The Museum for the United Nations — UN Live is a global institution based in Copenhagen. Its mission is to “unleash the power of culture to inspire local action and drive global change”. UN Live describes itself as an unconventional and borderless museum that seeks to reach and connect people on a global scale to the values and work of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. While formally stewarding the brand of the United Nations, UN Live is an independent institution.

History

The adoption of the

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

in 2015 inspired the three cofounders Olafur Eliasson, Jan Mattsson, and Henrik Skovby to establish the Museum for the United Nations. One year later, then United Nations Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

formally endorsed the institution. Since 2019, UN Live is led by CEO Molly Fannon.

Approach

UN Live leverages cultural programmes, in the fields of film, art, faith, sports, games, comedy, and beyond, to connect and engage people globally and drive behavior change. This approach stems from empirical findings in the field of behavioural science that suggest that (mass) culture can shift norms and values and change individual behavior patterns. Thereby, mass culture communication can generate profound changes in social and environmental outcomes. Over the past years, UN Live launched several programmes, including a collaboration with two Bollywood productions thematizing the consequences of climate change and a digital artwork in partnership with

Studio Olafur Eliasson Studio Olafur Eliasson was founded in 1995 by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Based in Berlin, the studio currently comprises about 90 people, from architects, craftsmen, and specialised technicians, to art historians and archivists. Work ...

and

AKQA AKQA is a digital design and communications agency owned by WPP. It was founded in London in 1994 and expanded internationally in 2001 through a merger with agencies based in the United States and Singapore. It operated as an independent agency ...

enhancing children’s voices within the climate agenda. During

Climate Week NYC Climate Week NYC is an event that has taken place every year in New York City since 2009. The summit takes place alongside the UN General Assembly and brings together international leaders from business, government and civil society to showcase gl ...

in 2022, UN Live supported by

IKEA Foundation The Stichting IKEA Foundation (KvK 41202422) is a Dutch foundation founded in 1982 by Ingvar Kamprad, a Swedish billionaire and founder of IKEA. The foundation receives its income from the Stichting INGKA Foundation. Initially focused on architec ...

launched the programme ‘Global We for Climate Action’. The aim of the programme is to bring underrepresented voices, such as youth and indigenous people, and diversity into the global climate conversation and by doing so allow young people and communities most affected by climate change to have two-way conversations with world leaders. In collaboration wit
Shared Studios
a network of portals across 25+ locations is established. Portals are repurposed shipping containers that are equipped with large screens and high-quality audio to create immersive experiences and to enable real-live conversations across countries. During COP27, a portal will be set up in Sharm El-Sheik and connected to portals in various other locations, including Kigali, Rwanda; Erbil, Iraq and Mexico City, Mexico.

Funding

As an independent not-for-profit NGO registered in Copenhagen, Denmark, UN Live is privately funded with additional support from the Danish government and the city of Copenhagen.

References

External links

Official website
museumfortheun.org
LinkedI

Twitte

Instagra

{{coord missing, Denmark Proposed museums United Nations organizations based in Europe Museums in Copenhagen Virtual museums Denmark and the United Nations