The Ripple Effect: Lifestyle for Impact | Goals Lounge

So good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for coming to our beautiful girls' lounge. So my name is Lucia, and it is my pleasure on behalf of the United Nations Fashion Lifestyle Network, which is Beth, Emmanuel, and Marie somewhere around the room. So we all are super grateful for you coming here, paying attention to us, and most importantly, working with us and driving impact for people and the planet. So today we are here for the fourth and final session of the annual meeting of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Everything okay?

Yes. Yeah.

Excellent. So over the past few days, we have explored how fashion, creativity, innovation, culture and sustainability can come together hand in hand to drive progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Our first session started a week ago. We brought together Portuguese designers, policymakers, and industry leaders, and really demonstrated that innovation anchored in tradition can really put together a business model that is competitive and is very very challenging global fashion market. Then our second session on Monday, we focused on the next generation of creative leaders. We brought them together with the five of the most leading and inspiring fashion design schools. We have here Polimoda, Swedish School of Textiles, Centre Saint-Martin, Fashion Institute of Technology, and Parsons School of Design. We all came together to really spotlight and figure out, explore how we can ensure that the next generation of creatives have all the tools and knowledge to really design the future that works for everyone. And we have launched very exciting free new accessories for the United Nations tour guides. They help our colleagues that bring to the UN and welcome to the UN the visitors, the public. They will make them more elegant and comfortable. And these accessories, they have been an outcome of the collaboration between our network and Swedish School of Textiles and Centre Saint-Martin. We are very proud of it. And what else? On Monday, we also heard from the creative director of Triarchy, Adam, who was standing in the spot with a big rack of denim jeans that have been, they are good enough to eat. You know, so he makes, you have been here, right? So he made, he came up with a technology that eliminated 100% plastics from the fabric. And now he's launching and testing a new technology of dyeing the jeans without the dyes. It's all printed. So there is a zero plastic, zero dye. So that was Monday. And yesterday we had yet another session. It's been a very busy week. We brought together a community of the network, friends and members and partners to really focus on materials and people behind it. We have heard from Swedish School of Textiles representatives, we have learned and showcased and had the chance to touch and admire the pina, the pineapple textile that is in the core of Philippines fiber industry. And we have heard from the incredible mostly women that are making waves on innovation and technology in the industry. We have also had here a representative of Pandora, the jewelry industry, that shared that sustainability that Pandora has been driving is very good for business. And today, today we are on our last leg of the series, of the annual series, and we are looking into lifestyle. Right. Like, well, lifestyle specifically on the transformative power of bringing people together through culture, sport, fashion, music, and what it means. How can we drive a difference? How can we drive a positive impact through our communities, both locally and globally, via these convenings, communities and cultural adventures. So I would like to express before I give floor to our first speakers, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our network members. Some of you are here in the room, some of you are watching us online and our strategic partners. We are really grateful to work with UNFCCC, colleagues in Bonn, Lindita specifically. We are very proud to work with Messe Frankfurt, one of our first members. We also work very closely with the city of Gothenburg, which hosts the UN Lifestyle Hub that drives locally driven solutions to global problems, an incredible series of research and events. that we should all pay attention to, and also to the Paul Frankenius Foundation. So now, it is my great pleasure to welcome our first speakers, incredible women, inspiring women, Omoiyemi Akarele, the founder of Lagos Fashion Week, and also the executive director of Style House Files. And she will be in discussion with Lucy Feldman, editorial director of Time. Ladies, please join me here. But before-- oh, OK. Please, please come here. Please have a seat. And before we give them the floor, we'll have a look at the video about the network. Thank you so much for coming.

And when it protects the environment and protects people, then you can really say that culture is regenerative.

Everybody can be an agent of change. Everybody can contribute. And there is no action too small. Let's build a better planet together.

Hi, everyone. It's so honestly incredible to be in this space with all of you. I feel like I'm kind of pinching myself. My new friend Jules and I were pinching ourselves when we walked into the building and just like took it all in. So amazing to be here. And I wanna properly introduce Omiemi, who is the founder of Lagos Fashion Week and also winner of the 2025 Earthshot Prize. So let's give her like a proper welcome. So my first question for you is just, you know, going back to the beginning with Lagos Fashion Week, why was sustainability something that you felt like you needed to bake in from the very beginning? Why was that important to you?

Thank you so much, Lucy, and thank you to United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network. It's really an honor to be here. Fast forward from the experience in Rio last year, and thank you, Lucy, for taking time out. So for us at Star House, Paris, Vegas Fashion Week, like you said, sustainability has never been something that's an add on for us. We consider it like we consider it a way of life. Designers on the continent are sustainable by necessity. We call them innovators, really, who've had to, you know, create despite despite what the environment looks like. And when I say environment, I mean like what the scene looks like, you know? So they're sourcing locally, they're working with craftsmen within their communities, you know, things are designed and made with love to last for a very long time. So we've always seen sustainability, not necessarily as an add-on, but as something that designers should embody. We've seen it more from the lens of responsibility and accountability. And so it's been very important to us at Lagos Fashion Week from the start that it wouldn't be another box that designers have to check, you know, to showcase with us. Because when you do it that way, then it becomes something that's completely different. You know, it's almost like.

Like a performance.

It's very performative and lip service. And, you know, sustainability is a journey. And the ultimate goal is ensuring that, you know, their work embodies that, but in a way that's really true to who they are. So responsibility is more a word that we would, that we like to use, thinking about it from a responsible approach and through the lens of accountability as well.

Can you tell us just quickly, like a quick overview, what are some of the standards that the designers who participate in Lagos Fashion Week are held to?

Okay, so we've had to do this over and over again because we get that question, what are the standards and what are they held to? So when we launched Lagos Fashion Week, the first Lagos Fashion Week in 2011, if I were to play the video now, like 90% of the fabrics and materials were not sourced locally. Designers were importing practically everything from outside the country, except a few. But we've always been mindful that our end goal is about ensuring that designers are able to contribute, one, to preservation of skills and craftsmanship that's been passed down from generation to generation, honoring it and protecting that technical knowledge. And it's also always been important to us to ensure that through that process, the environment, they're mindful of the environment they're sourcing and the communities from there. But in 2011, looking around the room, it was Completely different. People were importing and things were just happening. But by spotlighting a couple of designers each year who gradually started to embrace that approach to design. So through a process of honoring people, showcasing their work, showcasing the talents who've decided to source within Nigeria, we've seen a drastic change in the last 15 years. And so that's why for us, you're never going to see it on our website where it says, if you don't do X, Y, Z, you cannot showcase with us. But you will always see how we celebrate and honor the work of designers who are sourcing locally, collaborating with craftsmen within their communities, and just sharing that story of skills preservation, cultural exchange, and preservation of the environment. Because we always say that culture is the ultimate tool for regeneration, and over the years, we've been able to onboard so many designers who are an embodiment of this. And if you look at the catwalk today, and not just at Lagos Fashion Week, look at Dakar, look at South Africa Fashion Week, the designers are working locally. They're collaborating with artisans and craftsmen across countries and across, you know, across countries within the continent and within communities as well. And that for me is the ultimate change, you know, where people are intentional and deliberate about honoring a process and honoring, you know, this, this heritage of craftsmanship that's been passed down from generation to generation.

While we're talking about designers, for those of us who may be looking to, you know, beef up our wardrobes, are there any that you would point us to that you're really loving right now?

Oh, I always say that, you know, I love the work of designers in general. But I'm particularly partial towards designers that do a lot of work that involves through a lot of process that's been touched by hand, like touched by human hand, just the little details here and there. In the last six months, I think I've worn less prints than I would normally wear. And that's because of the stereotype around African fashion, because everyone assumes that if it's not prints, multicolored, then it's not African. So I enjoy now walking into rooms and people assume I'm not wearing African, and then I start to tell them the story of the fabric, the designer, and the process that's gone into designing the clothes. And yeah, so I probably am not helpful by telling you the names of designers, but yes, there's so many, so many, too many to count. you know and they're doing great work from Ima Seagull, Unkwo, you know, Emi Caspids, This Is Us, there's just so many of them and Ima Seagull for example what makes her work really beautiful is she sees her work as a tool for cross-cultural exchange and dialogue as well you know looking at the practice of artisans in different communities across Africa so she's constantly you know, traveling across these communities and collaborating and co-creating with them. Yeah. Yeah. We say that co-creation and collaboration is a starting point of any creative process. And that is always so beautiful to see.

I think that fashion diplomacy is really interesting and how what we wear is sending a message at all times. And that must be such an important part of your work and your role as, you know, you think about how you show up in the world.

Yes. when we launched Lagos Fashion Week in 2011, one of the things that was really important to us was the need for advocacy. I mean, I wouldn't be in this room today if I've not had to do several talks like this. So we realized earlier on that the world is saturated and fashion was looking a completely different perspective where anything that comes from the West is what should be beautiful, right? And we would go to trade shows then in 2011 and people would ask us, oh, was this actually made in Africa? And we would wonder, what do you even mean? Because they didn't understand that you could have well-made clothes that's coming from the continent.

And fast forward-- What do you say in that moment when someone is expressing that doubt.

Oh, I just bring them back home. Of course, it's made in, if it's in Lagos or made in Accra or made in whatever city it is, and it's made with love and made to last for a very, very long time. And that's the difference, and just ignore that. And we've done, through that process, we've hosted several you know, it's been great to see designers either go from stores like Selfridges to Moda Operandi here and just different stores across the world, you know, and that always makes a difference when people understand that the fact that it's made in Africa doesn't mean that, you know, it's made somewhere else in the world and then you're sticking the name of the brand or the label on it.

Right, of course. The theme today is the ripple effect, right? So when you think about the impact that Lagos Fashion Week has had on Nigeria, on Africa, what is the most meaningful change or influence that you've seen?

So with Lagos Fashion Week, one of the most important things is we've built around the idea of having an ecosystem. Should I say fortunately or unfortunately, there was no industry when Lagos Fashion Week launched in 2011. But we worked hard to build an ecosystem and to ensure that it doesn't just revolve around designers. It's something that revolves around designers, the artisans, even models, photographers, makeup artists, hairstylists, and building that ecosystem into one that people understand that there's a true sense of belonging and that we're all here because we're working together, as opposed to it being, oh, it may be vision of one person but working together we've been able to build and accomplish more so it's been great to see that and beyond that you know this year in June um it was important for us to just bring together like stakeholders from across the continent from Dakar Fashion Week to hub of um Addis Fashion Week to you know leaders from Kenya and just different people to create and build a manifesto. And what's really special about this was, you know, we asked ourselves the question, what do you think the DNA of Africa fashion is? Whatever that is, that's a conversation for another day, but what's the DNA? And, you know, how can we share that with the world so that people understand that, you know, we're not building another model that's extracted, we're building a system that looks like us for us and we can share. So through this manifesto, we came up with 10 different pillars you know that looks at culture as um traditional knowledge you know it looks at secular secular as Foundation not Trend down to consumers and the role that they play conscious consumption and it's really you know this project that may have originated from Lagos Fashion Week but we're so happy to share with the world because we believe that the 10 pillars can actually be shared with different platforms as well. And it can sort of be like the DNA or like a foundation for building a fashion future that's regenerative. 'Cause the biggest problem that fashion faces today is when we're talking about sustainability, everyone indirectly is asking themselves, how can I do less harm? But what we're saying is, no, actually the question should be thinking from an angle or an approach that's regenerative and responsible, which is how can I do more good? And we believe that, you know, with Africa fashion, we can tell that story, that fashion can, you know, do more good. And this starts with people. And when you start with people as the foundation, it's very difficult to go wrong. And don't get me wrong, I do believe in science, I do believe in technology, but when you forget the most important And supporting the room is honoring people. When you honor people, honor tradition, honor this legacy of craftsmanship that's been passed down from generation to generation, you will honor the earth. If you're not mindful about people, if you're not mindful about heritage, culture, where we've come from, you cannot appreciate what's right there in front of us. So until we begin to look at that, then I do believe that together we can.

That's a very powerful note to end on. Thank you so much, Omoyemi. I feel like we could talk forever, and I just really appreciate your insights and the intentionality with which you've built everything that you have.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Lucy. It's been great.

Thank you, Omoyemi. Okay, and now let us welcome Daniel, Allie, and Steven for the next panel.

Hey, everybody.

How are you?

Good afternoon. Nice to see you. Everybody's looking wonderful today and relaxed. I love that. That's the key.

Hi, everyone. I am Allie Criscuolo. I am the head of sustainability and corporate social responsibility at New York Road Runners, the host of the TCS New York City Marathon. I'm going to pass it over to Steven to introduce himself, and then we'll go to you.

I'm Steven Williams. I'm the president and CEO of WBGO, Newark Public Radio, which is based in Newark, New Jersey. And thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Hello, everyone. I'm Daniel Calarco, and I'm the artistic director for Rio de Janeiro Carnival, as you can see.

Awesome. We are so excited to be here today. And I'm going to kick it off by asking Daniel. So Rio Carnival is one of the world's most iconic cultural celebrations. What do you think makes people from around the world want to come together and really be a part of it?

So Carnival is considered one of the greatest shows on Earth. I'm responsible for 12 schools, who each one of them have over 3,000 members. They train the whole year for one night only concert that will never be shown again the same way. During 60 minutes to 80 minutes, they have to present magic concerts to impress not only the judges, but over 100,000 people who attend in person every day and over 180 countries who attend in person also. So Carnival is responsible not only for the economic growth of culture in Rio, responsible for around $1 billion just for four days of event, but more than that. It's to celebrate the people from our favelas, peripheries, and marginalized areas, to celebrate our culture, who has been out of the main stage for several years. And back to you, Steven, talking about music, I would love to know how WBO brings people together around jazz. What makes music such a powerful tool for inspiring communities to drive a positive impact?

That's an interesting question, Daniel, because music is such a powerful and very mysterious force, right? I don't think we've totally figured out how the power of music and how it really works, for example, One piece of music, two people, totally different reactions from one person to another. That's part of that mystery, right? Nonetheless, we endeavor to try to figure it out as music business practitioners. And I think, based on my own experience, I think the power of music for WBGO and for anybody who endeavors to use music as a way to communicate an idea or set of ideals It's really all about the shared experience. I mean, that's to sum it up. It's the way that music can bring people together in a positive force. No matter what language you speak, where you were born, where you were educated, where you work, we all have that affinity for the sound of music. And again, that's something that we haven't quite figured out, but I don't know if we need to, really. I think really what it's about is just simply enjoying the sound of music. And that's what we do at WBGO. That's part of our mission, is enjoyment. I have a question for you, Allie. Running is often thought of as an individual solitary, maybe even a spiritual activity. But New York Road Runners has been very, very successful in building a strong sense of community with running. I was a runner at one time, and I know all about that sense of community. Maybe you can give us a little bit more insight as to how you not just did it, but how you continue to do it.

Yeah, for sure. So Many people know that we are the hosts of the TCS New York City Marathon. So it is the world's largest marathon, it's very international, so it's bringing people globally together and tying them to running and getting out there, being active, reaching towards a goal and having that incredible experience in the city of New York. But what many people don't know is that we're also a very large nonprofit, so we are very community-based. We serve over half a million people in our community every year. We've been doing this for almost 70 years. We have a lot of non-profit programming in New York City and across the country. We have races and events almost every single weekend throughout the year. Our goal is really to bring people together and harness that power of running. Also, ever since the pandemic, there's been this running boom where people are really getting out there, joining running clubs. They don't wanna be behind a screen all the time. You wanna get out there and make human connections. So there's been this running boom. I met my husband in a running club. So there's just a lot of people wanting to get out there and make connections in your local communities. So we've been harnessing the power of that. It's now harder to get into the New York City Marathon than Harvard. So, you know, that's a fun fact. But we really want to make sure that future generations have the ability to enjoy running as we do today. So we want to make sure that they have clean air to breathe, green spaces to run in, and a world where they can healthily be active and enjoy that. So that's my role at New York Runners and what we're trying to do in terms of sustainability.

Start running, so maybe get married to you.

We'll have you anytime. All right, so, Daniel, question for you. How has inclusion historically shaped Carnaval, and how are sustainability principles now becoming part of its future?

That's such a tough question to us. As I mentioned in the beginning of my speech, Carnaval was for years considered a marginalized form of art, being a victim of police raids and exclusion, and being considered a lesser form of art, because it was made mainly from people from favelas and from black and brown people with the Brazilian-African heritage. Now we are prepping to celebrate 100 years of the parades in 2032. And I can clearly see the connection between the rise of the black movement in Brazil with the rise of carnival. And for me, it's because arts, music, and culture is one of the most powerful tools to demand and to create social change. And carnival is a living example of that. Every year, a school become the champion and win the big prize. And if you lose, you have to leave the league. Very similar to football. And the last two champions, they made the homage to black and brown men who was responsible for the carnival communities. we are able now not only to create a possible future, but doing that in a way that honor our pasts, the people who came before us and had to fight to have space. So now, and I'm sitting here at United Nations headquarters in New York, talking in English about the people who came before me, is an honor to recognize that was not granted, that was taken by the power of music. So thank you very much for having me. Still talking about music, Steven, how does WBGO and its partners collaborate to create opportunities for education, inclusion, and cultural exchange?

Well, we're in a unique situation at WBGO. To be a successful media organization in the nation's largest metropolis, you have to study diversity and inclusion. You really do have to be about everybody. And because we have such a wide variety of people who use WBGO for their enjoyment and for their information and for their source of entertainment, we welcome a wide variety of opportunities across the entire spectrum of engagement, workshops, concerts, art exhibits, educational opportunities for young people. One of the things we're doing right now, which is probably the largest endeavor for our organization, is we're building a $15 million broadcast facility to serve our community. And this broadcast facility, the development of this facility came out of a relationship, a partnership with one of our strongest business partners in JPAC, New Jersey Performing Arts Center. So to sum it up, you really do have to be flexible, open, and in some ways opportunistic, right? Because when the opportunities come, you have to avail yourself of them. And there's so many, especially being WBGO and what we represent for our community. Does that answer your question?

It did. Okay.

Thank you very much. Allie, to say the New York City Marathon is huge is a huge understatement. You know what I mean? There are only a couple of things that can shut down New York City entirely. The General Assembly of the UN, certainly one of them, and also the New York City Marathon. Just a quick story, when I lived in Park Slope, it comes right through that neighborhood. One of those years, my daughter had decided to move into a new apartment and she decided to move on Marathon Day, which was the most challenging thing that I could have ever thought of. But we managed to make it happen. But yeah, it is a monumental endeavor. How is sustainability being woven into a running culture and and how have you seen that conversion change?

Yeah, so we're at almost 60,000 people running the marathon, 2,000,000 spectators. As Steven said, it really shuts down the city. And so with that, there's environmental impact that we're trying to address. And so there's always been a history of sustainability at New York Road Runners where we are recycling and donating clothing at the start of the marathon. But we really made a formal commitment to sustainability seven years ago, along with many other world marathon majors and sporting events. And it's been incredible to see that grow over the past seven years. We really started with small actions and now we're on this journey to net zero by 2040. We're also a signatory of the United Nations Sport for Climate Action Framework, which is around 300 sports organizations around the world who are coming together for climate action. And it's really amazing to see the power of the collective come together there. We actually started something called Team for Climate, New York Runners Team for Climate. shout out to my colleague, Lou, in the back of the room who helped launch that. We launched in 2024 and we are the first sporting organization to have a entry method to a marathon tied to sustainability efforts. So the runners have the opportunity to fundraise for climate and environment. We also encourage them to train sustainably and have a sustainable race day experience. You know, they're taking the Staten Island Ferry to the start of the marathon. They are, running with their own hydration, maybe they're donating sneakers at our expo. So it's really a full lifestyle for them and that's been incredible to watch. And then Similar, other world marathon majors are doing similar things. And something that's key right now is water and water refill. When people ask what I do, the first question that always comes to mind is like, oh, cups? Are you talking about the cups and the waste? And they think about marathons, they think about all those cups that they see on the ground. So that's something that our industry has really been trying to address. And I'm really excited to share today in this room and announce that at the 2026 TCS New York City we will be having water refill stations for the first time ever on our course. So, yes, thank you. We've tested them and now they're ready to debut and so runners will have the opportunity to run with their own hand towel, their best container and refill on course, saving thousands of compostable cups from you know, a single use option. So really excited to continue that and really excited to see how this continues to grow. It's been seven years and there's lots of room for improvement to grow from there.

You know, if I can ask you something else here, actually, this will be a for for the both of you. The thing about the marathon that is so impressive and and so inspiring and hopeful really is the the the level of togetherness. All the people for every person that crosses that finish line, there are hundreds of people who are with them getting them from the very beginning across the Verrazano, through the parks, all the way to the end of the course. It's a hopeful experience really for those of us who observe it from afar. In a word, what gives you hope?

Great question. Very simple, but I'd just say teamwork. We can go further together, faster and stronger. So teamwork.

What about you, Danny?

Oh, for me, definitely is beauty. It is a challenge to find beauty in the hardest times when situations occur around you mainly If you're facing conflicts or lack of rights, usually you don't want to be pretty or look pretty, but find beauty in everything. Maybe a blazer from a designer from carnival, or maybe from a plant that you are able to do. What's more run that you made is important because beauty is what keep us alive and hopeful.

And if I can answer my own question, the United Nations, the togetherness embedded and embodied in this organization and events such as this, you cannot come away from this without a bag load of hope for the future.

Definitely.

Okay. I'd like to thank the two of you. This has been wonderful hanging out with you and getting to know you better through the answers of your questions. And I'd like to thank all of you for being such great participants and audiences in this effort. I think what we're going to do now is invite the next two guests, Wilma Wang, the president of Musea Pambata, and Julie Pastor, the curatorial assistant of Cooper Hewitt Museum. Thanks again.

Thank you so much.

OK. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Wilma, and this is Julie, and we're going to talk about museums today. Okay, so I'll start first. Great. So, Julie, Cooper Hewitt does a lot of work around social responsible design. Can you tell us what that means and why it matters today?

Yeah, socially responsible design is all of our collection and in a lot of our exhibitions. For a lot of audiences, it's an amazing way to see how design can transform the world, the transformative effect it can have. All of us have needs, and most of us use products or we use systems that are in our environments in order to meet those needs. But socially responsible design really addresses the communities that are marginalized or underserved whose needs are not being met by those systems and by those products, and it really gets at the heart of those economic, environmental, and social issues that are driving those inequalities. So through creative problem solving, you can improve access for those communities to things like clean water, food, fair housing, education, health care. And it's also a great way to sort of reach towards new perspectives and consider the needs of other kinds of communities. Makes you think outside of your own bubble. You don't need to be an expert designer in order to create socially responsible design. You can see a need and you can come up with a solution and it doesn't have to be an expensive solution. Some of the best socially responsible design comes out of grassroots and DIY efforts. And it can really just expand the way that we think about the tools that we use and what design can be. And I'll flip it to you. And at Museum Pambata, I know you focus on a young community, it's the heart of the museum. And it's so important to give those young people a role in shaping the world around them, rather than simply teaching them about it. So how does a museum go about doing that?

Well, I'm sure every one of you have heard the saying, experience is the best teacher, right? And then how many of you, and myself included, have gone through, let's say, a long winding lecture where you feel like everything just went through one ear and out the other. Any hands? I know I have. Okay, I mentioned that because it's really important, I believe, to get the youth, even the young children that visits my museum, involved at the very young age. Why is that? youth transition from being merely consumers of information to actually active creators of community change. Why do I say that? I think when we are involved, when we're engaged, we actually can do more. That's why it's so important to get the youth in the room. at the table in the conversations, right? So that, and how do museums do that, especially children's museum? Actually, children's museums serve as a safe and I would think as sort of like a testing ground for real world experience. That's where children learn about democratic play, not just in playground. where they learn about how hands-on learning can actually stick longer versus passive learning or passive lectures. So museums actually have a role to play for young children to develop and to involve and engage future citizens.

And for adults too.

That's true.

We always need that.

Okay, so Julie, Cooper Hewitt's upcoming Regenerative Futures exhibition explores how design can help us rethink our relationship with land, nature, and future generations. How can cultural spaces help people rethink the way we live?

Yeah, I would say it resonates a lot with what you just said about experience. We can't just tell audiences to rethink the way that we live. We need to... not only bring in the compelling design work, the change that is happening in the world around us, and the work by so many different kinds of makers that we want to feature, but we also need to create really engaging and compelling experiences that prompt those audiences to dive deeper and to think about those questions and to be inspired to ask questions. Through for Regenerative Futures, it's a show about landscape architecture. And one of our first thoughts is that the general public are mostly not experts in landscape architecture. And even if you're really design savvy, it's very hard to look at an architectural drawing and understand what you're looking at, understand what that's showing. And so because it is kind of a complex subject, how do you bring a general audience in? And the first thought we had was really working with the studios we selected to create installations gallery spaces. So to kind of create a sort of landscape within the gallery so that you see the work on a bit of a different scale, you kind of encounter it in different places. So you're not just trying to look at a drawing on the wall, you're getting close to a place, close to a project, and you're learning about an architect's strategy or how they're kind of connecting with the land or fostering resilience or regeneration. And that can also happen in a smaller scale too, through objects in a museum. Right now in our collection show that's on view, Design Across Time, we have, for example, a poster that has a very simple message in graphics that just says, "Oil and water do not mix." Very straightforward. It was made in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which was the worst oil spill in US history. And if you look at the text of the poster, it starts to shimmer a little bit. And that's because the ink that they made it with, they actually went to the site of the oil spill. They harvested sand from the shore that was mixed with the oil, and they brought that oily sand back to their studio, and they made it into something thin enough that it could pass through a screen. So that screen printed poster is actually made with oil from the spill. And I think that really shows how design can clarify and simplify really complex issues. You have that story, have that narrative, and it's our job to really surface those narratives and make them legible to all kinds of audiences. Thank you. And for Museo Pambata, I mean, you've really taken its work beyond physical walls. So how do you do that? What does it look like for a cultural institution to become part of the wider community rather than simply a place that people visit?

Thank you for that question. So actually we've been very, very busy the past year when I became president of Museo Pambata. We've launched a lot of inclusive community programs. One that is very close to my heart last year is we launched our mobile library. We are bringing books, storytelling, and play to marginalized communities, such as hospitals, orphanages, even street children. Back in the '90s, because our museum is 31 years old, our old tagline was, in Filipino, "Saaklat, si sikat." In English, that translates to, "In books, we will shine." Because there's, sad to say, in our country, the literacy gap is still very, very wide. And we're using Masya Pambata to hopefully bridge that gap by bringing books to these communities. Another program that is also related to education, so we've partnered with Khan Academy Philippines, are you familiar with Khan Academy? Yeah, because both my sons used that to get through high school SAT and the SAT for college. So anyway, Khan Academy Philippines came into the Philippines three years ago. And we decided to do a pilot program. We built a classroom, we called a classroom of the future in our museum building. And we are teaching actually every day, street children. Kids who are out of school. Why did we choose this particular marginalized group? We want to prove to our Department of Education that even kids who don't go to school can be taught through use of responsible ed tech. Right? So it's not just an online library. We do train teaching fellows how to use the platform, the modules of Khan Academy. And I'm happy to say that even just after five, six months, the learning has improved by 65% across all English, reading, writing, grammar, math, and science. These are kids who don't go to school, public school, but somehow they are learning and we're optimistic that they will get their high school diploma, somehow, and hopefully some of them will also make it to college. Another is, we've also, what's the other program, I'm trying to remember. Youthpreneur. We are going to launch a Youthpreneur program, because we know that entrepreneurship actually drives the economy. So we are targeting this time a different marginalized group. These are kids of persons deprived of liberty, incarcerated parents. Why did we choose? A lot of them, due to shame, due to embarrassment, they drop out of school as well. We want to equip them. We've partnered with interpreter organizations of Philippines. We're going to partner with a bank to teach financial literacy. We want to equip them with skills and knowledge so that they will boost their employability when they come of age. So all of these includes partnerships and inclusive programs. We are transforming Museo Pambata, our children's museum in the Philippines, into a dynamic platform that connects people, resources, and also learning beyond our museum. I guess you to say we are not limiting ourselves to just one sandbox. So, Julie, if cultural spaces can help us imagine the future, what do you hope for the future?

So many things, so many things that are beyond even what I could imagine. But I really hope that cultural spaces and museums gain a bigger role as public necessities. I mean, they're spaces for public good, they're public resources. You know, our lives move so quickly. Technology is something that's speeding up our work. It's speeding up education. We're always kind of running. And when you're looking at objects, when you're making things, you have to slow down. It takes the time that it takes. It puts you in your body, and it equips you with the kinds of critical thinking skills that make you a good communicator, that make you someone who's inquisitive, that make you a stronger citizen. And I'll flip it back to you, what would you hope?

How would I imagine the future for the next generation? I hope that the future they're imagining is one that is more creative, one that is more inclusive, and one that connects both people and culture. And most of all, and I'm addressing this to two of my mentees here, Ando from Georgetown and Marco from NYU, they came here to support me. I hope that your generation, you and your peers, will look at the future not as something that you will just inherit, something that you will actively participate in, that you will actively shape. So today, let's play today and tomorrow, let's shape tomorrow. Thank you. So now I would like to introduce our next speakers to the stage, Ursula and Ricardo.

Thank you so much, Wilma. An excellent conversation. Now we know that the museums, your museums are not just places that we can go and visit and admire some lovely things. When we have finally time on the weekend, but also community places, institutions that bring communities together for learning, for sharing experiences and getting the energy that helps us to overcome challenges. I would like to thank Wilma, special thanks to Wilma for being an incredible member of a network and advisor. And as you are walking off, we are going to introduce the video about Museum Bembata. Thank you so much again.

Thank you.

Hi everyone, my name is Ursula Weinhoven and I represent the ITU, the UN digital agency here and I'm so excited to be having this chat with Ricardo Lima from Web Summit. And the first thing we're going to ask him is tell us what is Web Summit, if anyone doesn't know.

That's a fair question. I think my question would be to the audience as well who has heard about Web Summit before. Three people, four people. Okay, so big job that I have to try and explain what Web Summit is. Web Summit is currently one of the leading tech events in the world. And I say event, but it's more of a platform. And it goes beyond technology at this stage. So every year we organize four events. Our flagship event is in Lisbon, where I'm from. 70,000 people join us. Then we have an event in Vancouver, a little bit closer to New York for around 35,000 people. Then in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and then in Doha in Qatar. And our goal is to serve as a sort of catalyst for entrepreneurs that are working in different solutions and in different industries, and to be able to provide them with opportunities to connect with people and organizations that can help them scale those solutions.

Fantastic. Now, you lead on startups and investment, and I know that over time you've done an incredible amount to make Web Summit inclusive and also to be looking at some of the big challenges that we face in the world. Can you elaborate? What has been that journey? How have you done that?

We try. I think it's important to understand the impact that an event and the inclusivity of those events have in representing the people that are in most cases suffering mostly on the challenges that we face as a global society. And I think that starts from the team. And I'll give you an example that is quite close to my heart. So even though I was born in Cabo Verde, all my family Sorry, I was born in Lisbon. I forgot where I was born for a second there. I was born in Lisbon. All my family is from Cabo Verde. And a lot of people before this World Cup didn't know what Cabo Verde was. With the World Cup and people that follow football, maybe you now know what Cabo Verde is or where Cabo Verde is. In 2018, I was lucky to go there visiting. And I met Pedro Lopes, who's a good friend now. He was working at the government at the time. And we had a dream of having a couple of very detailed web summit. Because if you go to web summit, you see the stages. We have a massive stage. We have an arena for 18,000 people. And then we have the floor where you have startups participating. You have big brands, like all the big tech. You have country delegations. But we didn't have anyone from Cabo Verde aside from me, and we kind of started dreaming about how can we make it so that Cabo Verde starts bringing people here. So in the first year, we facilitated two startups to come. So two founders came to the event, it blew their minds. And then from then, working very closely between our team and the government, we started then increasing that participation. So it went from two startups to 10 startups, to 10 startups and 20 students, and all of a sudden last year they had 150 people with a stand representing what's been done in the country, because I am a strong believer that Talent is everywhere, but opportunities are not. And I think an event like Web Summit has the power of increasing the number of opportunities that we are providing people that are less fortunate than me, for instance, because I was born in Lisbon as opposed to being born in Colorado.

That's a really fantastic outcome. Thank you so much for sharing that story. Since you lead on startups, I wonder if you could tell us a little bit more about what's really special about startups and entrepreneurs, and maybe what's the What's the secret sauce that makes them tick, that could get them helping on global challenges?

We were talking about it before, and I think you need to be crazy to be an entrepreneur, because the odds are against you. I think there are fewer things professionally as hard as actually creating a business. Because of my job, I get to speak daily with founders from any industry, from any country. And what makes them special in most cases, at least for me, the ones that give me hope a little bit for the future are the people working in real problems that they are facing on a day-to-day basis or their communities are facing. And that is what gives them the fuel to go against the odds because there's a statistic out there that says that out of 10 companies that you can start in five years, nine of them will fail. So you already start almost like pushing a boulder over a mountain. So you need to have a very clear why. Why am I doing this? Why is it important for me to solve this particular problem at this particular point of time and be able to move past the no's that you get because an entrepreneur, you get more no's than you get yes's. And I think that drive, then if they're able to infect other people with that drive, and if the team that they're able to gather also has that drive, that's for me what makes them special. And there's nothing more good for me as an event organizer than be able to provide opportunities for people working in real problems.

Now I think it's no secret that tech has not been the most, always the most friendly space for women. But I know that you've had some fantastic efforts to try and address that. Could you share something along those lines with us? What have you done on that?

Yeah, so a web summit we have, we've had for years, an initiative called Women in Tech, because if you look at tech, not only events, but tech, and if you look at the decision making spaces within tech, they're very, at a lack of a better word, very uniform. So there's a particular type of person that is in the boards of tech rooms. Typically it's a white person, a man that has a good network that has been able to get to where he is. So for us, it was quite clear from the beginning that we wanted to be different, right? Because there are many, many, many tech events out there everywhere in any country, in any city, almost there's a tech event. And for us, we wanted to, again, make it so that not only we would be able to open the door for people to come in. So through the Women in Tech program, we have an initiative in which the tickets are subsidized for women. But it's not only about opening the door, it's about once they are there, what sort of opportunities are we able to provide them? So we work with organizations and governments to create things like mentorship programs for women in tech, or we work with universities, for instance, in Portugal to bring also women and girls to the event to show them that it's actually possible, to show them that tech can be a welcoming space. and that they can build whatever they want to build. And then, again, it's our responsibility as event organizers to provide them with as many opportunities as possible. So again, it's not only about opening the door, but then how are you able to create meaningful connections between the people that are coming to our events?

So you've already given some examples of these great inclusion efforts that Web Summit has. How do you measure it, like what results have you been able to determined that you've had as a result of these.

Yeah.

And maybe lessons learned for others who also want to be more inclusive in their big conferences.

Yeah. So we have reports. So every, I'm here actually with my colleague, Carla, who is our head of communications. She's over there. And she's a great person. Probably she would be better placed to answer this question than me. But we have reports every year. because we survey our attendees. Again, I was saying before, we have around 170,000 people attending our events every year. So that's a lot of opinions that we can take, that we can take informed decisions from. So we do a survey of women in tech. So we launched that survey every year to try and understand how women feel when it comes to the spaces that they are taking within the tech industry. of our events last year, I believe that for instance, in Lisbon, out of the 70,000 people, we achieved parity. So 50% of the people in the room were women. It's a little bit harder when it comes for instance, to my job in terms of startups, because still there's a gap when it comes to to women founded startups, but we have a way to track that. We always ask in the onboarding process, do you identify as a woman? How many women do you have in your team to try and understand the gap first and then how we can solve it. So from the startup perspective, we also track the goals that the startups are able to achieve. And Typically, one of the things that founders most look for in an event like ours is funding. So we also try to measure funding metrics across the different startups participating in our event.

Very good. Thank you so much for the efforts on that, for being male champion of change. We talk about inclusion, but sustainability is also another key value here at the United Nations and around the world. And I know you've also been working around that. How do we make sustainability attractive for businesses maybe who aren't necessarily thinking of it?

I think we need to start by making sure that sustainability is not differentiated from business. I think it's important for people to understand that. Sustainability needs to be integrated within business because sustainability is an opportunity, right? It's an opportunity for you to decrease costs. It's an opportunity for you to be closer to your consumers. Because one of the things that we're seeing is that consumers are changing, right? Especially coming from younger people that they want to see accountability when it comes to business practices. They want to see products being more sustainable. So The first thing that we need to do is understand that sustainability, it's a business opportunity for businesses. It's not something that you do on the side, but it's something that you need to integrate with what you're doing. And in our case, we look at it as well from that perspective, because as a business, we also have a responsibility having in mind that we're flying 70,000 people to Lisbon. So what sort of measures can we actually take to make sure that Sustainability is integrated in our operations to make sure that everything that we do as an event is as positive as possible. So we kind of walk the talk and not just say that sustainability is just a nice to have. And then in my particular job as well, we do have a program for, we call Impact Startups. So we have created a program around the SDGs where we connect impact entrepreneurs with businesses, country delegations, and investors that can help them scale those solutions.

So when's the next Web Summit for everyone listening?

The next Web Summit is in November, the 9th to the 12th of November in Lisbon. So I would welcome everyone to be there. I think the brand doesn't make it justice. When you hear Web Summit, you think only the internet, but it's an incredible event. I obviously am biased, but it's an energy that it's infectious. You have a lot of different solutions. If you're interested in fashion, we have fashion tech, we have sports tech, we have, yeah, so, and then you can go to Lisbon, which for me is one of the best cities in the world to visit. So- Lots of nods around.

The room, I think, yeah.

If you're ever there and if you need any recommendations, please feel free to connect with me. And I'll do the same with you, because it's my first time in New York. So any recommendations-- He's looking for tips. Exactly. Any restaurants, I would more than welcome those.

Well, I've so enjoyed our chat. Thank you so much. I think we-- before we call up on stage the final speaker, I think we want to hear from you, if you can maybe do it in a tweet size, what gives you hope about the role of innovation in creating a more sustainable future?

What gives me hope is that despite all the challenges that tech is presenting at a global level, I think technology has made it easier for people to actually develop solutions to the problems that they are facing. And it has made it easier for people to reach other people that are able to help them scale the solution. a young person in Cape Verde now has a more of a level playing field than what we had 10 years. And then I think the young people out there are also giving me hope that there's a better future for us all.

Fantastic, Ricardo. Thank you so much. So I'd now like to invite Marcelo Gui Maraes, founder of Fash Innovation. He's gonna give the closing remarks.

Hi, guys. First, I would say thank you for everyone to join the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Series. It was a really amazing week, last week and this week. We were able to have four amazing talks. And one thing that always I follow is I love it personally bringing people together, right? So Fashionovation, I always say, I connect leaders and fashion innovation, but in the end, what I love it is really bringing founders, leaders, decision makers, and people that each one have their lifestyle, and this is the end of this, the lifestyle for impact. I would say I'm so proud and grateful to be here today. Because as a part of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network, we not only bring people together, but we bring the right people together that you wanted to cause impact, not only our life, but other people's lives. And before I close, I wanted to say that it doesn't matter what you do. The more important is who you do with, right? And before we finish, I wanted to invite the who, right, is really putting this together, all the United Nations Fashion Lifestyle team.

I just wanted to thank all of you for coming. You make all the work that we have invested and put again, you know, behind this, real, because you care, you show up, and you help us, and keep the the spirit and energy up and the hope up that uh we are doing something that is meaningful relevant and that together we can truly design a better future for all and I wanted to thank our team our colleagues Sophia Beth Emma and Marie for um for being the dream team and of course all our advisors and parties in the room and before we get off the stage I wanted to say one more big shout out to people online watching us the community our Global Community in so so many places. And yeah, keep on working with us. Please tell us what you do and help us amplify your great work. Thanks.

At some point, we have to stop asking, how do we make the existing practices better? And maybe we should start asking if they need to exist at all anymore. But it's a process. It needs to be embedded into your whole process from design concept to materials that you use. Culture for me is a blueprint for us to unpack, whether it's in the Philippines or in India or this necklace that comes from seeds in the Amazon rainforest.

What's the impact on the worker and the prosperity of the worker?

Who we build with and who we build for matters even more.

We believe that innovation, creativity, and collaboration are essential to create a more sustainable and equitable future. Jazz House Kids could not be more thrilled to curate this program. Jazz builds a future where everyone belongs.

I've always believed in the power of design and creativity to reshape the world. We work across Brazil, Latin America, working with communities of artisans.

We also support and preserve their culture and knowledge. This international reach gives us a platform to bring sustainability, encourage exchange across our global textile community.

We are so thrilled to be part of the UN Fashion and Lifestyle Network.

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