Caravan "Siga Bem" begins activities in Brasília, Goiás and Paraná

The travel cycle will run for nine months in Brazil and has been opened with celebrations on Tuesday (23), in the Federal District. There will be 12 trucks and other vehicles spreading messages about human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN in over 100 cities in 22 Brazilian states.

 

Peça inspirada em "Dom Quixote" abordou objetivos da Agenda 2030 da ONU. Foto: PNUD Brasil / Luciano Milhomem   

Brasilia, 23 August, 2016 - There was something different in one of the gas stations in BR 060, near Brasilia, on Tuesday night (23). People who stopped by found a stage that read  Caravan Siga Bem, and trucks exhibited the symbols of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) United Nations.

This was the  opening of the caravan that will ride all Brazilian regions with 12 trucks and other vehicles for nine months in order to carry messages on human rights and the 2030 UN Agenda. Among those present were officials from the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP) and the UN Children's Fund ( UNICEF).

The beginning of the journey included a theatrical presentation of truck drivers who had never acted before and premiered the piece "Ó Xente, e os Direitos da Gente?", Inspired by the famous character Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. The play has addressed some of the SDGs in a humoristic and light-hearted approach.

"There is a saying of Don Quixote that states: changing the world is not madness,  it is not utopia, it is justice." said the resident coordinator of the UN system and UNDP representative in Brazil , Niky Fabiancic.

"Taking the SDGs  to more than 100 cities from the north to the south of Brazil means engaging thousands of Brazilians, boys and girls, in the awareness of their rights to education, health, decent work, decent life and also of its role in building a society with gender equality, environmental respect and tolerance for diversity, "he said.

On the behalf of the  UN system, Fabiancic signed a Memorandum of Understanding that formalized the partnership with the organizers of the caravan. "The road is long, but we will get together!" he said. Before the play, the flag of the SDGs was raised for the celebrations that marked the beginning of a long path.

For the Caravan Siga Bem, on its 10th edition, there will be months of road across 22 states. For the UN, it means more than 15 years of efforts to ensure that all men and women reach  the 17 SDGs and their goals.

The activities in August are scheduled to Goiás (25 and 26) , Paraná (26 ,27, 30 and 31) and Brasilia again (29).

Get to know the caravan route here.

All stories