In 2015, with input from over 10 million citizens, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs (sometimes called Global Goals), as the essential priorities for governments, organizations and individuals until 2030. POP-UP Festival, in partnership with UNICEF World Children’s Day, builds skills for all these goals:
POP-UP Festival is coordinated by a nonprofit organization called Six Seconds. One of our core beliefs at Six Seconds is: “All change starts on the inside.” For example, when it comes to SDG#2, Zero Hunger, someone might say: The solution is to improve food production and distribution. Yes! That’s a good idea, and: Why haven’t we already? After all, for decades the world has produced enough food for Zero Hunger… so it’s not really a technical challenge, it’s a human challenge, a relationship challenge. What are the inner skills we each need to solve the challenges of the SDGs?
Among the inner skills needed are tools such as understanding self and others, building better relationships, and feeling more connected to the world at large. These are rooted in emotional intelligence (or “EQ”): Being smarter with feelings.
To the right is a video from the first-ever emotional intelligence conference at United Nations Headquarters; Patty Freedman, the coordinator of POP-UP Festival, speaks about the project and explains how POP-UP and emotional intelligence work together to support the SDGs.
Plus, here is an introduction to emotional intelligence to better understand EQ and the learnable, scientifically-grounded skills participants will practice through POP-UP Festival.