Tbilisi hosts ’17 Faces of Action’ photo exhibition

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent one of the most important challenges of the modern era and, at the same time, set forth a specific agenda for building a better future. It is noteworthy that women around the world who are building motivating and inspiring cases through their work, activities and initiatives play a special role in achieving these SDGs.

The photo exhibition “17 Faces of Action” aims at promoting the activities of these women. It is an initiative of the United Nations Office at Geneva and its representative, Director-General Tatiana Valovaya, as well as the Association of Swiss Women & Empowerment (ASWE). The project, which envisages the creation of portraits and short profiles of 17 women in 17 countries, is based on the values of multiculturalism, human unity, equality and sustainable development.

It should be noted that Georgia is among these 17 countries. Therefore, a “17 Faces of Action” exhibition was organized at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia in Tbilisi and displayed from 2 to 5 July 2023, in cooperation with the United Nations system in Georgia and with the technical support of UN Women Georgia. Once again, it highlighted the contribution that Georgian women are making towards developing civic life and making the world a better place.

The exhibition featured the portraits of women of different ages, professions and experiences. Moreover, each woman’s story featured the efforts focused on achieving a particular SDG, namely their initiatives and steps towards improvement and the changes they have made. One of the women was Marieta Letodiani, a teacher and a project coordinator for the NGO Green Regions who has been working on the promotion and introduction of renewable energy and awareness-raising since 2008.

“This exhibition and this idea are very important for promoting the women who are active in various fields but are not very famous to the public,” said Marieta, who visited the exhibition as a spectator. “It is the best way to promote, encourage and motivate them even further. These 17 SDGs are closely linked to one another, and I hope that thanks to the efforts of active women and society, most of them will be achieved by 2030.”

The project “17 Faces of Action” was launched in 2022 and will be completed in 2024. For its final stage, the portraits taken in all 17 countries will be showcased to visitors as part of a general exhibition at the United Nations Office at Geneva.