Dave Hartman, Save the Children, internet marketing and communications specialist
New York, New York
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Save the Children staff was all over New York City advocating for a renewed commitment to achieving the U.N Millennium Development Goals. The morning kicked off with "Five Years for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity," a panel discussion featuring Elisabeth Dahlin, Secretary General of Save the Children Sweden, Dr. Abhay Bang of SEARCH and senior executives from World Vision, Plan International and UNICEF. In the video below Dahlin gives a brief overview of the discussion.
Save the Children Board Chair Anne Mulcahy attended an event sponsored by the U.S. and Irish governments to address malnutrition among children. Malnutrition weakens children's immune systems and makes them more susceptible to major life-threatening childhood illnesses. Mulcahy elaborates on the event:
Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, was interviewed by Sian To, aka "Mummy Tips," a mommy blogger from the UK. To recently returned from Bangladesh where she blogged about Save the Children's health work in remote areas of the country.
In uptown Manhattan, staff members heard from various speakers and panelists at the UN Week Digital Media Lounge, hosted by the 92Y with support from Mashable and the United Nations Foundation. Here are just a few of our favorite quotes from the summit and other events Save the Children attended:
"Children are not just our future, they are our present... they are powerful actors who need to be engaged" Kevin Jenkins CEO of WorldVision
"I wish there was a rock star against Diarrhea, that would be awesome!"- UN Foundation's Elizabeth Gore
"When you change the lives of girls and women, you also change the lives of boys and men." World Bank’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
"The Millennium Development Goals have been good, but not been good enough for the most marginalized children" Alfred Ironside, Director of Communications, Ford Foundation
A vicious, relentless killer was spotted outside the lounge (sort of). Water Aid, a nonprofit dedicated to providing universal access to clean water, had staff members parade around the city in a giant poop costume, complete with fake flies. The goal was to raise awareness of inadequate sanitation and hygiene in developing countries, two issues that contribute to more than 4,000 child deaths in the developing world, perday. Enough from me, Steve from Water Aid can better explain:
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One in ten of the entire world population are living with a disability. That’s 650 Million people! And what’s nuts, is that 80% of these people are living in developing countries! – That in my opinion is a talking point!!!
I personally believe that the inclusion of People with Disabilities in targets is an essential prerequisite to the achievement of the MDGs.
Posted by: Karen | 09/22/2010 at 09:15 AM