The photographer and storyteller from Frankfurt, Germany, Liliana Nicolae emerged winner with the €300 prize at #BEOPENStaringAtTheSun open call by Elena Baturina

LONDON, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BE OPEN, a creative think-tank founded by the international businesswoman and philanthropist Elena Baturina, announces the winner of #BEOPENStaringAtTheSun, a creative open call across social media.

BE OPEN believes that the ability for creative interpretation is not confined within the art and design industry. The series of online challenges reach out to those creative minds around the globe, who keep their eyes open, see inspiration in the everyday life, and are able to transform it with their own unique vision.

The 'Staring at the Sun' online challenge was dedicated to raising awareness of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular focused on SDG7, calling to "ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all".

Energy lies at the heart of both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all will open a new world of opportunities for billions of people through new economic opportunities and jobs, better education and health, more sustainable, equitable and inclusive communities, and greater protections from climate change.

One of the key sustainable energy sources is the Sun, literary the source of energy for life on Earth. For centuries, it has intrigued poets, philosophers, artists, and everyone who has somehow been touched by its invisible warmth. The Sun has been an inspiration in our creation of paintings, poems, music, stories, and sculptures, to name a few. 

We invited Instagram users to join our #BEOPENStaringAtTheSun open call and share visuals expressing and depicting what the Sun means for them personally, and our planet. Today we celebrate all the participants for their ability to creatively interpret the reality around them.

BE OPEN Community members have selected the winning post from a shortlist of submissions with the highest number of likes by Instagram users. Our congratulations and the €300 prize go to Liliana Nicolae, a photographer and storyteller from Frankfurt, Germany.

BE OPEN is a global initiative to foster creativity and innovation, a think-tank whose mission is to promote people and ideas today to build solutions for tomorrow BE OPEN strives to harness creative brain power through a system of conferences, competitions, exhibitions, master classes and cultural events.