27 April 2006

Bogotá, Colombia: A new series of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) icons that blend the objectives of the Goals with the history and culture of Latin America has been developed through a joint initiative of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, UNDP, DANSOCIAL and the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá.

An artist working with the UNV programme Colombia created the eight icons in the second half of 2005 to present the Goals from a Latin American perspective. They are currently being placed on t-shirts, posters and banners, and will be presented as the official image of the MDGs in Colombia.

According to a statement from the Colombian MDG campaign, "The project [to develop the icons] looks to our roots, informing the population with easy-to-understand images that convey the global campaign via our regional point of view."

The eight MDGs: A cultural experience

Goal 1 – to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger – is represented by an ear of corn, the grain that has been a staple of indigenous Latin Americans for 8,500 years. The icon is based on a corn plant sculpted in 800 B.C. and depicted against a background of burnt yellow, representing the colour of both corn and the sun, which allows food to grow.

The owl, a symbol of wisdom used by Aztec wisemen and warriors in Mexico, represents Goal 2 (Education for all), while Goal 3 (Gender equality) is presented by a Peruvian tapestry showing two human figures: equal and opposite.

Goal 4 – to reduce child mortality – replicates a ceramic plate from the central region of the Andes, painted in red and black. It depicts a figure of a child, with a full smile filled with joy and life, taking part in a dance for life.

This design for Goal 5 seeks to transmit the importance of a woman’s pregnancy through a clear image based on a stone carving by the Mixtecas of Mexico, while Goal 6's icon – stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS – centres on a modern image but incorporates elements of pre-Columbian art. This juxtaposition is meant to evoke sentiments of the historical contrast and changing methods for approaching diseases.

The Goal 7 icon is green, natural, and adapts an ancient art piece that was not originally associated with the environment to evoke sentiments of the interconnectedness of life with nature at the centre.

Lastly, for Goal 8, an ancient piece of art is used, this time to signify the modern idea of a Global Partnership for Development, the focus of the last MDG. It is composed of different people and communities who are united around the promotion of a harmonious future that is inline with the MDG campaign.