Join us this Friday at 11 AM EDT/3 PM GMT by following @ONECampaign and #MDGMomentum on Twitter for our chat, “How to Speed Up the Fight Against Extreme Poverty Before 2015 – And Set The Stage for the 2030″. ONE’s own Global Policy Director Ben Leo will discuss ideas to meet existing MDG goals in the next 1000 days and what it will mean to reach “near zero” in the fight against extreme poverty by 2030. Ben has been leading ONE’s latest campaign to bring the world’s poorest voices to the discussion for post-2015 MDGs. Last week, ONE delivered our post-MDG petition to the UN High Level Panel in Bali. Ben also co-wrote our report on improving post-2015 development goals through more open processes.

We want you to help take part in the conversation and ask your questions/leave your comments  in three easy ways:

1. Leave a question or comment below.

2. Ask a question @ONECampaign on Twitter anytime this week.

3. Follow us at the the hashtag #MDGMomentum on Friday, April 5 at 11AM EDT/3PM GMT to ask questions and watch the conversation.

So, need to know more about the MDGs and what it means to end poverty by 2030? Glad you asked! Here are some primers:

-Check out the UN’s MDG website for quick facts and success stories around the eight specific groups of goals.

-Watch Bono’s fantastic TED presentation on reaching the near-end of poverty by 2030.

 

Imagine an all-day event where great minds and organizations come together for a rapid-fire discussion of how technology and social good can work together.

A geek’s dream played out at Sunday’s GoodXGlobal event (pronounced “Good By Global”) during SXSW Interactive last weekend. The daylong series of speakers existed outside the hyped-up SXSW microcosm and brought some true innovation and discussions of social good and philanthropy to the weekend.

The event, produced by superstar African-based technologists Ushahidi and the iHub, along with World Food Program USA and the UN Foundation (ONE was also a co-sponsor), presented experts from around the globe to discuss how technologies, social movements, and data are coming together to tackle some of the world’s toughest challenges.

“Gains not Glitter”, one of the many discussions on the marriage of technology and development. Photo credit: Geoff Duncan.

Some highlights from ONE:

-Ushahidi’s Angela Odour giving a great overview of the iHub, covering the Kenyan elections, and AkiraChix, an African Women and Technology project focused on technology and training.
-GOOD introduced their new Global Citizenship project platform about global heath and development.
-Representative Darrell Issa, R-Calif.-49, discussed the #OpenGov movement to access data and the Open Government Foundation.
-Larry Irving from Mobile Alliance for Global Good discussed how mobile creates change and what more needs to happen (fact: Women in the developing world are 27% less likely to have a mobile device.)
- Susan Oguya presented on mFarm and using mobile to support small scale farmers in Africa
-Water for the People and Effective UI showed how smart and beautiful data can be used in reporting outcomes and inform donors and agencies
-Actors Ian Somerhalder and Sophia Bush joined RYOT founder Bryn Mooser to discuss Millennials and how they can affect social change.

Actors Ian Somerhalder and Sophia Bush joined RYOT founder Bryn Mooser. Photo credit: Geoff Duncan

ONE’s Jeff Davidoff also spoke about ONE and how our current You Choose campaign in Africa is bringing the voices of the world’s poorest to the table in planning the next global plan to end poverty. So far, the campaign has brought in more than 143,00 repsonses to the campaign. Jeff made the very valid point that to use technology effectively across all parts of Africa, the You Choose program looked at the 2G phone as the tool to effect change on the continent. Conversely, the cost of SMS on the African continent is five to ten times more expensive than in the US or Europe.

Jeff Davidoff discussed technology as an asset to the African continent. Photo credit: Geoff Duncan.

GoodxGlobal gave a voice to technology and social good that unfortunately wasn’t otherwise a big part of SXSW this year. It is meet-ups and events like this that allow a host of great organizations to display their technologies and meet or inspire others to use technology for charting issues, creating change, and reporting progress. For a full schedule of speakers and to watch a replay of the day via LiveStream, visit GoodXGlobal’s website. Or search for the hashtag #GXG on Twitter to see the thousands of tweets that followed the action.

Read Garth’s piece on SXSW from yesterday here. 

The annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival started March 8, covering all the new topics and releases in film, music and interactive. This week-long event is big on hype, crowds, food, drinks and celebrities. The do-gooder events get tucked in here and there – and when you find them, they are usually fascinating and informative.

 

Students during a computer lesson at a Nairobi school. Poor infrastructure and equipment in public schools have hindered use of new technology in learning, especially in rural areas that lack electricity and access to voice and data services. Photo credit: Nation.co.ke.

One interesting session at the end of the first Interactive day was titled Teaching Cheetahs: Disruptive Education in Africa. The panel promised to “bring to light some of the innovative ideas being put into practice on the African continent to build leadership and management capacity thus enabling African to fully take advantage of its accelerating growth trajectory.”

The panel featured a filmmaker, software builder and a program that brings African students to the US to study in the States. The panel shared some interesting facts on digital growth and youth in Africa:

- Africa’s cell phone penetration has gone from 5 to 75 percent in the last 10 years
- More than 70 percent of the population on the content is under 30
- 7 of the 10 fastest growing economies are on the African continent

All the panelists agreed that technology is crucial to the growth and development of education in Africa. Without access to technology, the rural poor will become urban poor, says Christy Pipkin, executive director of the Nobelity Project, a group that creates documentaries and funds new schools in Kenya. Her Kenya school fund focuses on clean water, education tools, and resource centers. In her opinion, “Technology isn’t always about what’s new; it’s about what works.”

Panel host John Kidenda of the African Leadership Bridge introduced three groups changing education systems and learning tools: Ashesi University, African Leadership Academy and his own group. Kidenda discussed how using the White Space Internet, a band of megahertz frequencies used for television, can distribute connectivity and increase broadband range to rural area to increase usage and access for rural students.

Rick Reeder of the African Leadership Bridge also stressed the importance of technology tools to help learning, quoting Sugata Mitra’s One Piece At A Time: “We are moving from a world of have and have-nots to a world of know and know-nots.” Technology isn’t so much specifically about what students are learning, but how these tools encourage how to learn. According to Reeder, mobile will be key to learning models and sharing studies and information between students, where the best kind of learning takes place.

Nivi Mukherjee, CEO of the Kenyan EdTech company eLimu, introduced her company’s new online software to facilitate classroom learning. The tablet-based software uses animations, videos, songs, music, games and quizzes in to a variety of topics in the Kenyan National curriculum from math, English, science and religious studies. The teachings also expand into teachings on environmentalism, social responsibility and human rights.

All the panelists agreed that technology as a disruptive force in education will change the status quo for education on the continent for the better. These tools and new ways of learning encourage a shift to critical thinking and allow students to tell their own stories. Technology is the equalizer in education for the rural poor.

UPDATE: 12/29/12 5:58pm ET. The amendment to cut foreign assistance was defeated in the Senate 3-91. Thank you to everyone who made calls to their senators to ask them to protect these lifesaving programs.

Last week, while most Americans like you were busy traveling and enjoying the start to the holidays, a bad idea took shape in Congress. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an amendment to the $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy disaster relief bill that is making its way through the Senate. Sen. Paul’s amendment calls for a $9 billion cut in foreign assistance, meaning deep cuts to programs that fight AIDS, fund vaccines, and help provide nutrition to the world’s poorest. These cuts are deeper than the budget cuts that would occur if we go over the fiscal cliff!

The vote on this amendment, which is expected to occur today (Thursday), would put a huge dent in funding lifesaving program. The relief bill — a great measure to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy — is expected to easily pass in the Senate. And with any bill, the usual number wide-ranging amendments were tacked on before the vote — some pass and some don’t.

This amendment is one that should not pass (…and cue Gandalf).

For the past two months, ONE members and staff have been reaching out to members of Congress to protect the “150 account”, the foreign assistance portion of our country’s budget. This is where programs like PEPFAR and Feed the Future receive their funding. Preserving these programs saves lives and helps the poorest countries with the resources they need to pull themselves out of poverty. Cutting these programs from the budget won’t make a dent in the deficit.

It’s seems a bit sneaky when legislators tack on amendments to popular bills like Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Of course, a bill to help recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy should pass, but not with amendments that hurt the world’s poorest people. And, cutting foreign assistance does nothing to hurt or help Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. It’s just another attempt at cutting funding for programs that are part of our country’s legacy to the world.

So today, ONE is asking members to call their senators and tell them to oppose the amendment. Unfortunately, we have today to make sure they hear us. A holiday rush, indeed!

And over the next few months, while these budget battles continue, we’ll keep pushing our message to protect this portion of the U.S. budget. In the fight against extreme poverty, defending foreign assistance is crucial to reducing global poverty.

Last week, we commemorated World AIDS Day with a new global AIDS funding report and a new video series, “It Starts With Me”, an emotional group of testimonials from AIDS activists, ONE members and staff, and celebrities explaining why fighting against AIDS is important to them. TIME and Reuters, among others, covered our work late last week and we watched with pride as our partner (RED) and Tiësto marked the day with a global online concert and a remix iTunes album with proceeds going to the Global Fund.

But World AIDS Day was only the beginning, and now we really need your voice.

If you’ve kept reading this article, then you obviously care about fighting AIDS and making a difference. Now others need to hear your passion. Why? Because your story can be the fuel for firing up friends and family to join you, and even inspire some random person watching your video on our YouTube channel to get involved. Your story, joined with hundreds of others, is a building block for bringing in more folks to take action.

So this week, trusty ONE advocates, sit down in front of your camera on your phone, tablet, or laptop and make a short video and explain why you are in the fight to see the beginning of the end of AIDS. Here are some instructions. Once you complete the form, we’ll look up your video and add it to our YouTube page and spotlight your work. Remember, it doesn’t have to be flashy or perfect, just honest and sincere. Good luck!

1. Record a video message that answers this question: What moment in your life inspired you to join the fight against HIV/AIDS? Click here for all the specifics (how long it should be, what you should say, etc.) For extra inspiration, watch Colin Farrell’s video here.

2. Log into your YouTube channel to upload your video. You will need to have a YouTube account before you can do that. Find out how to set up a YouTube account here.

3. In your video, make sure you include this text at the top of your description:

CLICK HERE to protect US funding that fights AIDS around the world: http://one.org/us/aids?source=WADyoutube

Want to submit your own message? Details here: http://www.one.org/us/2012/11/20/submit-a-video

4. Submit your video URL in the form below. Within 24 hours, we’ll make sure your video is added to our “It starts with me” playlist.

So, how can we help 25 million children reach their full potential? How can we show US leaders just how serious we are? What’s the best way to turn up the heat on leaders to fight against chronic malnutrition and spread the word to get thousands to help take action? These are the big questions that we had to answer as started our sweet potato campaign. Along with our petition, we realized that we need to have show a large movement of people calling out for change.

Then, when we looked back at some of our previous campaigns, we decided that sending a message directly to leaders via Twitter or our website was a great way to mobilize thousands of people around a single message. Last year, we petitioned the White House on vaccines and AIDS funding via Twitter.

And earlier this year, we asked you send your tweet to our Street Tweet bot that painted the roads with your messages for the G8 meetings. For these campaigns, thousands of people across the US and globally sent messages through our website or on Twitter — and those messages were received. So this time around, we’re working with State Department to help push the agenda for commitments to help against malnutrition.

So, on World Food Day, starting at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT, we’re asking you to take 30 seconds and tweet this message:

.@StateDept #SecClinton Create a #recipe4change. Put global nutrition on the agenda. 25mm kids are counting on it: http://bit.ly/RvnXJi

Not on Twitter? Send your message via email here.

That’s it! You can also visit and send the message via Twitter or through our website and we’ll deliver the message to the State Department.

Again, why Twitter? Well, it’s a simple, quick and effective way for people from all over America to talk directly to the State Department and get their networks involved. The more people see and tweet our message, the more our call to action gets heard and we can push from meaningful change. So a few clicks, and you’ve just added your voice to a great movement of people fighting poverty and helping children stay healthy and thrive.

After you tweet, take yourself out for some sweet potato fries or a slice of sweet potato pie, you deserve it.

ONE is honored to be working with these outstanding chefs at our World Food Day events. ONE organizers have been working around the clock to host six truly spectacular events for ONE members to meet a celebrity chef, eat a great dish, learn more about the sweet potato campaign, and tweet our message. So, if you’re in New York City, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Des Moines, Denver, or San Francisco, you can come eat, tweet and turn up the heat on our message.

Here’s a look at the chefs who will be cooking sweet potato dishes and helping us spread our message on World Food Day:

New York City
Sam Talbot is the host AOL’s GMC “Trade Secrets” and author of The Sweet Life: Diabetes without Boundaries. He is the former Executive Chef of both The Surf Lodge in Montauk, New York and Imperial No. Nine, the sustainable seafood restaurant located in the Mondrian Soho Hotel in New York City. Sam was a semi-finalist on Bravo’s acclaimed series Top Chef and voted the viewers “Fan Favorite” for the season. Click here to RSVP.

Washington, DC
Spike Mendelsohn runs We, the Pizza and Good Stuff eatery in Washington, DC and will soon open the Bearnaise Restaurant. Mendelsohn also stars of the Bravo TV series Life After Top Chef. Mendelsohn was a contestant and judge on two different seasons of Top Chef. Click here to RSVP.

Atlanta
Hugh Acheson is the author of A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen and chef/partner of the Athens, Georgia, restaurants Five and Ten and The National, and the Atlanta restaurant Empire State South. Acheson was on season 3 of Top Chef Masters and is currently a judge on the show. Click here to RSVP.

Denver
Hosea Rosenberg was the winner of season five of Top Chef and currently operates Blackbelly Catering. Rosenberg was executive chef at Jax Fish House from 2004 to 2010. Click here to RSVP.

Des Moines
Sean Wilson & Hal Jasa are chefs behind Proof, one of the top restaurants in Des Moines. Des Moines is host to the World Food prize on Wednesday, October 17. Click here to RSVP.

San Francisco
Mindi Canner and Kate Kuckro from Sweet Construction Bakery — a local food truck — will serve some morning confections, muffins, and sweets at ING Direct Cafe. Sweet Constructions was named to 2011 SF Weekly Best of 2011: Best Dishes Worth Hunting Down. Click here to RSVP.

If you’re not in one of our six flagship cities, then you can still take action on World Food Day by visiting our Recipe 4 Change page and download our toolkit. You can make some of your own sweet potato treats with recipes from our Tumblr blog and sign our nutrition petition. Watch our blog next week as share stories and photos from our big events.

I love Twitter for so many reasons: it’s my top source for news links, a connection to friends and colleagues, a way to measure trends, and a way to take action with causes that I support. But I’ve always wondered when does something so fleeting as a tweet become something more than just 140 characters floating in the Twitterverse? Now, a tweet can do a whole lot more: it can be a work of art and a voice in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

You can take action right now by submitting a tweet to the (2015)QUILT and it will magically create a quilt panel using your tweet. It’s easy: first submit a tweet with the hashtag #2015quilt, like this:

The #endofaids starts with all of us.Take action at one.org #2015quilt

— Garth Moore (@garthmoore) July 21, 2012

And voila, here’s my panel from my tweet:

Your tweet can be funny, inspiring, a memorial to a loved one, or a rallying cry in the fight against AIDS — as long as it’s within about 130 characters or so and has the hashtag #2015quilt. This is a great way to take action, especially if you haven’t visited ONE and (RED)’s online digital AIDS quilt yet or you want to take an action while you’re on the go from your mobile phone.

This week, as the International AIDS Conference is held in DC and the AIDS Memorial Quilt is shown on the National Mall, this is a great time to make your voice heard along with the thousands of people who have submitted their quilt panels. And we’ll continue to grow the (2015)QUILT through World AIDS Day this December 1 as we continue to push to see the Beginning of the End of AIDS.

So go turn your tweet into a work of art.

Follow Garth on Twitter at @GarthMoore

USAID shows all of these advantages of how mobile phones tackle poverty in a great new infographic — a fun way to visualize how that little piece of technology that threads us all together can do so much. By 2016, there will be one billion mobile phones in use in Africa and the increase in mobile penetration can raise the GDP growth rate by 1.2%. View more in the infographic below and check out more from USAID on mobile solutions. Thanks to TechTalkAfrica for the heads-up on this post on this as well.

So watch a behind-the-scenes look at the ONE Street Tweet. And a huge thank you again to everyone who sent their messages to @ONEStreetTweet.

Then, take a look at just the thousands of messages we’ve received on our ONE Street Tweet gallery.

Music Credit and special thanks to Mr. Gnome whose song ‘Bit of Tongue’ is featured in the video. You can check out their Facebook page here.