Wonder walls: New murals on façades in Lisbon's Zambujal neighbourhood tell locals' stories

The world's first social housing neighbourhood dedicated to promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is now open in a suburb of the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

In one of the best-known social housing neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the city, a new project aims to bring joy to residents through art. A total of 17 murals now cover the façades of the buildings in Bairro do Zambujal,in Amadora, inspired by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The stories of the community itself are one of the main motif s that inspired the works, according to Vítor Monteiro, resident and president of the CAZAmbujal Association, which is behind the Zambujal 360 project.

"We went looking for artists, not just urban art artists, but artists who had often never painted on a wall before," he said, noting that they were looking for those who were "open to getting to know the stories of the neighbourhood, the people of the neighbourhood". The aim was then to link theSustainable Development Goalsto the stories ofthese residents.

From the residents' point of view, the initiative has breathed new life into the neighbourhood. This is the view of Ana Gomes in particular: "At least this way our neighbourhood gets noticed, lots of people come to see it," she says.

But the project also aims to contribute to the education of the younger members of the community. "We want the project to be sustainable, so the visits have a cost so that we can maintain it over time, and also because we want to train the young people in the neighbourhood," explained the president of the CAZAmbujal Association.

In what way? Since they are "the ones who know the neighbourhood best", Vítor Monteiro believes that"it makes perfect sense for them to be the guides,to tell the stories of the neighbourhood, but also their own stories", thus acquiring skills that could be decisive in their future, especially professionally.

Several schools, university students and companies looking for socially-orientated partnerships have already shown interest in taking part in the initiative.

The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by UN member states in 2015 as an action plan for a better future. The United Nations Development Programmesays they represent "a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity."