Rome, Italy, April 3–5, 2018
The exhibition titled “Seeds of Hope: Visions of Sustainability, Steps Toward Change,” a colorful display showing how one person’s actions can make a difference, was shown in the David Lubin Memorial Library at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy, from April 3 to 5.
The 24-panel Seeds of Hope exhibition, a joint initiative of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and Earth Charter International (ECI), was shown as an official side event at the Second International Symposium on Agroecology.
The main speaker at the April 3 opening ceremony was FAO Deputy Director-General for Climate and Natural Resources Maria Helena Semedo, who commented, “Seeds of Hope is a very inspiring theme . . . we at FAO often focus on larger-scale actions, but this exhibition reminds us that many times scale starts at the individual level. I am inspired by the real-life testimonials in this exhibit.”
Other speakers included Apostolic Nuncio H.E. Silvano M. Tomási, ECI Council Member Alide Roerink and SGI Director General of Peace and Global Issues Hirotsugu Terasaki.
The Seeds of Hope exhibition has been seen by more than seven million people in 39 different countries and territories, and translated into 14 languages. The panels can be viewed here.
During this opening event the launch of the new version of Mapting 2.0 was announced. Mapting is a free tool that invites users to look for everyday actions that people can take to help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While learning more about the SDGs users can find out which Earth Charter Principles are linked to each SDG. Mapting was officially launched at an event called “Youth Boosting the Promotion and Implementation of the SDGs” held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on November 10, 2016.
With this new version, users can now sign up as either an 
individual or as an institution, to showcase and track their work as an NGO, institution, organization, or school. In addition, users can now click on other users’ profile pictures to send a private message in order to find out more about their project. Spanish descriptions have also been added to the new version.
For more information click here.