Exhibition Featuring “Sustainability Stories” Worldwide in Images Opens at Museum in Dresden

The degradation of natural resources represents one of the most critical environmental megatrends worldwide and is of great concern to the United Nations and its Member States. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development reflects this concern in a wide range of indicators across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a bid to explore the Resource Nexus and sustainability in images, UNU-FLORES and the Technische Sammlungen Dresden (TSD) invited both amateurs and professionals to submit photographs and videos in conjunction with the UN International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development 2021. The competition received more than 400 entries from almost 40 countries, about three-quarters of which were from the Global South. The shortlisted photographers and videographers captured different perspectives on the Resource Nexus, particularly relating to agriculture, forests, circular economy, climate change, and biodiversity.

“The photo and video exhibits tell a story of action and advocacy for sustainable development. We hope that the wide range of perspectives featuring talents from the world over will continue to inspire visitors to the exhibition to reflect and take their own action for the planet,” says UNU-FLORES Director Prof. Edeltraud Guenther.

“The photographs and videos submitted from all over the world show that we are united by the consequences of the climate catastrophe and the overexploitation of natural resources, but also by the hope for a sustainable way of dealing with the riches of our planet,” adds TSD Director Roland Schwarz.

Hundreds of entries have been pared down to a shortlist of 22, which are displayed in an exhibition at the Technische Sammlungen Dresden from 24 July 2021.

The exhibition complements the ongoing “Wolke 8. Das Klima und Wir” exhibition at the Technische Sammlungen Dresden and will also be part of the Umundu Festival (24–26 September) that takes a developmental look at the global phenomenon of climate change.

The winners of the competition were announced on 9 July 2021 during the Long Night of Science Dresden (Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften).

This initiative is supported by the Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture (SMEKUL) within the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations University (UNU).