Ending Poverty? Universal Education? It is Up to Us.
A couple weeks ago, I swung by Professor Bonnie McEwan’s office to ask her a quick question, only for her to introduce me to Michael Jacobson and Heidi Walters from the MDG Awards Committee and ask me a question: Had I ever heard of the UN’s MDGs? My mind raced to conjure up an idea of what the acronym might stand for, but the only UN project that came to mind was the recent launch of the GirlUp campaign. Red-faced, I admitted that I had no idea what MDGs might be.
I may have unknowingly helped Professor McEwan, who happens to be the founder of Make Waves, an agency that helps non-profits develop comprehensive marketing strategies. She was discussing with Heidi and Michael the possibility of creating an awareness campaign for the MDGs: Millennium Development Goals.
The Millennium Development Goals were agreed upon by world leaders in September 2000. As a new global initiative, countries agreed to reduce extreme global poverty by 2015, by focusing on eight objectives: Universal Education, Ending Poverty and Hunger, Gender Equality, Child Health, Maternal Health, Combating HIV/AIDs, Environmental Sustainability and Global Partnership. Over 173 million people have stood up for the MDGs, including the president of the Dominican Republic, who has actually made the goals a part of his country’s formal policy objectives. But have you ever even heard of the MDGs?
Even pro athletes, such as Marion Barber of the Dallas Cowboys and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals, each of whom has started his own philanthropic organization, are speaking out in support of the MDGs. Jack Brewer of Minnesota Viking fame has been asked to serve on the MDG Awards Committee Athletes Board of Advisors. Founder of the Jack Brewer Foundation, his organization offers educational opportunities and economic development in partnership with underprivileged people around the world. MDGs are to be reached collectively, but social movements begin when a small group of active, thoughtful individuals stand up for what is right.
So what might we do to help reach the UN’s Millennium Development Goals? First, according to Professor McEwan, we have to share the idea of the MDGs. Word of mouth has a level of credibility. As MDGs are a people’s movement, we need a bottom-up campaign. We need an awareness campaign; hence, a social media campaign. It is up the Millennials - us, to spread this movement.
Find your passion. Take action at standagainstpoverty.org. Research the underlying factors of poverty at care.org, or learn about issues on good.is. Discover volunteer opportunities on idealist.org, allforgood.org, or handsonnetwork.org. Maybe next year, the MDG Awards Committee might recognize viral Millennials, spreading the word, taking action, one link at a time.
For more information, visit the United Nations Millennial Development Goals website and join the Millennium Development Goals Awards on Facebook.
Melissa Holmes is a graduate student and the University Student Senate representative at Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy. You can follow her on Twitter @Melissalhomes and follow Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy @leaders4change.
