We all Stood Up, now which pathway from here?

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The Stand Up event is still getting a good deal of press, at least on the Stand Up and related websites, but its time to move on. First though, I am going to take some time to reassess this effort and what I have learned.

I have learned a great deal since starting on this pathway, more than I can actually absorb, so some resources have been put aside until I could get back to them. One of the positive aspects of the World Wide Web is that any one particular resource will most likely contain a plethora of additional resources. An original source for this effort was the work of Jeffery Sachs' UN Millennium Project. Sachs on Common Wealth was found on Chandan Sapkota's blog which in turn deals with economic growth, development, and public policy in the developing countries, so it fits nicely with the focus of this blog. Chandan's blog provides a number of Interesting links and some insightful ideas with his idea of Intervention Diagnostic. I still prefer an analytical approach to an emotional based one.

I am still optimistic. I still believe in basic liberal democratic free enterprise as laying out the path most likely able to take us to a new and better millennium. Alex Tabarrok of my favorite economics blog Marginal Revolution, doesn't mention the Millennium Development Goals in this TED video, but does cite the growth of China and India and touches on MDG2 global education and MDG8 trade.

• Alex Tabarrok on how ideas trump crises | Video on TED.com

I maintain my basic belief in an entrepreneurial approach though with a strong social aspect, realizing this is an oxymoron to many on both ends of the political spectrum. Still there are those who, even if they criticize current policy and practices, remain capitalists, perhaps not unfettered uber-capitalists, but at least they still believe in free enterprise, despite the latest economic crisis.

The challenge is that if we still believe in free enterprise after the worst recession since the Great Depression, then we need to find better ways of using the tools of capitalism. This TEDTalk video features Geoff Mulgan: Post-crash, investing in a better world.

Frogdesign champion Tim Leberecht provides additional pathways for the Future of Capitalism through Meaning-Driven Business.

One example of this is Umar Haique who argues that we need to re-boot capitalism. And like Reinhard Marx, he focuses on a re-definition of “capital.” His concept of “constructive capitalism,” however, is more radical than the social market economy solution Marx proposes.

Haique demands that 21st century economics fundamentally rethink “what capital isn’t – and what capital really is.” “The value equation of industrial-era capitalism was toxically imbalanced. Why is industrial era business so destructive – why does it slash and burn rainforests, endanger entire species, vaporize culture and community, marginalize the poor and disadvantaged, and erode our health and vitality? Because none of those have value in an industrial economy: none are capitalized. So the bean counters of the world are free to plunder and ruin them – because, economically, they actually don’t exist.

Tim Leberecht work provides inspiration for some, like Nathaniel Whittemore, to actually see a Rebirth of Capitalism? Social Entrepreneurship blogger Nathaniel Whittemore notes that, "In the social entrepreneurship field there's a huge push to proclaim a self-fulfilling prophecy of a capitalist rebirth that puts social and environmental value back into the heart of the equation."

Where social entrepreneurship is heading is discussed by Heidi Neck, Candida Brush and Elaine Allen in the The Landscape Of Social Entrepreneurship(pdf.)

Entrepreneurship has often been cited as the engine of economic growth (Reynolds, Storey, & Westhead, 1994). Today, economic growth is still necessary, but no longer sufficient. Social entrepreneurship is the engine of positive, systemic change that will alter what we do, how we do it, and why it matters.

No Leadership or Consensus Regarding Climate Change as Nations Meet

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The New York Times now has the same storyline as the China Daily News and that is that the new climate change agreement is in trouble. The problem is that there is neither a consensus nor a leader arising to form the consensus required as called for in this Note from the Secretary-General to Heads of States and Governments on Mobilizing Political Momentum for Copenhagen.

SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT | September 20, 2009 No Climate Change Leader as Nations Meet
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR: As nations gather for a major summit meeting on climate change, none want to take the lead in fighting for significant international targets.

While virtually all of the largest developed and developing nations have made domestic commitments toward creating more efficient, renewable sources of energy to cut emissions, none want to take the lead in fighting for significant international emissions reduction targets, lest they be accused at home of selling out future jobs and economic growth.

The problem is that there isn't consensus at any geographical level even when there should be common goals.

SOUTH ASIA: Disunity Hovers over a Region Battling Climate Change - IPS ipsnews.net

KATHMANDU, Sep 20 (IPS) - As the Copenhagen Conference on climate change draws nearer, South Asia, which appears poised for severe threats from the impacts of climate change, faces a stiff challenge on two fronts.

For one, South Asia’s member states – home to half the world’s poor – need to convince the developed world to take steps toward the mitigation of future climate-related risks in the region.

For another, divergence of ideas among these countries over some crucial issues arising from the impact of this global concern on the region is a potential stumbling block to training some of the global climate change spotlight on South Asia.

The World Bank World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change demonstrates that this lack of cooperation and lack of consensus will most negatively impact the poorest of countries.

As Neil Bird of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Blog tells, us we still have long way to go on climate change: seven issues to consider from the World Development Report 2010.

Everyone talks about reaching a global deal over a successor to the Kyoto Agreement at Copenhagen, but as the World Bank’s new World Development Report comprehensively outlines there is a long way to go to secure an adequate response to tackling climate change.

The video makes a very important point in it's opening and that is that the World Development Report focuses on the impact of climate change on the developing world's struggle to rise out of poverty.

Our interest in climate changes starts and ends in many ways with our interest in development.

Marianne Fay - Co-director of World Development Report and
Chief Economist, Sustainable Development Network

Related Posts:

• One of the Morally Urgent Questions of Our Moment

• 7th of 8 days: 8 Goals Personal Stories behind the Millennium Development Goals

• 2 Steps Forward, 2 Degrees Back

• Different Paths to Saving the Climate - All Up Hill

• Two Pathways For Having Your Say on Climate Control

Upgrading Foreign Aid ONE important step in reaching the Millennium Development Goals

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The folks at ONE are reminding us that the law governing U.S. foreign aid policy was written in 1961, when Kennedy was president, roughly half of Africa was still under colonial rule, and the Beatles were just a bar band in Liverpool. I am basically just passing on what they said plus, as usual, adding a few links to provide more information.

So they want us all to take opportunity to bring our foreign assistance into the 21st century, so its is, as they say, better reflecting American ingenuity, generosity and values and more effectively fighting global poverty.

The idea is to call your senator(s) and tell them to "upgrade aid" now by cosponsoring the bipartisan Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S. 1524):

Mine in California are:

• Senator Dianne Feinstein
  Phone: (888) 441-3347
• Senator Barbara Boxer
  Phone: (888) 441-3346
  

You can find instructions and talking points and report your call here:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to discuss this bill next Tuesday, September 22. To get S. 1524 moved on to the full Senate, we need to show support now for making U.S. aid programs better and smarter. Call your senator(s) today:

Introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), S. 1524 strengthens our ability to identify which aid programs work and which don't. It empowers USAID—the U.S. agency responsible for international development—to improve staff expertise and strategic planning; increase transparency and accountability; coordinate U.S. development programs; and align those programs with what's important to beneficiaries on the ground.

The connection with the Millennium Development Goals should be obvious. If the United States is not taking a leadership position on this issue both financially and morally, it is not likely that we will make any real progress. As ONE states:

U.S. foreign assistance has saved millions of lives, and thanks to your support for results-focused initiatives such as PEPFAR, the Global Fund and the Millennium Challenge Account, many of our investments are making a difference. But the way much of our aid is organized and delivered leaves room for an upgrade.

Tell the G20 - Go to Africa

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The current economic crisis has dealt a hard blow against the already lackluster efforts to implement the MDGs. We have already dealt with the fact that the Financial Industry Receives 10 Times More Money in 1 year than Poor Countries Receive in 49 Years. It doesn't look any better in the future. A Reuter's story by Laura MacInnis back on July looked at the dialogue between the G8 and the World Bank and determined that 2009 will remain dangerous a year.

The Group of Eight nations should not presume a global economic recovery is near, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a letter to G8 host Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi obtained by Reuters on Monday.

In his letter, Zoellick stressed the July 8-10 summit should also "focus on the plight of the poor in the developing world."

In the year to June 30, the World Bank committed $60 billion in aid to developing nations, much of it for infrastructure projects. Zoellick said wealthy nations should not hold back on further aid commitments in spite of the economic uncertainty.

There has been some signs that things may be staying the same. G-20 Ministers Back Stimulus, but Pay Limits Are Elusive BUSINESS / GLOBAL BUSINESS | September 06, 2009 By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and JULIA WERDIGIER

The world's financial ministers vowed to keep their multi-trillion-dollar stimulus efforts in place, but at a meeting failed to agree on any firm limits on bankers' bonuses.

Britain’s chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, said members of the G-20 “have to make sure that we finish the job we started.” He added: “There is still a lot of risk, a lot of uncertainty and a lot of obstacles to negotiate.”

So what kind of statement can be made to influence how the world's economic leaders look at the plight and potential of developing countries?

Well the folks from ONE have an idea. When the world's Presidents and Prime Ministers fly to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 24 for the G20 Summit (the latest in a series of high-level talks on the global economy, covering everything from international trade to the rules governing financial markets), ask that the G20 to host an upcoming summit in Africa and put that continent's potential on the political map.

ONE argue that if an African country is picked next to host an upcoming G20 summit, it would bring new attention to the role Africa can and must play in any successful global economic recovery. This blog has no problem supporting that idea having long featured TED Talks Africa, The Next Chapter which proves the point.

Click the link to add your name to our petition

The petition reads:

Dear G20 Leaders,

Please hold an upcoming G20 Summit in Africa, and see for yourselves how its one billion people can be part of the global economic recovery.

David Lane of ONE tells us that,

The Africa I've seen is ready to join the global marketplace and help drive economic growth. And its agricultural resources, if fully developed, could feed the world. In a recent visit to Ethiopia—where malaria deaths have been halved in only two years—I visited the new Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), a first of its kind electronic, international exchange for coffee, grain and other agricultural products. The ECX is entrepreneurialism at its best, helping farmers and traders get fair prices for their goods.

This kind of success is being repeated across Africa. Through smart aid and African-led innovation, poverty and disease are giving way to trade and opportunity. Now, we need the leaders of the G20 nations to go to Africa and see it for themselves.

Tell the G20 that one of their upcoming meetings must be in Africa:

Here is Economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin in a 2007 TEDTalk outlining the ambitious vision that became the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX).

UN Budget Shortfall Financial Industry Receives 10 Times More Money in 1 year than Poor Countries Receive in 49 Years

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I am back to posting to this blog, hopefully on a regular and more frequent basis. Although I raised a number of different aspects of the Millennium Development Goals that will need to be addressed to see their successful implantation, the most critical one is still funding, only things are getting worse. Two sources on the same subject, one from Change.org and the other from the Millennium Campaign.

Budget Shortfall from Change.org

It seems like everyone is facing a massive budget gap this year, and the United Nations is no different. Of the $9 billion that the UN was supposed to receive for humanitarian aid this year, the organization has only received half. And that's despite the fact that more people - some say upwards of 43 million people - are relying on UN aid than ever before. Humanitarian Relief blogger Michael Kleinman studies the budget shortfall at the UN and how this might impact humanitarian relief throughout the globe. Turns out that the problem is partly about a lack of money, and partly about a lack of political will. (Read More)

Directly from the United States Millennium Campaign which reported that on June 23, 2009 , the United Nations Millennium Campaign released an analysis showing that since the inception of aid (overseas development assistance) almost 50 years ago, donor countries have given some $2 trillion in aid. Yet over the past year, $18 trillion has been found globally to bail out banks and other financial institutions.

The stark contrast between the money dispersed to the world's desperately poor after 49 years of painstaking summits and negotiations and the staggering sums found virtually overnight to bail out the creators of the global economic crisis makes it impossible for governments to any longer claim that the world can't find the money to help the 50,000 people who are dying of extreme poverty every day," said Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. "This is a straightforward question of political will. Rich countries' priorities will become crystal clear at this week's summit on the economic crisis, where we hope they will finally deliver on the aid they have repeatedly pledged but not delivered to those who need it most."

The Campaign is therefore calling on donor countries to immediately and unconditionally do the following:

• Agree to a timetable to accelerate delivery of their aid commitments.
• Make rapid progress toward achieving the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda to simplify and streamline aid, including a clear timetable for implementation of existing commitments.
• Reduce and/or eliminate all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.
• Ensure that poor countries are fully represented in all decision making bodies and in the restructuring of the global financial infrastructure.

Millennium Campaign is calling on poor countries to immediately do the following:

• that national development policies and plans are pro-poor and focused on women and excluded groups.
• Prioritize expenditures on the Millennium Development Goals.
• Ensure accountability and transparency in the management of public money.
• Prioritize domestic resource mobilization.

Go to www.youtube.com/mcampaign to watch the videoclip.

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2 Steps Forward, 2 Degrees Back

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This is a cut-and-paste post from a variety of sources dealing with Millennium Development Goal 7. Environmental Sustainability, offering a number of useful links and opportunities for participation. Trouble is that time is now short. A moment of good news along the pathway, but then the realization that the pathway still continues uphill. The good news, tempered with a call for more needed action on the horizon, came from both the Union of Concerned Scientists and Care2. Last month in June:

House of Representatives took a historic vote to pass comprehensive climate legislation legislation that would put in place a nationwide plan to rein in global warming pollution and create an entirely new, cleaner approach to our nation's energy system.

But we will need your help to put a strong bill over the finish line. Specifically, you can help turn up the heat on the Senate to act quickly and ensure that we enact a final bill that helps build a revitalized clean energy economy, while reducing the threat of global warming.

Learn more about the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Climate 2030 Blueprint, key elements of comprehensive climate legislation, why the time to act is now, and how UCS is working to ensure passage of a strong climate

The vote for the American Clean Energy Security Act on the House floor came to an ultimate margin of a mere seven votes, 219-212. Let's pause for a moment to celebrate our success -- and then gear up for what is sure to be a similarly tight vote in the Senate.

Read more about today's victory at Care2's Cause Channels, and leave a comment with your reactions to this sweeping climate bill.

The path get even steeper when we move from the national stage to the international stage of the G8 talks in Italy and later the global summit in Copenhagen. I am personally disappointed that Canada is among this group.

Avaaz has let us know that the the world has just months left to agree on a binding global climate treaty, this is the leaders' last in-person negotiation before the make-or-break Copenhagen summit, but that at the upcoming G8 summit, Canada, Japan, and Russia are trying to veto the 2-degree limit.

Avaaz has put together a worldwide petition, which-- an Avaaz team in Italy will deliver it directly to world leaders and through spectacular stunts on Thursday, (tomorrow) bringing global media attention to shame the climate-wreckers and press them to back down.

We urgently need at least 100,000 signatures -- click to sign:

The G8 leaders -- joined by eleven other heads of government at a parallel "Major Economies" meeting next door -- represent more than 80% of climate emissions.

We know last-moment pressure can change their policies: Canada's Harper, Japan's Aso, and other leaders could face elections, they can't afford global embarrassment. Sign the petition, send it to friends, and help rescue the climate target now:

They were at 93,757 when I signed. Found at the Global News Sources of this blog more news from IRIN GLOBAL: Twelve countries on climate change hit-list.

SOURCES FROM AVAAZ:

• G8 summit key to global efforts on climate change
• Background on 2 degrees threshold: "'Too late to avoid global warming,' say scientists"
• Canada, Russia Considered Climate 'Bad Boys' Among G8 Nations
• Make-or-break summit as G8 gamble on climate and economy
• EU's Barroso seeks two degrees Celsius pact at G8

Finally, some inspiration for the long journey along the path.

Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming introduces a new generation of writers and photographers with a personal connection to global warming. The 67 essays and images in this anthology are drawn from nearly 1,000 submissions about beloved places, people, plants, animals, and activities at risk from a changing climate—and the efforts that individuals are making to save what they love. A foreword by author Barbara Kingsolver serves as a powerful call to action.

The essays we selected represent a variety of perspectives, voices, and experiences. The authors follow in the long tradition of great American environmental writers, like Henry David Thoreau, who have broadened our awareness and sharpened our perspective about the world we share. And they are inspiring action to protect our planet from global warming.

Final of 8 days 8 Goals Personal Stories behind the Millennium Development Goals

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This video is the last of an incredible video series on the MDGs provided by the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

We hope that this series has given you a better understanding of not only the issues behind the goals, but more importantly the implications it has for individuals all around the world. We hope you have enjoyed the videos. Stay tuned for an exciting update this week..

The "first" day video is here. The second day video is here. Third day video here. Fourth day video here. Fifth day here. Sixth here. Seventh here.

UN Millennium Campaign Goal 8 Global Partnership

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Somewhat Related Posts:

The Ledger of Human Development - Accounting For Change

Millennium Project on Trade Fair & Free

Obama best for the Globe according to Europe

Refugees Across the Globe - A Millennium Problem

Financial Fears * Global Challenges * Some Potential Answers

Corn Ethanol Is Not Smart Bioenergy Period

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The Union of Concerned Scientists recently wrote me about an issue that has been discussed on these pages and at my other blog. Rushing to Expand Corn Ethanol Is Not Smart Bioenergy. I responded as requested. I am of the opinion that using food for energy is not smart regardless of the environmental issues. This just adds another level of concern. Although this to my mind seems obvious, it apparently needs to be addressed to prevent our governments from making a egregious mistake. I shortened both request and response to keep the post a reasonable size.

Contact the EPA today

Dear Brian,

The use of gasoline alternatives, such as ethanol, could play a key role in reducing pollution from fuels, but scientific findings show that biofuels can also increase pollution when done wrong.

The ethanol industry, however, does not want science to interfere with their expansion plans. Producers want immediate permission to increase the amount of ethanol they can blend into regular gasoline before government tests are complete to determine if this could be a public health risk. The EPA opened a public comment period on this issue through May 16.

Please tell EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to deny the producers' premature request and focus on a comprehensive plan that protects public health while ensuring biofuels contribute to fueling our clean energy future.

Scott Nathanson
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program



Dear Administrator Jackson,

I urge you to deny the petition allowing blends of 15 percent ethanol (E15) to be permitted for use in traditional gasoline engines.

The The EPA has been coordinating with other agencies to obtain the data required by the Clean Air Act to determine the clean air risks of increased ethanol blending. But the testing will not be competed in time to review it for this request.

It would therefore be premature to approve a waiver for increased ethanol use before a thorough analysis of the public health and environmental impacts of ethanol are completed and brought to the public. With Obama administration committed to a regulatory system informed by science, I urge you to follow these principles and reject this request. I urge the EPA, instead, to focus on a comprehensive plan to protect public health and air quality, while reducing global warming pollution from biofuels.

Related Posts and Links:

• The Darker Side of Biofuel
  
• Good Intentions:Biofuels / Bad Consequences: Worse Than Gasoline And Better As Food?
• European Commission - External Trade - Trade Issues --- Add comment

- Tag: biofuel environment global - Shared By: Brian Dowling 2008-05-21 03:07:26

• Mandelson writes: "The issue is not biofuels or no biofuels, but the right biofuels. Europe's governments have signed a commitment ensuring that 10% of the petrol in Europe's vehicles in 2020 is made from renewable transport fuels, including biofuels. This will make an important contribution to the EU's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote security of energy supply. But there is an obvious caveat: biofuels must be an environmental policy in pursuit of an environmental outcome - the most sustainable policy is the only right policy".

• Food prices | The end of cheap food | Economist.com --- Add comment

- Tag: economics environment - Shared By: Brian Dowling 2008-05-21 03:07:25

• This year biofuels will take a third of America's (record) maize harvest. That affects food markets directly: fill up an SUV's fuel tank with ethanol and you have used enough maize to feed a person for a year. And it affects them indirectly, as farmers switch to maize from other crops. The 30m tonnes of extra maize going to ethanol this year amounts to half the fall in the world's overall grain stocks.

Innovation, Disruptive Milestones for the New Millennium

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Some articles of interest from the New York Times, this time on innovation. I was originally going to post this at the other blog. If we are to create a sustainable economy under a free enterprise system that is to be of benefit to the world as a whole and not to a privileged few, we will have to depend greatly upon innovation. A concern for some is that the United States is losing its innovative edge. A greater concern is that we do not apply our innovation to the betterment of mankind.

TECHNOLOGY | February 25, 2009 In Innovation, U.S. Said to Be Losing Competitive Edge By STEVE LOHR

The U.S. ranks sixth among 40 countries and regions for innovation, a nonpartisan group noted in a report.

The report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation found that the United States ranked sixth among 40 countries and regions, based on 16 indicators of innovation and competitiveness. They included venture capital investment, scientific researchers, spending on research and educational achievement.

Disruptive Innovation seems to me to be the Twenty-first Century update to Creative-Destruction, and of far greater utilization to entrepreneurs, social or private. The fact that it is currently being applied to the medical field also means it is applicable to global health issues being faced by Millennium Development Goal 6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases. In truth, those who have been involved in facing health challenges in developing countries have been using disruptive technologies out of necessity. The New York Times article below provides a basic look at the issues and the MIT video following provides greater insight from the author of the concept Clayton M. Christensen.

BUSINESS | February 01, 2009 Unboxed: Disruptive Innovation, Applied to Health Care

Using innovation management models previously applied to other industries, Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, argues in “The Innovator’s Prescription” that the concepts behind “disruptive innovation” can reinvent health care. The term “disruptive innovation,” which he introduced in 2003, refers to an unexpected new offering that through price or quality improvements turns a market on its head.

The Innovator's Prescription: A Disruptive Solution to the Healthcare Crisis

Christensen distills several books' worth of research describing how business leaders sometimes metamorphose into losers when confronted with market-rocking innovations. He also reveals how we may harness his insights in such socially significant and complex industries as healthcare.

The final question is what does one need to strive in such an environment. The answer below is taken from the private sector, but I believe, as I so often do, that there are important lessons to be taken from the private sector in creating a sustainable, efficient and effective system for delivering public services and social goods.

Corner Office: The Keeper of That Tapping Pen By ADAM BRYANT Anne M. Mulcahy, who led a turnaround at Xerox, says it "learned a lot about identifying failure quickly."

Q. Do you find yourself looking for certain qualities in a candidate more than you did several years ago?

A. Adaptability and flexibility. One of the things that is mind-boggling right now is how much we have to change all the time. For anybody who’s into comfort and structure, it gets harder and harder to feel satisfied in the company. It’s almost like you have to embrace a lot of ambiguity and be adaptable and not get into the rigidness or expectation-setting that I think there used to be 10 years ago, when you could kind of plot it out and define where you were going to go.

Related Posts:

• The "business" of delivering global health services
• Working Together Learning, Managing and Doing Change

Update on the G20: Not Too Exciting, But It Could Have Been Worse

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I am one of millions watching, blogging over the last few posts, and waiting to see what the G20 would do in London. Thousands of mile away, I have made some slacktivist endeavors to encourage change on a multinational, billions dollar budget, global stage. Hopefully those other fellow millions put together helped make a difference. The EndPoverty2015 campaign, which was one of the impetuses for this blog, provided the following background leading up to the economic summit.

UN MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN URGES WORLD LEADERS TO PRIORITIZE SOLUTIONS FOR THE POOR AT G-20 MEETING

As world leaders meet in London on 2 April to discuss plans to address the current economic crisis, the Millennium Campaign and our civil society partners are calling on the G20 leaders to prioritise solutions for the poor. The economic crisis threatens to push more than 50 million more people into poverty and reverse achievements made on the Millennium Development Goals.

This crisis, manufactured in rich countries cannot be used as an excuse for rich countries to renege on their aid commitments to poor countries, which are already bearing the brunt of the financial crisis. Read our four policy demands and check out additional background information.

Anita Sharma on G20 Summit in London
Click here and visit the U.N. EndPoverty2015 G20 onlinespecial

Change.org provided an update of the proceedings from Change.org Weekly March 30 - April 5:

The world's heads of state gathered in London at the G20 summit this week to talk about what to do about the economic crisis. Our own Humanitarian Relief blogger Michael Kleinman was there too as a credentialed blogger, reporting on the meetings, food options, and the treatment of the media (hint: it could be better).

After discussing the state of the planet, the world leaders basically promised to do what they'd already set out to do before: reaffirm foreign aid spending pledges, outline new funding for "social protection," and echo their commitment to address climate change. Not too exciting.

World Leaders Pledge $1.1 Trillion for Crisis

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The New York Times has an article today in INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE | April 03, 2009 World Leaders Pledge $1.1 Trillion for Crisis By MARK LANDLER and DAVID E. SANGER.

Their focus is on President Obama. I was interested more in the measures proposed by the Group of 20 that would reverse the global downturn and address issues of concern to this blog. Though I have quoted from the news article, the links go directly to the IMF webpages.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, host of the Group of 20 summit meeting called to fight the crisis, announced at its conclusion that the leaders had committed to $1.1 trillion in new funds that would greatly increase the capital available to the International Monetary Fund.

“This is the day the world came together to fight against the global recession. Our message today is clear and certain: we believe that global problems require global solutions.” Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister

This is not the same, in my view, as the long term and sustainable solutions proposed by the Millennium Development Goals themselves. It is a quick and necessary fix.

China is expected to contribute $40 billion. Japan and the European Union each pledged $100 billion. The United States has said it will contribute $100 billion, too, though that requires Congressional approval.

So the next action I would expect from Change.org and Avaaz would be to get Congress to fund the $100 billion. What I have to wonder is if we had a world that had fully funded the Millennium Development Goals in a timely manner, would we have found our selves in this mess.

The Millennium Campaign has a message for the G20

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This blog's primary focus is on the Millennium Development Goals. That provides a wide ranger of topics to blog about, not the least being the United Nations' Millennium Campaign and the eight goals themselves - 1. End Hunger 2. Universal Education 3. Gender Equity 4. Child Health 5. Maternal Health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases 7. Environmental Sustainability 8. GlobalPartnership.

Then there is being able to write about the efforts and the organizations, which are not part of the UN, that are putting forth those efforts to bring all this about. The most effective would be when these overlap.

I wrote about the Avaaz petition for the G20 in a recent post. The UN MILLENNIUM CAMPAIGN has its own G20 Special. The G20 meeting in London takes place on 2 April 2009. The most important point being made by the United Nations Millennium Campaign is that the G20 should:

• Not use the economic crisis caused by rich countries as an excuse to renege on their aid commitments to poor countries, which are already bearing the brunt of the financial crisis. OECD member countries of the G-20 must re-affirm their previous commitments to allocate 0.7% of their gross national income for development assistance and establish transparent, time-bound calendars for the disbursement of these funds.
  
  
• Click here to view the Millennium Campaign’s policy demands for world leaders gathering at the G-20 summit (pdf)
  

Sheila Sisulu of the World Food Programme

Talking about the Girl Effect at Davos on YouTube

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The effect of the Girl Effect at Davos

I did a post at my other blog on using YouTube as a social media tool. One of the most recent examples is Youtube's own coverage of the Davos Economic Forum. Though nothing all that positive came out of the forum as a whole there were a number of videos on a subject close to this blog - The Girl Effect.

Ann Veneman talks about the Girl Effect at Davos

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala talks about the Girl Effect at Davos

Professor Muhammad Yunus responds to the Girl Effect

These and more videos can be found here at Playlist: The Girl Effect

Related posts:

• Change Initiative to Empower Adolescent Girls Investing in the Girl Effect
• Social responsibility, seeking the good
• The Girl Effect
• Accession of African Activists. A DIY approach to the MDGs

From my other blog:

• Micro-Loans Snake Oil Panacea Or Pathway To New Economic Paradigms
• Unplanned Obsolescence

The Ledger of Human Development - Accounting For Change

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To talk of achieving accurate measurements of aid program inputs and outputs and striving to enhance human development might seem mixing the profane and sacred, but the two arguably must work together to bring about change. There is also the seemingly vast distance between the individuals struggling daily with the challenges dealt with in this blog for survival and the global programmatic policies of world-spanning organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. This expanse is mediated by the interventions of organizations such as ONE, ActionAid, Global Call To Action Against Poverty or Oxfam UK, among many others, which though large still must struggle against the entrenched system of government and financial powers.

One path that developing countries can take is the HIPC Initiative or Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, the major debt relief system launched in the late 1990s by the International Monetary Fund.

The HIPC Initiative is a comprehensive approach to debt reduction for heavily indebted poor countries pursuing IMF- and World Bank-supported adjustment and reform programs. To date, debt reduction packages have been approved for 33 countries, 27 of them in Africa, providing US$49 billion (net present value terms as of the decision point) in debt-service relief over time. Eight additional countries are potentially eligible for HIPC Initiative assistance and may wish to avail themselves of this debt relief.

To be considered for HIPC Initiative assistance, a country must:
(1) Be IDA-only and PRGF-eligible;
(2) Face an unsustainable debt burden, beyond traditionally available debt-relief mechanisms;
(3) Establish a track record of reform and sound policies through IMF- and IDA-supported programs; and
(4) Have developed a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) through a broad-based participatory process.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are prepared by governments in low-income countries through a participatory process involving domestic stakeholders and external development partners, including the IMF and the World Bank. A PRSP describes the macroeconomic, structural and social policies and programs that a country will pursue over several years to promote broad-based growth and reduce poverty, as well as external financing needs and the associated sources of financing.

diigo tags: prsp, mdg, mdgs, millennium development goals, hipc, development, IMF

The approach of the IMF is not without criticism from all points along the political spectrum, but the need for measurement is widely recognized. While the viability of the measurement of human development can be debated , both in application and precision, it does create a metric by which to test relative effectiveness. It can serve to provide both short term program objectives and longer term policy goals. It can help to create a strategic paradigm through which to organize continuing efforts which will be explored further in the next post.

Related posts: Human Development - The Measurement of Human Endeavors

Human Development - The Measurement of Human Endeavors

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The Human Development concept

Human Development is a development paradigm that is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means —if a very important one —of enlarging people’s choices.

Human Development Reports

One instrument for the measurement of such efforts are the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Reports. The reports provide not only a measurement of success, they also provide the motive for such efforts.

Eradicating poverty everywhere is more than a moral imperative - it is a practical possibility. That is the most important message of the Human Development Report 1997. The world has the resources and the know-how to create a poverty-free world in less than a generation.

Human Development Index and Human Poverty Index

There is a choice about the type of metric that could be used Human Development Index or HDI, "an index combining normalized measures of life expectancy,literacy, educational attainment, and GDP per capita for countries worldwide." versus Human Poverty Index , "a measure of the extent to which people in a country are not benefitting from development". Although both are important and should be used, this post will focus on the Human Development Index.

"(T)he HDI is a pathway for researchers into the wide variety of more detailed measures contained in the Human Development Reports."

Wikipedia provides a List of countries by Human Development Index, the table below provides a historical perspective from 1975 to 2005 of a selected set of countries.

Rank (2005)	Country	1975	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2005
12	United States	0.870	0.890	0.904	0.919	0.931	0.942	0.951
63	Malaysia	0.619	0.662	0.696	0.725	0.763	0.790	0.811
70	Brazil	0.649	0.685	0.700	0.723	0.753	0.789	0.800
81	China	0.530	0.559	0.595	0.634	0.691	0.732	0.777
128	India	0.419	0.450	0.487	0.521	0.551	0.578	0.619

The new Statistical Update was released on December 18, 2008, and compiled on the basis of data from 2006. According to the new data, the United States, China and India have gone down in HDI and ranking, Malaysia and Brazil went up in HDI but stayed the same ranking.

15	▼ (3)	United States	▼ 0.950
63	▬(0)	Malaysia	▲ 0.823
70	▬ (0)	Brazil	▲ 0.807
94	▼(13)	China	▼ 0.762
132	▼ (4)	India	▼ 0.609

We should not see measurement as a limitation. It is what we are measuring that needs to be examined. Below is a 2007 video from TED featuring Hans Rosling of GapMinder, who amazes his audience with his statistical presentations. One conclusion of his measurements is that countries that look first to the welfare of their people will have a better and more sustainable economic ascendancy. The current economic global crisis created by the pursuit of wealth, for wealth, by the wealthy has reversed and further threatened any previous gains. The response should not be to stop but to apply the paradigm put forward by Hans Rosling to the global community.

Related posts: The Ledger of Human Development - Accounting For Change

Millennium Project on Trade Fair & Free

Sphere: Related Content Rav Casley Gera, late of the African Development for the Completely Bloody Ignorant blog, did a post on back on 1/28/08, which is about how late he has been. Rav provides policy suggestions from the U.N. Overview Report A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals section 3. Recommendations for the international system to support country-level processes. (pdf). I am paraphrasing here, as usual you can go to his article for more indepth information.

Rav recognizes what the UN argues in their 2004 report on strategies to meet the Millennium Development Goals that the "the slogan 'trade, not aid' is misguided." (p46). "Trade, not aid" is a common refrain used by conservatives arguing against increasing aid to Africa, but also by an increasing number of social entrepreneurs seeking to move beyond government foreign aid which is not sustainable. The debate is no less intense as two past posts from my other blog indicate. A Question of Nets Malaria and Social Aid A Question of Nets Malaria and Social Aid 2

Trade and aid are not mutually exclusive. Trading with other countries has helped transform Asian developing economies and slashed poverty. It is not the whole story and it is not a choice of either supplying aid to help keep people alive or compelling trade to force developing countries to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. First, you have to have boots.

The report is also explicit in its belief that, "in the long term, free trade is in everyone's best interest", meaning that both free trade and fair trade must be realized to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Putting these two concepts together in the same beaker may be more difficult than combining the concepts of private trade and public aid. Rav provides an example by pointing out that the UN report is at odds with the Commission for Africa, whose own report emphasized poor countries' right to protect their economies (pdf). I won't deny the need for poor countries to protect their economies, which is one of the premises of fair trade, the challenge will be in creating the correct balance, the argument will be on where the point of balance is.

Abolish agricultural subsidies. They are both expensive and harm poor countries by making exports from rich countries cheaper than goods grown at home! (p46). Rich countries are being neither fair nor free in their practice. For the first I will turn to to this Stigliz article from the Ghana Graphic Online and for the second to my favorite Libertarian-light economist Tyler Cowen – Kill the Farm Bill.

Manufactured goods made in poor countries when exported to rich countries face crippling import tariffs that make them too expensive to succeed. Because rich countries have agreed various free-trade initiatives through groupings like the EU, many place higher tariffs on goods from poor countries than on goods from other rich countries.

Barriers placed by developing countries are meant to prevent goods flowing in from rich countries, also act as trade barriers between fellow poor countries - preventing, for example, trade between neighboring African states, which could both help those economies grow, but also help reduce conflict between African states. The UN report calls for a quick reduction to zero of tariffs on imports of nonagricultural goods proposing a deadline of 2025 for the removal of their barriers for developing countries and 2015 for rich countries. (p46-7). Meaning that there is a ten (10) year gap before fair trade and free trade are effectively blended together. Prior to that time they are likely to be an admixture of competing policies and philosophies.

Rav also looks at free trade in services being a controversial idea, "with many arguing that poor countries could be forced to sell off their remaining public services and to remove regulations on things like banking to fulfill the requirements of the World Trade Organization's GATS initiative". UNESCO has raised the issue of education, university quality and mobility in the past. The GATS initiative is another example of a practice I need to learn more about where developing countries struggle with their own economic engines, but developing countries get to write the owner's manual. I am not saying it is necessarily wrong just needs to be studied more. More on that and other issues raised by Rav in another post.

The Darker Side of Biofuel

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Ending hunger is usually the first thing one thinks about when thinking about the Millennium Development Goals. Another important goal is environmental sustainability. What happens when they are put into conflict with each other?

Biofuels: Burning Food? via Allianz Knowledge / Latest Articles on 10/20/08 asks,

Are biofuels responsible for higher food prices and a growing number of hungry people? Terri Raney, senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), explains the links between food and fuel.

"Biofuels demand is likely to keep basic food commodity prices 10 to 15 percent higher than they would have been otherwise."

Terri Raney, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre on 10/20/08 introduced us to an even darker side with The Gates of Hell - Jungle takes a look at the lesser known side of the ethanol boom.

My task is to translate, photograph, film and get permission to accompany the Brasilian government's Mobile Group on a rescue mission to release men, women and children being forced to work in sub-human conditions...[by] unscrupulous land owners...since 1995, 30,000 slaves have been freed.

Other earlier posts from my blogs dealing with biofuels have included:

• Good Intentions: Biofuels / Bad Consequences: Worse Than Gasoline And Better As Food?
• Energy And Politics Bio-Fuels And Barack
• Financial Fears * Global Challenges * Some Potential Answers

Using the Web to take action is Change

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The outreach of the web as a tool for change is undeniable. What could be questioned is its effectiveness. What seems to insure effectiveness is, like any other political action, is the number who participate. Worrying if my particular post is going to change the world is not useful, but participating even with a small voice in a greater cause does have efficacy.

Being relatively new to this endeavor, I continue to find new resources for engagement. The latest is Avaaz.

Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Sydney and Geneva.

My first action with them was to sign the petition The Poverty Promise Breakers.

This week world leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Here, all focus is on a multi billion dollar bailouts of financial institutions and the real untold scandal -- global poverty -- risks being forgotten. France, Canada, and Italy are threatening to slash their development aid budgets and break their promise to assign a mere 0.7 % of national income to the world's poorest. If these countries retract on commitments, others may follow --

Petition to President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Berlusconi and Prime Minister Harper:

As concerned global citizens, we urge you to honour your pledge to deliver 0.7% of GDP to development aid. This aid is vital to lift the world’s most vulnerable people out of extreme poverty. Keep your promise so that the potential of the world’s poorest communities can be unleashed and our common future can be built.

They are looking to reach 150,000 signatures. They were at 136,726 when I wrote this. I grabbed to petition off of the Avaaz site under the belief that people are more likely to sign if they see it immediately as opposed to going to another window. I am taking it for granted that Avaaz won't mind.

clipped from www.avaaz.org

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Second action with Avaaz.