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
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