Music to Advance Sustainable Development - Baixada Never Gives Up

At the centre of this initiative is the 65-minute documentary film "Baixada Never Gives Up" ("#BXD - Baixada Nunca Se Rende"), which shows the potential of music and the arts to transform the reality of Baixada Fluminense. The film tells the story of an open collective of artists and musicians from Rio peripheries called Baixada Nunca Se Rende, which is supported by the UNDP World Centre for Sustainable Development (RIO+ Centre). The artists from Baixada have always composed songs about sustainability, justice, and the shared values of the SDGs in an attempt to tackle racism, stigmatisation, police violence, environmental conservation, and the essential role of women in creating more just and sustainable metropolitan regions.

Produced during January-February 2017 by filmmakers Christian Tragni (Italy) and Juliana Spinola (Brazil), the film illustrates how music and arts can be powerful tools to encourage change - strengthening the role citizens and civil society organisations play in participating actively and effectively to advance the SDGs and to press their local and national governments to be more accountable in delivering on global promises. Launched in Rio on May 17 2017, it has since been exhibited: in Maputo, Mozambique; at the UNDP Country Offices in China, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, and at New York, United States' Chelsea Film Festival. As part of the latter event, UNDP and the Chelsea Film Festival organised a special film session on October 23 2017 at the UNDP headquarters, which featured a discussion roundtable with the Baixada Never Gives Up film directors and singer Iolly Amancio from Mesquita, Brazil.

Some of the other activities undertaken as part of Music to Advance Sustainable Development included: the production of a promo CD with 7 SDG-related songs, ranging from reggae, rock'n roll, and funk to rap, which delve into the 5P's of the 2030 Agenda (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership); various rap and MCs battles with young people in the Baixada; two major music shows by the Baixada Never Gives Up collective; and a first music video for the rock'n roll song "No One Will Be Left Behind". The song, composed by the band Rota Espiral featuring Renato Biguli (band Monobloco) and DJ Nino Leal, contemplates themes of the 2030 Agenda specially by expressing its motto of "Leaving No One Behind".

This pilot project gave birth to a new UN-citizen engagement model and methodology that will be featured in an upcoming publication (RIO+ Centre's Creative Approaches to Leave No One Behind Toolkit). The project was officially presented to UNDP Mozambique in November 2017 as the first portuguese-speaking country to replicate the model, which is to be replicated mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America countries.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Baixada Fluminense is a region compromised of 13 out of 92 municipalities that compose the state of Rio de Janeiro. With a population of more than 3.5 million people, it represents around 23% of Rio's state population but with a median income per capita that is almost half of the state average. Nevertheless, while the region faces challenges such as high rates of violence (it has been classified as the most violent city in the world in terms of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) and weak sanitation, to name a few, Baixada's resilience and creative potential makes it a hub of talented artists and musicians - hence the name #BXDNuncaSeRende (#BaixadaNeverGivesUp).

Despite all odds and the persistent effects of widespread violence, these economically poor people, volunteers, and creative artists and musicians got together as part of this project to fight injustice, violence, and discrimination. In the words of UNDP's Director for Sustainable Development, Nik Sekhran: "our strategic focus is to work with citizens that are left behind to co-develop solutions and creative approaches to advance the SDGs. Our pilot in the Baixada region of Rio showcases that music and art can be strong allies, helping not only to inform ordinary citizens about the SDGs, but also increasing accountability and transparency with more active, informed and engaged constituencies."

Renato Aranha, lead singer of the band Rota Espiral and one of the songwriters, emphasises the transforming power of the UN project for the region: "The idea of using the potential of the Baixada region as a 'creative ground' was very welcomed by us musicians. For a long time, we had produced the engaged artform that calls for sustainability. The UN has just shown us that the sustainable development agenda has everything to do with what we have been producing here for years. This strengthens us as a cultural hub and highlights our active citizenship."