The global crisis situation confronts us with alarming shortcomings and poses existential challenges for all of us. Nevertheless, the midterm assessment of the 2030 Agenda is sobering: none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals appears to be within reach—indeed, only nine percent of Germans are even aware of the 17 SDGs.
To reach the public and inform people, moving-image formats and audiovisual content are indispensable communication tools. Digital social media campaigns in particular—on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and beyond—have the potential to motivate individual action on an emotional level. But how does storytelling function as an instrument for achieving the sustainability goals?
To ensure that these important stories are told effectively, Global Day: Stories for Change has, since 2019, connected the moving-image and media industries with development policy stakeholders. It presents strategies and best-practice cases demonstrating how audiovisual content can be successfully used to communicate development policy issues and the Global Goals. The conference takes place annually as part of the FILM FESTIVAL COLOGNE at the Filmpalast Cologne. It is followed by the presentation of the NRW Media Award for Development Policy Engagement, awarded jointly with the State of North Rhine–Westphalia.
Previous speakers and guests have included Auma Obama, Annette Frier, Maria Popov, Jonathan Berlin, Yasmine M’Barek, Frederick Lau, Raúl Krauthausen, Neven Subotić, Rick Zabel, Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Tuğba Tekkal, Dunja Hayali, Tyron Ricketts, and Katharina van Bronswijk.
