Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today asked television producers and artists in Spain, Portugal and Latin America to use their imaginative talents to find new ways to help solve challenges related to the environment, women’s empowerment, organized crime and drug trafficking.

In a video message to the Iberoamerican Creative Summit being held in Aviles, Spain, the Secretary-General said “Please use your visual sense, your narrative touch, your imaginative gifts to find new ways to tackle old problems.”

The meeting is the latest in a series of such one-day forums, organized by the UN Creative Community Outreach Initiative (CCOI) to provide film, new media, television, and documentary producers around the world with access to information about the work of the UN and its priority issues.

The forum in Spain discussed gender equality and empowerment of women, environmental sustainability, combating drugs and crime and their effects, and organized crime.