My Voice and Noise on the Millennium Development Goals
We must aim higher!
The first of the MDGs has us trying to reduce in half by 2015 the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day and of their suffering hunger and its intentions are good, and the world needs to support it by reaching a high economic growth, much more equitably distributed around the world, though where can we find the World’s Gini coefficient?
Nonetheless, I feel that we should always remind ourselves to consider that goal an absolute minimum—not only because of humane and civilized motivations, but also because a person earning a dollar a day and not having hunger, does really have very little to do in making a world that is increasingly more interconnected become more sustainable or politically viable.
No! As, instructed by a Chinese proverb, we need to aim to the stars since even if we don’t reach them we will at least reach much higher than if we aim at something on our level. In this sense, I believe we need to review all our current efforts, as if the income goal was at least 10 dollars a day or, if it makes you feel better … 9.99.
There should be life beyond 2015
Yes I agree that the MDGs are undoubtedly useful to focus and to call to arms all those willing to fight for a better future. Nonetheless I have currently the uneasy feeling that the year 2015, more than the general timeline it should represent, is turning more into a finishing line, after which all the runners might lie down to catch their breath. Hey, we have even heard about proposals of borrowing against aid commitments after 2015, to spend it all before 2015! Colleagues, when I look around the table I imagine that most of us will have grandchildren come January 2016, and it might behoove us to think of life after 2015.
The Private Sector’s MDGs
How I would like to see a group of leading hands-on entrepreneurs from the private sector develop what they believe should be the MDGs, and compare their ideas with what we currently have. We might be up for some surprises!
The first of the MDGs has us trying to reduce in half by 2015 the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day and of their suffering hunger and its intentions are good, and the world needs to support it by reaching a high economic growth, much more equitably distributed around the world, though where can we find the World’s Gini coefficient?
Nonetheless, I feel that we should always remind ourselves to consider that goal an absolute minimum—not only because of humane and civilized motivations, but also because a person earning a dollar a day and not having hunger, does really have very little to do in making a world that is increasingly more interconnected become more sustainable or politically viable.
No! As, instructed by a Chinese proverb, we need to aim to the stars since even if we don’t reach them we will at least reach much higher than if we aim at something on our level. In this sense, I believe we need to review all our current efforts, as if the income goal was at least 10 dollars a day or, if it makes you feel better … 9.99.
There should be life beyond 2015
Yes I agree that the MDGs are undoubtedly useful to focus and to call to arms all those willing to fight for a better future. Nonetheless I have currently the uneasy feeling that the year 2015, more than the general timeline it should represent, is turning more into a finishing line, after which all the runners might lie down to catch their breath. Hey, we have even heard about proposals of borrowing against aid commitments after 2015, to spend it all before 2015! Colleagues, when I look around the table I imagine that most of us will have grandchildren come January 2016, and it might behoove us to think of life after 2015.
The Private Sector’s MDGs
How I would like to see a group of leading hands-on entrepreneurs from the private sector develop what they believe should be the MDGs, and compare their ideas with what we currently have. We might be up for some surprises!
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