New hip hop music video highlights Sustainable Development Goals and marks 100 day countdown to the International Day of Peace

A new hip-hop music video, entitled “Sustainable Development Goals: Improve Life All Around The Globe", was launched by the United Nations on 13 June 2016 to mark the 100 day countdown to the International Day of Peace. The video was produced by Flocabulary in partnership with the Education Outreach Section of the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information.  The video aims to teach young people throughout the world about the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals and how they can help build peace. It is available in all six United Nations official languages.

In his 100 day countdown message issued today to provide an opportunity for civil society and educational institutions to promote the ideal of peace, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.  This year’s theme – the Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace - highlights how ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring broadly shared prosperity all contribute to global harmony.  “When people feel secure in their abilities to provide for their families, when they are given access to healthy lives, and when they feel truly included in their societies, then they are much less likely to engage in conflict”, Secretary-General Ban said. “Peace runs like a thread through all 17 of the Goals.”

The music video, which breaks down the complex 17 Sustainable Development Goals into easy to understand concepts, will inspire young people around the world to take action to support the United Nations development agenda, which is essential to achieving peace.

In a related effort to encourage learning in a fun and creative way, the Education Outreach Section has launched today a new video contest to offer a platform for youth to express their ideas on how the Sustainable Development Goals can help build peace.  The contest is open to young people from ages 15 through 24 years, who may submit 10 to 15 second video clips on their vision for sustainable peace. The clips will be posted on a dedicated YouTube channel and the winning clips will be screened at the global student video conference that takes place on 16 September 2016 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. To view the music video, and learn more about the contest, please visit www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/. Students can also share their ideas through Twitter using the hashtag #peaceday.

The International Day of Peace, observed annually on 21 September, was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day, and to otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace. The Day is devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples, which depend on the intellectual and moral solidarity of humankind. In that regard, the Day aims to develop a culture of peace, in which dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.

The Sustainable Development Goals were unanimously adopted by all 193 Member States of the United Nations at a historic summit in New York in September 2015.  For more information about the goals, please visit www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals .

The Education Outreach Section creates and disseminates educational material on the United Nations for teachers and students at all levels to further their understanding of and build support for the priority issues of the Organization.

Flocabulary is a web-based learning programme for all grades and subjects that uses educational hip-hop music to engage students and increase achievement.  Teachers in more than 50,000 schools have used Flocabulary’s standards-based videos, instructional activities and formative assessments to develop core literacy skills and supplement instruction across the curriculum.  For more information on Flocabulary, please visit www.flocabulary.com.

Media contacts Brenden Varma, Education Outreach Section, United Nations, 1-212-963-7238, varmab@un.org,

Molly Cronin, Community& Partnerships, Manager, Flocabulary, 1-718-852-0105 ext. 28, molly@flocabulary.com.

Download the announcement here.