Only 10 countries in the world today are free from conflict of any kind: this is what emerges from the UN Global Compact research analysing the situation in the various regions of the world afflicted at various levels and with different nuances by situations of political and social tensions, which can lead to violence and ungovernability.
The solution to the persistent spread of these phenomena, in a crescendo of geopolitical escalations on a global level, would be, according to the UN protocol, to try to build peaceful and inclusive societies, capable of promoting sustainable development and encouraging good governance practices and respect for human rights.
And it is precisely peace and justice - between and within countries around the world - that is at the heart of the latest objective recounted through the shots of BG4SDGs - Time to Change, the Banca Generali project launched in September 2021 to investigate the state of the art on the achievement of the 17 goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.
On this occasion, the photographer working alongside the initiative, Stefano Guindani, travelled to Jaffa, Israel, to the influential Foundation for Humanitarian Rights - Peres Center for Peace - the independent non-governmental organisation founded in 1996 by Shimon Peres, the unforgettable Nobel Peace Prize winner, to report on the situation regarding Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 16.
The Peres Foundation represents excellence on an international level, founded with the aim of establishing a peaceful relationship between the peoples of the Middle East and supporting socio-economic development through cooperation programmes involving the various communities in the area. From economics to culture, from leadership to medicine, from sport as a model of inclusion to technology: the Peres Centre implements programmes that concretely impact local populations through the work and participation of all, establishing peace in a lasting way.
"It is difficult to talk about peace when images and news of war come into our lives on a daily basis; it is strange to talk about it from an area that has not seen any peace for a long time, but this is precisely why it was important to photograph the Peres Centre in Jaffa as a concrete point of reference of commitment to the ambition of the search for peace between peoples. With its many initiatives, it is a place that strongly affirms the unceasing dedication and will to maintain unity between differences, starting precisely from a place that lacks unity. At the Peres Foundation, they know that peace is sealed with international agreements, but it is also created starting with a football match between children of different ethnicities and religions because inclusion starts with respect and sharing," said Stefano Guindani, photographer and curator of the project.
In Ramla, on the fields of Me'ir Binet, more than a hundred children play football, organised in mixed teams with a common goal: to score a goal, the goal of peace: Twinned Peace, this is the name of the foundation's sports school that is the subject of Guindani's shots. So many young people from different nationalities united in a single multi-sport tournament that goes beyond all borders and educates to peace through the values and universal language of sport.
Stefano Guindani, photographer and editor of the project
It is difficult to talk about peace when images and news of war come into our lives on a daily basis; it is strange to talk about it from an area that has not seen any peace for a long time, but this is precisely why it was important to photograph the Peres Centre in Jaffa as a concrete point of reference of commitment to the ambition of the search for peace between peoples.
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