UN Unlearning Intolerance Seminar: ‘Art Changing Attitudes toward the Environment’

Unlearning Intolerance Seminar
“Art Changing Attitudes toward the Environment”

Remarks by Mr. Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information

Opening Session

Conference Room 1
8 May 2008
10:00 a.m.

Excellencies,
Distinguished Panelists,
Special Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the United Nations Department of Public Information, it is a pleasure to welcome you to the sixth “Unlearning Intolerance” seminar: “Art Changing Attitudes toward the Environment”. Welcome also to all of you joining us via the live webcast of today’s seminar.

I would like, at the outset, to thank our distinguished panelists and partners who will share their expertise on climate change, the environment, and the impact that art can have on shaping attitudes toward the environment. I have no doubt we will have a lively discussion during the course of the day. I would like to encourage all of you to take part in a dialogue with our experts and special guests.

I am happy to welcome Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Mr. Djoghlaf plays a key role in the field of sustainable development and the protection of our global biodiversity. He is also a champion of the development of national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

I am also happy to welcome Elisabeth Guilbaud-Cox of the United Nations Environment Programme. UNEP is in the forefront of the United Nations’ efforts to conserve and protect the environment, and to raise awareness about the impact of climate change.

I would like to thank and welcome Mia Hanak, Executive Director of the Natural World Museum, and her team, for the excellent collaboration with the Department of Public Information in organizing this seminar and the exhibit “Art, Attitudes and Environment”, which we will open this evening, and to which you are all invited.

UNEP and the Natural World Museum are partners in the Art for the Environment initiative. The initiative uses art and creative programmes to inspire and engage the public in environmental awareness and action. It also seeks to empower individuals, communities, and leaders to incorporate environmental values into social, economic, and political realms.

It is a special pleasure to welcome the distinguished artists who are present here today, and who come from six countries from different regions of the world. I believe that their artwork will demonstrate to us how art can create a greater appreciation of the environment, as well as transform our attitudes toward our natural world. I am delighted to be in the company of such a unique group, and thank them all for raising awareness of one of the greatest challenge of our times: climate change.

The “Unlearning Intolerance” seminar series was initiated by the Department of Public Information in 2004. The objective of the series is to examine manifestations of intolerance as well as explore means to promote respect and understanding among peoples. As its name suggests, the “Unlearning Intolerance” series offers opportunities to discuss how intolerance, wherever it exists and for whatever reason, can be “unlearned” through education, inclusion and example.

In previous years, the seminar series featured issues of global importance on themes such as Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, combating genocide, cartooning for peace, and the role of the media in promoting tolerance. This year we look at the intersection between intolerance and the environment, through the medium of art. In the two sessions today we will discuss how “environmental intolerance” can be confronted, and how art can serve as a vehicle for environmental action.

Climate change is a top priority for the United Nations and for Secretary-General Ban, who has stressed repeatedly that climate change is “the defining challenge of our age”. Secretary-General Ban has also emphasized that the impact of climate change is real and that we need to act now. The scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have shown that unless we act there will be serious consequences worldwide, threatening humankind, and plant and animal species. They emphasize that the cost of inaction far exceeds the costs of action. The UN as a whole — every agency, fund and programme — is committed to being part of the answer to climate change. And as the Secretary-General told Member States in Bali, the UN will continue to expand support for global, regional and national action on climate change and to lead by example.

Today, we look at climate change through the eyes and work of artists. We will see and discuss examples of art that depict the threat of climate change, and that emphasize that intolerance towards the environment can be addressed through artistic communication.

Art, and artists, both modern and ancient, have always had an intimate relationship with nature, and have been in the vanguard on issues involving the environment. Through their work, they have explored the fragility of the natural world, as well as the beauty and power of natural phenomenon.

Architects and designers today have been among the first to highlight the reality of climate change, and the need to act and adapt to its effects by creating environmentally sustainable structures and objects.

The fine arts — photography, painting, sculpture – can also profoundly connect us to the environment, and can provoke or shape our views on the relationship between the environment and politics, history, and science for example.

Indeed, it is both the implicit and explicit ideas in such artwork that make environmental messages come alive. You will see this in Mr. Banerjee’s photographs of the Arctic, which visually explore the region’s connection to larger global issues such as resource wars, global warming, and the human rights struggles of the northern indigenous communities. Ms. Paredes’ artwork blends the human body into the natural world to show that we are all part of the same environment.

Ms. Chalmers explores intolerance towards the environment from a different perspective, by questioning if the hierarchical relationship which humankind has towards all other species is indeed justifiable.

The artwork by Mr. Pastor and Mr. Ikeda puts the spotlight on two essential components of our earth: water and trees. Both are basic resources that ensure not only our present existence on earth but also ensure future generations’ safe environment. Mr. Ikeda has dedicated the majority of his prolific career to raising awareness of global warming around water issues. Mr. Pastor’s art illustrates how essential trees and plants are to a stable climate.

It is a pleasure to see that Noor Al-Bastaki’s photographs focus on tomorrow’s generation. Ms. Al-Bastaki, the youngest participant in today’s discussions, captures youth facing their future with determination and, most importantly, armed with knowledge.

I would also like to acknowledge to Mr. Anatsui who was unable to participate in the seminar owing to his ill health. We are honoured to have his work featured in the “Art, Attitudes and the Environment” exhibit alongside the work of our participating artists. We wish Mr. Anatsui a speedy recovery.

For additional information, please visit http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/tolerance/seminar.html

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