The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on Wednesday issued 17 postal stamps highlighting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals through Mithila paintings.

The intermingling of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Mithila paintings is the first-of-its-kind interaction in the history of Philatelic and Postal Stamp Management in Nepal.

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Baikuntha Aryal and Director General of the Department of Postal Service Indu Ghimire marked the issuance of the postal stamps at an event organised at the ministry in Kathmandu.

Robert Kasca, the UN resident coordinator, who also attended the event, said, “The issuance of the SDGs postal stamps not only highlights the UN’s effort to localise the SDGs in Nepal but also symbolises Nepal’s commitment and readiness to achieve the SDGs by 2030.”

“The UN in Nepal lauds the efforts of the government to accelerate progress,” said Kasca.

The depiction of the SDGs in Mithila art was done by local women artists of Janakpur in 2018 as a collaborative effort between the UN in Nepal and the Janakpur Women’s Development Centre.

“The SDG postal stamps reinforce Nepal’s commitment towards achieving SDGs and enhance the awareness of Nepal's art sector,” said Karki.

The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office began localising the 17 SDGs icons into local art forms with the intent of using indigenous art practices to make the SDGs understandable to all.

After the creation of the 17 SDGs icons through Mithila art, the paintings were also taken to ‘Art for SDGs: the Mithila Heritage’ exhibition organised by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York and the Mithila Festival at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 2019.