action.
Result
More than a conference
800+
global changemakers brought together
26
events across the programme
28
organisations connected
“The incredible mix of people and profiles you brought together is extraordinary and a model for how new ideas and innovative solutions take hold.”
Susan C Gardner
Director, Ecosystems Division, UN Environment Programme
Credits:
The Global Goals Business Avengers, Youthtopia, Global Goals Week, ArtsHelp
Fifth Avenue Takeover
The SDGs in the heart of Manhatten
- Theme:
- Communication
- Type:
- General / SDGs
- Partner:
- Project17
- Location:
- USA
- Year:
- 2021
The challenge
Take the Global Goals beyond the walls of the UN
During the 76th UN General Assembly, world leaders gathered in New York to discuss some of the biggest challenges facing the world.
The opportunity was to take those conversations beyond the UN Headquarters and put the Global Goals directly in front of the millions of people who live in, work in and visit the city.
The idea
Turn Fifth Avenue into a showcase for the Global Goals
Project Everyone and the Global Goals Fashion Avengers partnered with the Fifth Avenue Association to create a striking public installation along one of the world’s most iconic streets.
Seventeen colourful pillars, one for each Global Goal, stretched from 49th to 58th Street. Each shared facts and information about an individual Goal, alongside mirrored panels designed to encourage people to stop, take photos and share the Goals with their own communities.
QR codes connected the physical installation to globalgoals.org, giving visitors an easy way to discover more and continue engaging with the campaign.
what happened
The Goals took over the heart of New York
For 17 days, the pillars brought the Global Goals into the centre of Fifth Avenue during UN General Assembly week.
The activation also marked the US arrival of the Global Goals Fashion Avengers following their UK launch earlier that year. Project Everyone celebrated with a reception at Goals House, bringing together leaders from fashion, business and sustainability for a conversation about the role of partnerships in achieving the Goals.
High-profile supporters visited the installation and social content helped extend its reach far beyond Fifth Avenue, with the campaign also attracting coverage from fashion and industry media.
31K+
social accounts reached
70
guests brought together at Goals House
“Fifth Avenue Association was honoured to partner with Project Everyone to bring an important installation to Fifth Avenue in celebration of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.”
Jerome Barth
President, Fifth Avenue Association
Forest for Change
Creating a pop-up forest in central London
- Theme:
- Convening / Events
- Type:
- General / SDGs
- Location:
- London
- Year:
- 2021
The challenge
Bring the Global Goals to life
After more than a year of art and culture being kept behind closed doors, there was an opportunity to bring people together again and reconnect them with the challenges facing people and planet.
For the third London Design Biennale, Project Everyone wanted to create an experience that would capture people’s imaginations, introduce them to the Global Goals and inspire them to add their own voice to the call for urgent action.
The idea
Plant a forest where a forest had never been before
Working with artist Es Devlin and London Design Biennale, Project Everyone transformed the iconic courtyard of Somerset House into Forest for Change.
Four hundred trees created an unexpected green landscape, leading visitors towards a clearing at its centre where an interactive Global Goals installation invited them to explore the Goals and consider the changes they wanted to see in the world.
what happened
Thousands of people stepped into the forest
Throughout June 2021, Forest for Change became a living space for art, music, conversation and action.
Visitors explored the Global Goals, shared their own messages for change and experienced a programme of performances, panels and discussions featuring voices including Celeste, Sadiq Khan, Amika George and Ini Archibong.
London schoolchildren also visited for art lessons, talks about the trees and the launch of the Royal Foundation’s Generation Earthshot, while the installation attracted widespread national and international media coverage.
28K
visitors explored the forest
1K+
messages for change shared
400
trees transformed Somerset House
23
varieties of tree planted
“It is our hope that an interaction with the Goals in the forest will be transformative.”
Es Devlin
Artist and Artistic Director, London Design Biennale
Credits:
London Design Biennale, Es Devlin, Scape Design, Scotscape, Beautiful Wonder, Brian Eno, John Cullen Lighting, Autograph Sound and Atelier One
Nations United
Celebrating 75 year of the UN
- Theme:
- General / SDGs
- Type:
- Content
- Partner:
- United Nations
- Location:
- Global
- Year:
- 2020
The challenge
Tell the story of a world at a turning point
In 2020, the United Nations marked its 75th anniversary and the Global Goals turned five, against the backdrop of a pandemic that was transforming lives around the world.
The challenge was to confront the scale of the crises facing people and planet, while showing that another future was possible and highlighting the solutions that could help get us there.
The idea
Imagine the world as it could be
Project Everyone worked with 72 Films and the United Nations to create Nations United, a unique 30-minute global broadcast exploring the world as it was, as it is and as it could become.
Combining powerful testimony, archive footage, data visualisation and music, the film explored COVID-19, poverty, inequality, gender discrimination, climate change, justice and human rights, while putting the Global Goals at the heart of the path forward.
what happened
One film reached audiences around the world
Nations United premiered in September 2020 as part of the UN’s SDG Moment.
The film brought together voices including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Amina Mohammed, Malala Yousafzai, Don Cheadle, Michelle Yeoh, Forest Whitaker and Thandie Newton, alongside performances from Burna Boy and Beyoncé.
Following its YouTube premiere, the film was broadcast by television channels including Sky and Al Jazeera and shown in more than 30 countries. A podcast extended the story further, while UN country offices used the film to bring the action needed to achieve the Global Goals to audiences around the world.
100M+
potential audience reached
30+
countries broadcast the film
1M+
views of films exploring gender, poverty and climate
590K
employees reached through the Business Avengers
“We feel the weight of history on our shoulders. The whole planet is at stake.”
António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Business Avengers
The world's biggest companies unite for the SDGs
- Theme:
- General / SDGs
- Type:
- Communication / Convening
- Location:
- Global
- Year:
- 2019
The challenge
Big business has a big role to play
Achieving the Global Goals requires action on an extraordinary scale. With their global influence, resources and connections, businesses have the potential to accelerate progress towards a more sustainable future.
The challenge was to bring some of the world’s most influential companies together, encouraging them to use their collective power to champion the Goals, inspire their employees and drive meaningful change.
The idea
Assemble the Business Avengers
Project Everyone launched the Business Avengers at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019, bringing together leading global companies committed to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each company became an Avenger for an individual Goal, using its operations, networks, resources and influence to raise awareness, inspire action and explore new opportunities for collaboration.
what happened
Turning collective influence into global action
The Business Avengers established a collaborative network, sharing ideas and best practices on issues ranging from diversity and inclusion to achieving Net Zero.
Members used their internal and external communications channels to amplify Global Goals campaigns, including Nations United, which reached half a million employees across the network.
Companies also collaborated directly with Project Everyone on campaigns and initiatives. Unilever supported the Youth Power Hacks, Avanti worked with World’s Largest Lesson to engage audiences in Nigeria and Salesforce brought the Global Goals to its annual Dreamforce conference.
Nearly 1M
employees represented by the Business Avengers network
$500BN
combined company revenue
500K
employees viewed Nations United
700K+
people engaged in Nigeria through World's Largest Lesson
“The Business Avengers network seems to exemplify the very best of private sector collaboration and innovation in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda.”
Dawda Jobarteh
Global Head SDG Strategy Hub, UN
