On July 5, 2022, aespa joined the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the United Nations in New York City. The rookie group by SM Entertainment with KARINA, GISELLE, WINTER, and NINGNING joined the forum on its first day to talk about sustainability and their role as next generation representatives, a few days before their official comeback for their second mini-album “Girls.”

This year’s forum is taking place from July 5 to July 18 and focuses on policies and strategies for recovering from the COVID-19 crisis as well as the pandemic’s negative effects. The forum will also discuss progress towards the implementation of the 2030 sustainability goals set and adopted by United Nations representatives in 2015. The thirteen-day event will concentrate on five of the 17 SDGs: quality education, gender equality, life below water, life on land, and goal partnerships.

Next Generation to The Next Level

At the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, aespa delivered a speech to inspire the next generation to protect the world we live in. The metaverse girl group discussed the importance of preserving and protecting these goals as the world aspires for a better future with the help of technology. As representatives of the younger generation, aespa carried the message, “Next generation to the next level.” 

During the forum, the girls were introduced not only as representatives but also as a group of “four different voices into a single harmonic whole” by the sub-chairman, ambassador, and permanent representative of Thailand to the UN, Dr. Suriya Chindawongse. Dr. Chindawongse also used the group’s name, “aespa,” to highlight key messages from ECOSOC coordination. All voices are important and should be heard, so the letter “A” stands for “all.” “E” stands for “equity and empowerment,” which promotes equity and empowerment for all, particularly vulnerable groups. “S” is equivalent to “sustainability and synergy” to achieve the 2030 goals, improve global response, and unite together. The letter “P” stands for “planet and people.” Finally, the letter “A” stands for “architecture,” which is required for all components of the ECOSOC architecture to work together.

GISELLE was the spokesperson for aespa and delivered the speech. In it, she addressed the group’s concept where they move between the virtual and real world. The four members live in the real world, and the avatar members live in the virtual world. aespa’s speech emphasized how people are increasingly focused on creating the ideal metaverse that transcends boundaries, reality, time,space, genres, and generations. However, GISELLE asked in her speech, “Are we working just as hard to create the best possible real world?”

“The metaverse reflects reality,” she continued. “If our own reality is not sustainable, it would become difficult to sustain the possibilities of the virtual world. Without sustainable ecosystems or equal opportunities for quality living, there will be no real world to be mirrored.”

With a call to action, GISELLE explained, “The topic of sustainable development is urgent, and we believe that the next generation must support sustainable development goals in order to protect the world that we live in.”

As a conclusion to their speech, the group made a promise to continue to “connect with the next generation through music, and we’ll work to represent sustainable goals in reality, hence, within the metaverse.”

aespa’s leader, Karina, ended by thanking the UN for the opportunity and stated, “We are honored to be here to discuss a topic that is so important for the next generation.” 

What’s Next for aespa

In the future, the group will continue to promote sustainability goals through their music. The members’ ages range from 20 to 23 years old, and they hope for a future and a world we can live in so that the real world can be a good representation of the metaverse.

With the discussion of these topics and goals of sustainability, aespa hope to become a representative of the new generation, as well as Millenials and Gen Z.

After a successful showcase in Los Angeles and their comeback right around the corner, aespa are ready for the next level in their career. Their second mini-album Girls, is set to be released on July 8, and on the same day, the girls will be joining ABC’s Good Morning America as the first K-pop girl group to perform at the Summer Concert Series.

Want to know more about aespa? Check out our article about their Showcase SYNK here.

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