Photo exhibition on Sustainable Development Goals opens
KARACHI: The photo exhibition ‘Pakistan Sustaining Development: Human Stories through Photography’, comprising 102 photos divided into collections representing each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, opened at the Sadequain Art Gallery on Wednesday.
The SDGs aim to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.
The exhibition represented different elements of Pakistani society; it aimed to capture the endurance and perseverance of Pakistanis, and bring people together to help Pakistan achieve credible and effective development in all sectors.
Mayor of Karachi Wasim Akhtar was present at the event and spoke about how the exhibition was a true depiction of Pakistani society. “We have to admit that it’s still a long way to go to achieve SDGs. We all have to work together in order to achieve SDGs.”
He also assured all partners of the exhibition of the support of the local governments of Sindh to fulfil the SDGs’ agenda in the province.
Poverty was an overt theme at the exhibition. The trials and tribulations an average Pakistani faces were captured brilliantly. Photographer Nicolas Asfouri’s picture of an eight-year-old girl, a bonded labourer working at a brick factory on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, captured the essence of how children in the country suffered greatly and were deprived of their basic rights.
Vocational training and skilled labour, a way forward for Pakistanis, was also represented through photos showing the inner workings of the textile mill. In small towns as in big, learning trade is a constant process, and students learn new skills to better their future. The photo by A. Majeed captured this essence with a young student learning wood carving at a vocational training institute in a small town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Vittorio Cammarota, director of the UN Information Centre, shared how the exhibition was an attempt to highlight the development issues in Pakistan, especially for the general public who might not be completely aware of them.