Paris: more than 5 000 people leave their handprints and commit to the Sustainable Development Goals

For a week, Parisians and passers-by were invited to choose one of the 17 sustainable development goals, dip their hands into the paint can corresponding to the objective and leave their handprints on a 20-metre-long fresco. In the space of a few days the 17 ODDs appeared, brightly coloured, on the banks of the Seine. The gesture is symbolic and the result splendid.

The fresco which has been placed below the Leopold Sedar-Senghor bridge at 11 quay Anatole France in Paris, can be seen until 20 October.

Children, adults, tourists, but also personalities, such as the French Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, Elisabeth Borne, the Director of the United Nations World Food Programme in France, Geneviève Wills, the Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of climate, Celia Blauel or the filmmaker Elie Chouraki have all left their handprints.

Supported by the UNRIC France and Monaco Office, the fresco is the work of three street art artists, Comer OBK, Jungle Raid Dog and Crey 132. With all of them being heavily involved in the fight against inequalities and in the mobilisation of communities for sustainable development, they designed and hosted this event for a week.

As initiators of the project, the 4D association, which received the support of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe), wishes to now recreate this experience in other cities to continue raising awareness of the challenges of sustainable development and strengthen citizen engagement.

"It is important to take the Sustainable Development Goals out of the closed inner circle and make the Agenda 2030 known to the general public. The SDGs are everyone's business. They are the best way to reconcile the fight for the environment and the fight for more social justice," said Fabienne Pompey, Head of the UNRIC France and Monaco Office.

"We are very pleased to have supported this initiative and will be working with 4D to renew this experience," she added.

A video presenting this fresco was shown at UN Headquarters on 25 September as part of the conference on Agenda 2030