EOTO WORLD GLOBAL INTERNET FORUM, 18-20 JULY: INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR THE MDGS AND LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND YOUTH: How can youth move the MDG agenda forward?

By Dr. Raphael Ogar Oko

International Coordinator,

Millennium Development Ambassadors

www.mdgambassadors.org

BRIEF ON DR. RAPHAEL OGAR OKO Obtained a B.Ed degree in Curriculum Studies and Educational

Technology/Mathematics and was awarded the 1990 Best Graduating Student Award and other further training

An Ambassador for Peace of the Universal Peace Federation in Nigeria UNOY Peace building campaigner of the months in March and May 2006 Appointed as Africa Regional Coordinator for Teachers Without Borders in 2007

and initiated the Millennium Development Ambassadors program and has

appointed thousands of local leaders in Africa and around the world who are making efforts toward the realization of the UN MDGs. In 2011, launched the Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors program in Sierra Leone

Initiated several other programs including Voice of Teachers radio show In May 2009, Raphael’s “Wall-less Classroom” initiative was selected among

the 100 “Projects for Peace” by the Davis Foundation. In August, 2009, Raphael was named the recipient of the Champions of Quality Education in Africa by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation & Ashoka's Changemakers' competition for working to closing the education divide

In 2010, Raphael bagged an honorary Doctorate degree in Public Administration for his leadership role. Raphael was selected to speak at the first TEDxWiserU conference at Peking University in Beijing on August 21, 2010. TEDxWiserU is a new TEDx event that focuses on innovation in education.

Has been public speaker in several international and local forums on contemporary issues

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND YOUTH: HOW CAN YOUTH MOVE THE MDG AGENDA FORWARD?

BACK GROUND INFORMATION ON MDGs MDGs: The Millennium Development Goals

HISTORY OF THE MDGs The desire for development is global Everyone without exception is seeking for

development Despite the global desire for development, we are

not living in a globally developed world There is a global development divide Several efforts have been made to bridge the divide

and build a globally developed world Efforts not realized as very few nations are

developed and many are developing and others underdeveloped

20TH CENTURY EFFORTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Last decade of 20th century witnessed several promises: Education for all Health for all Housing for all Food for all Etc

Promises not fulfilled by end of 20th century Global desire for development remained in

the heart of all people and nations

UN MILLENNIUM SUMMIT IN 2000 AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

To bridge the global development divide, UN summit held in 2000

Outcome was Millennium Declaration Secretariat of UN formulated the MDGs 2015

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop global partnership for development

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

PURPOSE OF THE GOALS AND CHALLENGES

To bridge the global development divide However, by 2012, indications are clear that

most nations may not be able to attain the MDG by 2015 for several reasons Ignorance of the goals Non involvement of core beneficiaries of the goals Violence and conflicts around the world Emphasis on inter-national development divide

while ignoring intra-national divide Leadership and good governance issues Inability to enforce international development

agreements Global economic crisis and climate change, etc

RENEWING THE DEVELOPMENT DIVIDE BRIDGE APPROACH

Bridging the global development divide is NOT merely between nations

Development divide within nations is a major issue

To achieve global development, we need to bridge both development divide between nations and within nations

In most nations, youth play very significant role in moving the nation either backward or forward (recent Arab and North African spring are examples)

THE YOUTH AND MDG In each nation, we need to bridge the development divide within

the nation with the MDGs Youth have indispensable roles to play in advancing the

realization of the goals Lack of awareness of the MDGs and ignorance of the core target

groups Uninspired about the global vision of development Not empowered with professional tools and capacity to drive the

agenda Disconnect from information, each other and resources Under utilization and abuse of resources for development Inability to acknowledge and appreciate efforts toward sustainable

development Lack of structures for effective implementation and

monitoring/evaluation Lack of commitment by stakeholders Approach to bridging the divide with a focus on international

divide

WHAT CAN YOUTH DO?

As representatives of our common future and leaders of tomorrow, which starts today, youth can advance the realization of the MDGs in several ways Taking ownership of the agenda as Youth

Development Goals (understanding the process of the goals, the content of the goals, how to design programs to achieve the goals and implementation of programs and projects, etc)

Reaching out to others on acquired knowledge and skills to help them understand and implement the goals

Monitoring and evaluation of efforts toward the goals

WHAT YOUTH CAN DO

Inspire the people with the global vision of development

Empower people with professional tools and skills for implementing the goals

Connecting people to information, each other and to resources

Utilizing human and material resources for development

Celebrating commitments, dedication and accomplishments for development

YOUTH AND LOCALIZATION OF MDG

Become Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors (Youth Ambassadors for Development working in local communities to facilitate the realization of the MDGs)

Learn the UN Model and replicate in local communities

Guide local communities to implement the MDGs

Key role of youth is to serve as facilitators and connectors of the policy makers with the people

THE UN MODEL FOR MDG FORMULATION The United Nations convened he Millennium Summit,

which brought together world leaders from about 189 nations to the UN Headquarters

During the summit, participants deliberated on the challenges facing the world and the need for an urgent collective response beyond individual aspirations and challenges of each member nation

The outcome of the summit was the endorsement of the resolution called the Millennium Declaration

The Secretariat of the United Nations translated the Millennium Declaration into achievable goals and targets and therefore formulated the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Member nations were mobilized to adopt and adapt the MDGs in their nations and to create platforms and networks to work toward the realization of the MDGs

UN MODEL CONT’D Partnership among and between member nations as well

as with other NGOs and other stakeholders have been encouraged by the UN for all nations to realize the goals

Programs and projects were designed, formulated and shared with members and partners to learn from and to implement in member nations

Funding for proposed programs and projects were explored and new funding sources are being explored to ensure members and partners have the resources to achieve the goals

Reporting mechanism is established through periodic UN meetings, assemblies, etc to receive reports and to reinforce ongoing efforts

Member nations are expected to domesticate the goals and create in country visibility for all efforts toward the MDGs realization

YOUTH APPROACH TO LOCALIZING MDG The 10-point approach offers a model for localizing

the MDGs by youth in their communities: Convene the Millennium Summit of your focus area Deliberate on the Challenges being faced and reflect on

need for collective actions by the area Issue the Millennium Declaration of the area Formulate the Millennium Development Goals of the area Identify core members of the area and mobilize them to

adopt and adapt the goals Build partnership among core stakeholders Design programs and projects to facilitate realization of the

goals Raise funds and explore areas of other funding for

programs and projects Create a reporting/frequent meeting/assessment

mechanism Encourage stakeholders to further localize the MDGs until it

gets to personal level realization of the goals

YOUTH AT THE CENTER OF MDG

Youth are at the center of most of the goals Youth and poverty/hunger:

Reduce extreme wealth and excess food (microcredit, etc)

Youth and education Ensure that education for all campaign is promoted

Youth and gender equality/women empowerment Providing equal opportunities to both male and female

Youth and child mortality Youth and maternal health Youth and HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Youth and the environment Youth and partnership for development

CONCLUSION

Youth can serve as Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors in their communities and inspire, empower, connect, utilize and celebrate people for sustainable development

Since many people in local areas are ignorant of the MDGs, youth can bring the summit to local community levels and work with local communities to convene community summit, issue community development declaration, community development goals and development programs

Since a significant percentage of the world are youth, a focus on youth involvement can facilitate the realization of the MDGs

THANK YOU

I appreciate the opportunity to share with you briefly and hope that you can read more about our initiative involving youth and MDGs on our website www.mdgambassadors.org

Best wishes