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.

Finding

On our planet of 6.7 billion people, one billion suffer from hunger while another billion suffer from obesity and lifestyle-related diseases. This global dichotomy – where people are dying of hunger while others are literally eating themselves to death – is both ironic and alarming. It represents the world today – one that we need to redesign.

YGL Response

Table for Two addresses these two issues simultaneously. The mechanism is simple: every time you eat a healthy Table for Two meal at a participating company cafeteria or restaurant, 20 cents is donated to fund a school meal in a country suffering from hunger. As you prevent your own obesity, you are also helping to alleviate a child’s hunger. Your meal is his/her meal. You are eating a win-win meal together at a Table for Two.

Key 2010 Accomplishments

Programme fully established with 300 companies providing 5.2m meals served to date (annually over 23,300 children are provided meals every day).

Events held in 2010:
2010/05/03: TABLE FOR TWO USA kick-off event at Columbia University (New York, NY)
2010/07/21: Lecture and Reception at Japan Society (New York, NY)
2010/07/22: Lecture and Book Signing at Kinokuniya (New York, NY)
2010/07/25: Speech at Japan Block Fair (New York, NY)
2010/07/27: Lecture at UN Forum (New York, NY)
2010/09/10: Informal talk and gathering with Net Impact and JET members (San Francisco, CA)
2010/09/14: Talk at San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA)
2010/09/15: Talk at University of San Francisco, hosted by Net Impact (San Francisco, CA)

Next Milestones

TBD as efforts grow.

Leadership

Kumi Fujisawa and Kohei Takashima

More Information:

Finding

In 2009, the number of chronically hungry people in the world passed the one billion mark – nearly one sixth of humanity. Despite life-changing advances in technology enjoyed by developed countries, real progress toward food security, clean water, and health among the very poor continues to elude us. At the core of this complex challenge lies our failure to sufficiently leverage global capacity to design, develop, and deploy technologies that will improve the lives of the poor.

YGL Response

The Global Responsibility License (GRL) is designed to make IP available for development uses while preserving protection for commercial uses and managing institutional risk. Unlocking IP across multiple technology sectors will foster innovation and kickstart the design, development and deployment of technologies. Combined with technical and legal support to ensure the license’s terms are tailored to the technologies and organizations involved, the GRL has the potential to bring down barriers faced by current patent commons initiatives and foster new partnerships on a scale previously unachievable.

Leaders

James Moody, Siobhan Walsh, Adam Bly, Boris Nikolic

Finding

Over 400 million school-age children worldwide suffer from parasitic worms, harming their health, nutrition and cognitive development and threatening their educational access and learning. Worms can lead to anaemia and malnutrition and, as a result, children are either too sick or tired to concentrate in class or attend school at all.

YGL Response

Spearheaded by YGLs Kristin Forbes and Michael Kremer in 2007, Deworm the World (DtW) is an initiative to increase access to education by expanding deworming among the 400 million school-age children infected by worms worldwide. YGLs chose deworming because of the evidence that deworming is an extremely cost effective way to increase schooling and improve child health. Since 2007, with the incredible power of the YGL network, the task force has helped to develop partnerships between funders, implementers, governments, nongovernmental organizations and technical experts and de-wormed over 20 million kids.

Key 2010 Accomplishments

The programme has dewormed 20 million school-age children in 26 countries in 2009 and is on track to exceed that number in 2011.

Next Milestones

Continuing expansion and efforts.

Leadership

Kriston Forbes and Erik Charas

More Information: