UN Summit Sept 08
Micah Challenge National campaigns are encouraging their Head of State to attend the UN Summit on 25 September in New York.
Why is the UN summit in September potentially so important?
The meeting of the Heads of State at the United Nations in September offers a great opportunity for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be brought to attention at international level and therefore create a high profile discussion around progress so far. This is likely to create new energy of key international players and may lead to renewed commitment to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
Why is the participation of your Head of State at the summit important?
If your Head of State attends the summit, he/she is very likely to renew his/her commitment to the MDGs at country level and add their voice to call for more action to achieve the MDGs and so halve poverty.
Objectives – What do we want to achieve?
1. Get your Head of State to go to the UN summit on 25 September 2008;
2. Get a debate going around the MDGs in your country;
3. Get your government to report on progress on the MDGs and what it is going to do on poverty next.
4. If your Head of State doesn’t go to the summit: to get him/her to announce further National government commitment to at least one MDG.
Activities - What can you do?
- Write a letter to your Head of State to ask him/ her to go to the UN summit
- You can write directly to the office of your Head of State and back it up with visits to your local national parliament/congress/assembly representatives you may be in contact.
- If you are able to back up your letter with media coverage this will further put pressure on your government to act.
- You can inform the government and media of your plans for Stand up and Micah Sunday (17-19 October) and request a reaction from the Head of State’s office about actions that are planned to make further progress on achieving the MDGs.
Click here for a template letter which you could use to send to your Head of State.
Other optional activities:
- Get media coverage of the letter, this will add more significance to the letter
- Organise mobilisation events to explain further about the UN summit and the MDGs; you could also focus on one specific MDG that is particularly significant in your country
- Organise prayer and other actions when your Head of State leaves the country and to support the UN summit; alert the media.
- Organise a postcard campaign or offering of letters to mobilise the wider community
- Ask your Head of State to make a statement on the summit after they return, giving their view of any new announcements and their implication for your country; organise a press release to comment on the government statement
Feel free to add any other activities that will support the overall objectives. There is no limit to your creativity!
More information on activities around the UN summit are available at http://www.whiteband.org/