The SDG Pavilion
An Es Devlin installation at the heart of the UN
- Theme:
- SDGs
- Type:
- Convening / Events
- Partner:
- UN Office for Partnerships
- Location:
- USA
- Year:
- 2023
The challenge
The Global Goals had reached halftime
In September 2023, world leaders gathered in New York at a critical moment. The world had reached the halfway point between the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and their 2030 deadline.
The challenge was to create a visible, inspiring home for the Goals at the heart of the United Nations, bringing people together around the ideas and solutions capable of accelerating progress.
The idea
Build a beacon for the Global Goals
Project Everyone collaborated with the UN and artist Es Devlin to create the SDG Pavilion, a striking installation within the grounds of United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Pavilion featured 17 doors, one for each Global Goal, with artists, activists, poets, thinkers and makers from around the world invited to interpret them.
Inside, an ‘Assembly of the Trees’ created a unique setting for conversations, performances and events focused on moving the Goals forward.
what happened
A week of ideas, action and culture at the heart of UNGA
Throughout General Assembly week, the Pavilion became a home for talks, meetings and cultural moments exploring climate justice, health, AI, finance and the future of the Goals.
It hosted the SDG Action Zone, 17 Rooms, the SDG Advocates Meeting and Women Rise For All, culminating in the SDG Halftime Show, an evening of speeches, films and music.
Speakers and visitors included Mia Mottley, Amina Mohammed, António Guterres, Orlando Bloom, Forest Whitaker and Sadiq Khan, alongside performances from artists including Angélique Kidjo, Yo-Yo Ma, Yemi Alade and Rocky Dawuni.
2,100
people attended the Pavilion
4.5M
social media engagements
“Each door is a portal to one of the goals, seen through the lens of artists, activists, poets, thinkers and makers from every continent.”
Es Devlin
Artist and stage designer
Credits:
UN Office for Partnerships, Es Devlin, Empire, Scape Design, Scotscape, Betsee Parker, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Deloitte and Google.org
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
EXPO 2020 Dubai
Bringing the SDGs to life at Expo
- Theme:
- General / SDGs
- Type:
- Communication / Convening
- Location:
- UAE
- Year:
- 2021/2022
The challenge
Take the Global Goals to a truly global stage.
Expo 2020 Dubai brought together countries, cultures and ideas from around the world at a moment when communities were emerging from the disruption of the pandemic.
It created an opportunity to take Global Goals Week beyond New York for the first time and bring governments, businesses and citizens together around a shared question: how could the world accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and build a fairer, greener future?
The idea
Make the Global Goals impossible to miss.
Working with Expo 2020 Dubai and the United Nations, Project Everyone helped bring Global Goals Week to life across the Expo site.
The Global Goals identity and World’s To Do List became a powerful visual thread throughout the week, including a spectacular projection onto the Al Wasl Dome, the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface, accompanied by a procession of SDG flags carried by Global Goals advocates.
what happened
A week of action at the heart of Expo 2020.
From 15 to 22 January 2022, Global Goals Week brought together world leaders, policymakers, businesses, young people and changemakers to explore solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.
Project Everyone co-curated the Global Goals for All flagship event, with contributors including UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment Mariam Almheiri, UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake and Bill Gates.
Across the week, events including the Global Goals Business Forum and Global Best Practice Assembly explored climate action, gender equality, innovation and the role of business in delivering the Goals by 2030.
8.27M
social media impressions
7.5M
total campaign reach
281
social posts across five platforms
“Let us join hands together and end poverty, reduce inequality and protect our planet. Let us deliver the SDGs, our Global Goals for humanity, now!”
Amina J. Mohammed
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
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
Goalkeepers
A multiyear partnership with the Gates Foundation
- Theme:
- Health / SDGs
- Type:
- Convening / Events
- Partner:
- Gates Foundation
- Location:
- US
- Year:
- 2017
The challenge
Progress needs champions.
The Global Goals set an ambitious plan to reduce inequality and improve lives around the world. But achieving them requires progress to be measured, governments to be held accountable and new generations of leaders to be given a platform.
The challenge was to turn data into stories people could connect with and bring together those with the ideas, influence and determination to accelerate change.
The idea
Celebrate progress and the people making it happen.
In 2017, Project Everyone partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch Goalkeepers, a multiyear campaign dedicated to accelerating progress towards the Global Goals.
Combining powerful storytelling, data and partnerships, Goalkeepers shines a light on where progress is being made, where the world is falling behind and the people developing solutions to some of its biggest challenges.
what happened
Data, stories and solutions came together on a global stage.
At the heart of Goalkeepers is an annual data report tracking progress towards the Global Goals, alongside awards, practical ‘Accelerators’ and a growing community of changemakers.
Each year, Project Everyone helps bring Goalkeepers to life during UN General Assembly week in New York through an event combining statistics, storytelling, demonstrations, music and culture.
Speakers have included Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai, Jacinda Ardern, Graca Machel, Amina Mohammed, Trevor Noah, Priyanka Chopra and Queen Rania of Jordan, bringing global leaders together with innovators and advocates working to ensure no one is left behind.
400+
leaders brought together each year
50+
countries represented
“There is no such thing as a national solution to a global crisis.”
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates
Gates Foundation
