A People’s Plan of Action for the Millennium Development Goals

Latest Updates:

You can pledge your support here.

You can now download the latest MDG–Factsheet!

You can now download the latest comprehensive list of YGL_PLEDGES here in Davos!

You can download our latest MDG Press Release here.

Finding

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are dedicated to advancing the well-being of the billion poorest and most marginalized people on the planet. They have spurred unprecedented success in forging a common global agenda for partnership. In the lead-up to the last major MDG checkpoint summit in 2010 – the September high-level event on the MDGs at the UN – the key challenge is to identify how to build momentum from the successes and expand the breakthroughs to areas where gaps still exist.

YGL Response

As many governments have fallen behind on their commitments to the MDGs, the YGL initiative aims to broaden the global process with a coherent and inclusive action plan that promotes concrete MDG pledges from all elements of society – business, nongovernmental organizations and the general public. The goal is to support and catalyse official policy processes by mobilizing broad coalitions for action and implementation.

Key 2010 Accomplishments

Website launched: www.mdgpledges.org Currently 91 pledges have been made, affecting 4,492,246,953 people. The YGL-MDG initiative is continuing to move forward, thanks in particular to the new support of the UN Foundation, and we are delighted that Caroline Bennett has joined this week as the project manager.  Caroline is sitting in my office in New York, and is getting the partner coordination and website update efforts underway in earnest.  We are of course always grateful for any suggestions on how best to link to ongoing and emerging WEF efforts at every step, so please do let us know if you have any thoughts in this regard.

Next Milestones

Davos to convene support from taskforce.

Leaders

Johann Koss, John McArthur

More Information

In his September 2009 opening address to the UN General Assembly, President Barack Obama announced a countdown to the September 2010 Millennium Development Goal (MDG)-focused summit that will take place at the United Nations. The President stated unequivocally that the United States “will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s Summit with a global plan to make them a reality.”

The MDGs are the world’s goals, and are dedicated to advancing the wellbeing of the billion poorest and most marginalized people on the planet still living on less than $1/day. They have spurred an unprecedented common global agenda for partnership. Bill Gates has called them “the best idea for focusing the world on fighting global poverty that [he has] ever seen.” The 2010 Summit will be the last major opportunity for the world to put in place a coherent and practical plan for achieving the integrated set of targets in time for the internationally agreed 2015 deadline.

The Young Global Leaders’ MDG Working Group has three main goals: (1) To mobilize individuals, companies, and non-governmental organizations to make concrete, action-oriented pledges that contribute to the achievement of the MDGs. Pledges are made under any of three headings: delivering services, raising awareness, or raising funds., with emphasis on numbers of real people affected. (2) To leverage these pledges in a manner that builds awareness and thereby supports the adoption of a robust intergovernmental MDG action plan at the September 2010 UN summit, and (3) To recommend a mechanism by which broader elements of society can make concrete MDG contributions on an ongoing basis through to 2015 – a “people’s plan” for the MDGs.