This morning I attended a “media roundtable” at the United Nations Millennium Campaign. Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign and Anita Sharma, North American Coordinator for the UN Millennium Campaign spoke at length about the Millennium Development Goals, progress made over the last 10 years, and how bloggers and media can play key roles in the upcoming G8/G20 Summits in Canada, and the UN MDG Review Summit in NYC this September.
The alerted us to a website they built in anticipation of September’s MDG Summit. I highly recommend it. You’ll find up-to-date info and breaking news, as well as some helpful background (click the screen grab below to check it out). September’s Summit will be a huge moment in the history of the Millennium Development Goals and key to determining how much progress we’ll make to achieving those goals before 2015.
On October 16, 17 and 18th, millions of people around the world will “Stand Up” against hunger and poverty in city plazas, schools, concert halls and churches. Stand Up & Take Action, coordinated by the UN Millennium Campaign and GCAP, is a global event in which citizens urge their leaders to keep their promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and work locally to ensure food security and climate justice. We are hearing from organizers around the world about the many Stand Up events planned – concerts, silent vigils, tree plantings, campus rallies — even a pumpkin drop. To join an event, go to the Stand Up website and click on events in your region.
If you would like to organize a Stand Up event, just register on the website and describe your event — large or small. You can download Stand Up signs, brochures, logos, banners, t-shirt designs and more. Remember to report back on the number of people who participated, so they can be counted for the Guinness World Records. (Last year, 116 million people participated in Stand Up — shattering the record for the greatest number of people taking action for a social cause in a set time.) Stand Up participants are invited to take photos and upload them to the website, which will run a continuous stream of Stand Up pics and videos throughout the 3-day event. If you can’t join a “Stand Up” event on the ground, you can participate virtually by going to the website and clicking on “Act Online.”
Why focus on the Millennium Development Goals? In 2000, 189 countries, including the U.S., committed to achieving eight goals that would address poverty, health, education and environmental challenges by 2015. However, more than halfway to the deadline, major reductions in global poverty levels have begun to slow or even reverse. The UN’s 2009 Millennium Development Goals Report is both promising and disturbing. But we can turn the tide.
Stand Up is a once-a-year opportunity to join with millions of others speaking out against hunger and poverty. For inspiration, check out scenes from last year’s Stand Up mobilization. Join us!
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
