NEW YORK, 24 SEPTEMBER 2019—The United Nations and Sanrio Co., Ltd. today launched at UN Headquarters a strategic collaboration to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a new global video series on Hello Kitty’s YouTube channel.
Through the collaboration, Hello Kitty will highlight six of the 17 SDGs, introducing them through the #HelloGlobalGoals global video series. The first video of the series was released today, the first day of the SDG Summit 2019, and features a conversation between UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Hello Kitty.
Subsequent videos will be released monthly in both English and Japanese. The six SDGs featured in the #HelloGlobalGoals video series will be: Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-Being, Goal 4 – Quality Education, Goal 5 – Gender Equality, Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, Goal 13 – Climate Action, and Goal 14 – Life Below Water.
Since September 2018, Hello Kitty has been actively creating videos on her YouTube channel to explain the 17 Goals to a Japanese audience and highlight the work done by people in Japan to implement the SDGs. Moving forward, Hello Kitty will expand the scope of her videos, with support from the UN’s Creative Community Outreach Initiative, to create SDG-themed content for Hello Kitty fans worldwide. Hello Kitty will interact with UN experts and visit UN projects around the world.
“Hello Kitty is bringing her enormous fanbase to our global efforts to educate young people, in every part of our world, about the Sustainable Development Goals, and why they should be involved in achieving them.” said Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, United Nations.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by world leaders at the historic Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Encompassing everything from health to gender equality and education, the Goals will mobilize efforts around the world to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, protect the environment and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
Since Hello Kitty’s creation, the character has become a global media franchise including a product line of apparel, toys, manga comics, anime series, popular music, and other media. To date, 50,000 different Hello Kitty products are available in 130 countries and regions worldwide. 2019 marks the 45th anniversary of Hello Kitty.
For further information: Jeffrey Brez, Chief, NGO Relations, Advocacy and Special Events, UN Department of Global Communications, at email: brez@un.org; tel: +1 212 963 8070; cell: +1 917 328 6736