Street art in The Hague. MooieMuur painted this mural that focuses on young changemakers. It is a call to action and an inspiration for young people to contribute to a better world. It shows us that taking action now is important, both on a global and a smaller, local scale. If we all work together, the world will change.
The mural aims to reflect on SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). The project celebrates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was created through the input of young people. Students and schoolchildren participated in dialogues and provided input through a UN Youth Impact survey over the past year.
The design is all about young changemakers. Youthful heroes who want change, who take action. You see Satta Sheriff at the top and Boyan Slat at the bottom: young, important individuals working on different SDGs.
The bottom shows large roots, important components of nature. They are attached to Satta, who symbolizes the woman as the rooted foundation for every family and the source of all human life. Satta is partly shown in color to show her strength and dedication. She has a warrior look. Boyan is partly blue, the sea is in his thoughts. Change blows the plastic soup upwards. It is all about taking action.
At the top right you see wings spreading out to fly, explore and feel freedom. It could even be a dove flying high in the sky, a metaphor for peace. On the left a ladybug flies away, a well-known symbol for anti-violence and associated with protection, healing, love and innocence. On the right a red plasticized shape rises. Almost like a goose bill screaming in pain. It represents the way we treat animals cruelly and are deaf to their pain.
The bold red and blue, combined with natural earth tones, make for a strong color palette. The red gives the image power, passion. But in some places it can refer to bloodshed. The blue gives a confident feeling, also associated with freedom and freshness.
Satta Sheriff - Satta Sheriff (she/her) is a human rights activist and a passionate advocate for justice who has been working for the rights of children and women since she was nine years old. In 2016, she founded Action for Justice and Human Rights (AJHR), a child and youth-driven NGO to advocate and ensure access to justice and respect for human rights in Liberia. Today, AJHR works to hold the Liberian government accountable for human rights by advocating against sexual violence, raising awareness, and providing safe spaces, resources, and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual abuse. Last year, Satta was awarded the Most Prominent Youth Advocate of the year Award and in 2016 as the most influential teenager for being a strong voice against injustice and human rights violations in Liberia.
Boyan Slat - In 2011, at the age of 16, Boyan Slat (he/him) found more plastic than fish while diving. He made plastic pollution in the ocean the subject of a high school project and investigated why it was considered impossible to clean up. He later came up with the idea of building a passive plastic collection system, using circulating ocean currents to capture plastic waste, which he presented during a TEDx talk in Delft in 2012. Slat dropped out of his aerospace engineering studies at TU Delft to devote his time to developing his idea. He founded the Ocean Cleanup non-profit in 2013. The group’s mission is to develop advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. In 2019, the first mission returned 60 bags of waste. In July 2021, the second mission collected 9,000 kilos of waste.