We’ve  all heard of the UN’s 2030 agenda, with its 17 goals to reach before 2030 to make the world a better place, as well as saving it. However, words can’t fully express and describe where we are in the process of reaching these goals. This is where photographs can help our brain understand which aims we are failing, and also the ones we are fulfilling.

Time to Change is a photo exhibition right in the centre of Milan, in corso Vittorio Emanuele. This exhibition, open until the 28th of October, shows beautiful and unique photographs taken from all over the world, each image displayed because it represents where the world is in the process of reaching the UN’s goals. Each photo tells a story, some of which condemn our behaviour towards the environment, while others celebrate our steps towards a fairer world. 

An example is the photo representing the gender equality goal (number 5), which portrays the first woman instructor to teach women to drive in Saudi Arabia, after the ban was lifted. 

Or maybe the one for sustainable cities and communities (number 11), which shows the tallest wooden skyscraper in the world, which also absorbs CO2 emission.

However, photos also show what the brutal damage humans have caused to the environment. This is seen with the goal for climate action (number 13), which shows an arctic fox in the Svalbard Islands, which is supposed to camouflage with the snow but isn’t able to because of global warming.

These photos help us reflect on our impact on the world, both positive and negative. We still have 7 years to fulfil the aims in which we are failing, but we have to start changing now, in our daily lives, for a better future.

Sources:

Grassia, Vera. “Time to Change: La Mostra Di Stefano Guindani e Banca Generali.” The Wom, 9 Oct. 2023, www.thewom.it/culture/womfactor/time-to-change-stefano-guindani-banca-generali-mostra-milano-2023. 

“I 17 Obiettivi.” BG4SDGs, 25 Aug. 2023, bg4sdgs.com/i-17-obiettivi/.