The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE) initiative joined forces with Nasdaq for an annual collaboration raising awareness about improving gender equality. The collaboration, which results in a gender-equality themed animation projected on the NADSAQ tower in Time Square, has an added benefit of empowering young graphic design students to think big. 

The UN SSE works with a graphic design class to develop the annual animation that is displayed on the round NASDAQ tower in Times Square. The electronic billboard contains over 10,000 square feet of space with an average daily pedestrian count of over half a million views.

“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work on the Times Square billboard for the UN,” said Monserrat Vazquez, one of the students who worked on the project. “I enjoyed working as a team using our design skills to bring awareness to International Women’s Day. It’s definitely a project that has impacted me and helped me grow as a designer.” 

The students from CBU, an American university located in Memphis, Tennessee, have previously won the Silver Addy Awards at the District and Southern Region Competitions of the 2023 American Advertising Federation Awards for their work with the UN SSE and Nasdaq. 

“Part of our mission to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to engage with youth to inspire the next generation of change makers,” said Anthony Miller, Chief Coordinator of the UN SSE. “We've been honoured to work with this group of students who've brought so much energy and talent and passion to the topic of promoting gender equality.”  

UN SSE Academy Head, Tiffany Grabski, expressed gratitude to the university team, stating, “This team has been great to work with, taking our script and moving quickly in the direction of a finished concept. We are thankful to partner with CBU students for this and many other projects.”

“Guiding students through projects that intersect with global organizations like the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges has been incredibly rewarding,” remarked Melinda Posey, Associate Professor of Graphic Design. “Our classroom experience is like none other. At CBU, our students are empowered to leverage their talents for meaningful service on a global scale. I love seeing our mission of ‘Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve’ manifest through such an impactful client project.”

To learn more about the SSE's work on gender equality visit this page.