Villages in Action Conference

On Saturday, November 27^th 2010, microphones will be mounted on a stage center in a little village called Kikuube. Though the locale is in rural Uganda, the matters discussed will be of international importance namely, just what the MDGs are in action.

As TMS Ruge writes, the assumption that everyone knows about the MDGs is just that. However the very poor the MDGs aim to uplift are themselves addressing the challenges.

Thus this first Villages in Action conference will highlight what grassroot initiatives are happening, as well as questioning “the notion that the sustainability of our communities depends on intervention from the West”.

It will surely be great for the Villages conferences to take off throughout Africa.

Read more on the Villages in Action Conference

Debunking the myth otherwise known as the Millennium Development Goals

With the MDG summit about to start in New York, many scholars, practitioners and pundits have been discussing the relevance and approach of the Millennium Development Goals. James Shikwati, Director of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) critiques the assumptions of the goals in an incisive article titled “MDGs: Africa Must Rethink Approach”.

Shiwati starts off with Goal number 2 regarding the achievement of Universal Primary Education, dispelling the myth that the need for enrolment in school usurps the desire for quality education:

“Academies (private schools) are reported to be growing in popularity as Kenyan middle class parents shun free primary school education … By opting to pay fees notwithstanding free education, parents have dispelled the myth propagated by international activists that Africans prefer free goodies and do not think long term.”

This echoes Jeffrey James writing in 2006 in the Third World Quarterly on “Misguided Investments in meeting the Millennium Development Goals” in drawing a clear distinction between completing primary school and being literate. Unless there is investment in infrastructure including teachers and facilities, poor education quality means that Goal Number 2 cannot be achieved. Shikwati even warns:

“High numbers of undereducated graduates (because Africa’s education system does not prepare its graduates to confront the continent’s challenges to produce positive outcomes) will lead to “haki yetu” agitations.”

The MDGs also fail to recognise social exclusion and marginalisation which are the main root causes for under development. This includes the youth and even the general adult population in some instances. Reverting to goal number 2, there is no mention of adult education, which led Almazan-Khan to write as early as 2001, Does EFA (Education for All) stand for “Except for Adults”?

Shikwati endorses the views of other activists that see the MDGs as more donor-centric than people focussed. In effect these goals do not belong to the most impoverished populations of the world, but to the technocrats sitting in New York, Geneva and other donor headquarters. The MDGs robbed the right of the poor to determine what was in their best interests; no wonder as we approach 2015 there has been no significant progress.

Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty NOW!

Why Stand Up and Take Action in 2009?
For the fourth year in a row, millions of people around the world will Stand Up and Take Action to show their support for the fight against poverty and for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

This year, Stand Up will take place against the backdrop of a deepening financial crisis and a slowing global economy. It is a time of great challenge for development in general and for the MDGs in particular.

Already, we are seeing the potentially devastating impact of this on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. We know that the current economic climate threatens to undo and possibly even reverse the very significant gains that have been made towards achieving the MDGs.

With just six years left to the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the Goals, we cannot afford to let this happen. The achievement of the MDGs must remain a priority on the global political and public agenda.

In this environment, Stand Up is a vital opportunity to send a clear and urgent message to world leaders and decision-makers and raise the political stakes. Our policy messages and actions must reflect the urgency of the situation and must be an instrument to convey the sense of our growing impatience and intolerance of excuses for and distractions from the implementation of policies and programs that help the poorest and most vulnerable.

When
October 16th, 17th and 18th, 2009, from 12 a.m. GMT (relevant local time) on October 16 to 11.59 p.m. GMT (relevant local time) on October 18.
Where
Wherever people who want to be involved in the fight against poverty and support the achievement of the MDGs are.
What
Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now! A three day mobilization to send a loud and clear message from citizens to leaders of rich and poor countries to take urgent action to achieve the MDGs and once again break the Guinness World Record.

For more information check out www.standagainstpoverty.org