Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project

Food Security and Climate Change: The Agenda at Copenhagen
United Nations Day Public Forum
Saturday, October 24, 2009 | 7 pm
Town Hall, Seattle

An expert panel described how future food security and sustainable development are jeopardized by climate change; the adaptations and innovations needed to improve agricultural reiliency; and the challenges confronting the Copenhagen climate change negotiators, particularly the need for techincal and financial aid to developing nations.

Panelists:
Prof. David Battisti, UW Dept. Atmospheric Sciences
Dr. Monika B. Zurek, program officer, Agricultural Development Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dick Nelson, coordinator, Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project and former chair of Washington House of Representatives Energy Committee

Moderator: Sarah van Gelder, executive editor of Yes! Magazine

Free event sponsored by: United Nations Association of Greater Seattle, Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project, Global Washington, World Affairs Council, UW Center for Global Studies

Challenges to Achieving the Millennium Development Goals and What the US Government (and You) Can Do
Featuring: Anita Sharma, North American coordinator for the United Nations Millennium Campaign
Wednesday August 12, 2009 | 7 to 8:30 pm
University Temple United Methodist Church, Seattle

More than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), major advances in the fight against poverty and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global economic and food crises and threats from climate change. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2009, a new assessment by the United Nations, warns that despite many successes overall progress has been too slow for most of the targets to be met by 2015. The report issues a strong call to action for rich and poor governments alike to reaffirm commitments to help the global effort to end extreme poverty and hunger, empower women, improve health care, education and the environment by 2015.

This event, co-sponsored by the Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project and the United Nations Association Seattle Metropolitan Chapter, provided an opportunity to discuss progress on the MDGs and the role the United States is playing to achieve the goals, and what active citizens can do to get more engaged in support of the goals.

Anita Sharma

Anita Sharma’s career has spanned a range of development, humanitarian response and conflict prevention positions in Washington, DC and around the world. She was the executive director of ENOUGH, an initiative of the Center for American Progress and the International Crisis Group to abolish genocide and mass atrocities. She served as governance advisor in Indonesia with the Office of the United Nations Recovery Coordinator and has held international posts in Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, and Kosovo with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe. In the United States, she directed the Conflict Prevention Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and has also worked as the research director for the Role of American Military Power Project and the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and holds a bachelor's degree with honors from Syracuse University and a master's degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Information about the United Nations Millennium Campaign: www.endpoverty2015.org

Saturday, April 4, 2009 | 11 am - 3pm
Islamic School of Seattle, 720 25th Ave, Seattle

Seattle’s HAND sponsored its first annual event featuring presentations and discussions of opportunities for the local Muslim Community to help meet the UN Millennium Development Goals for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. The program included:

• ISS Children's Performance, introducing the Millennium Development Goals, in art and words
• University of Washington Muslim Student Association’s video presentation of their work to raise public awareness of the MDGs, highlighting the United State’s performance to date
• WA CASH display of their program that opens doors to small business training and business capital to persons of all income levels
• Panel Discussion showcasing Muslims in cooperative developments towards reaching the MDGs
• RISE-UP from Poverty story of this new non-profit designed to change the lives of our impoverished brothers and sisters overseas, and based on a local sister's childhood experience of poverty - a demonstration of how one person can involve others to help meet the MDGs

Welcome & Event Coordinator: Narima Amin, Founder, RISE-UP from Poverty
Panel Moderator: Lesley Ahmed, Activist & Entrepreneur
Panelists: Mark Brinkmoeller, The ONE Campaign; Munir Rizvi, World Education Foundation; Hafiz Lalji; Washington CASH
Spiritual Address: Dr. Karim Abdullah, Naturopathic Physician

Monday, February 9, 2009 | 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
University of Washington HUB

A workshop for the policy staff of advocacy NGOs, aid delivery NGOs, faith-based organizations, foreign policy interest groups, academic centers, student clubs, businesses with social entrepreneurial programs, microlenders, trade promoters, and sister city groups or their organizational representative charged with connecting constituencies with influencers.

GOALS:
To build bridges between local constituent groups engaged in international development and public officials who have a unique opportunity in this Congress to improve U.S. foreign aid policy.
• A set of values regarding the governance and implementation of aid to be shared with policymakers
• Specific strategies and an action plan for providing feedback in the rewrite of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act
• Specific strategies and an action plan for involving other policymakers in this group's work.

FEATURING:
Washington Congressman Adam Smith, Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Jenni Rothenberg, Field Director, US Global Leadership Campaign

CO-SPONSORS:
Global Washington, Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project, and the Center for Global Studies at Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the UW.

63RD ANNUAL UNITED NATIONS DAY
Friday, October 24, 2008, 7-9 pm
University Temple United Methodist Church Fireplace Room (lower level)
Corner of 15th Avenue NE & NE 43rd Street, University District, Seattle

Theme: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals - How we can encourage the next US Administration and Congress to increase efforts to end extreme poverty, hunger, and disease, and enhance stability and sustainable development around the globe.

Speaker: J. Mark Brinkmoeller is Director, US NGO Partnerships & Faith Relations at The ONE Campaign. He has worked several years as a department head at ONE, and has been on many delegations to Africa. Mark is involved in efforts to pass congressional initiatives that seek to advance the MDGs.

The ONE Campaign: “ONE is Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life - united as ONE - to help make poverty history. We are a campaign of over 2.4 million people and growing from all 50 states and over 100 of America's most well-known and respected non-profit, advocacy and humanitarian organizations.” http://one.org/ ONE's coalition members include The United Nations Foundation, UNICEF, The Millennium Campaign, as well as advocacy groups with local activities: Bread for the World, Seattle RESULTS, Seattle ONE, Lutheran Peace Fellowship, and Jubilee USA.

Sponsors: United Nations Association of Seattle, Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project (PSMGP), UNA Young Professionals for International Cooperation (YPIC), SeattleONE

Co-sponsors: Jubilee NW Coalition, Oikocredit Northwest SA (Support Association), Seattle RESULTS, Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation

U.N. Millennium Development Goals and Microcredit: How Small Loans Support Sustainable Development

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m., Kane Hall 220, Campus of the University of Washington

How citizens can help eliminate global poverty through micro loans was the focus of a public event organized by the Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project. Co-sponsors included: The Center for Global Studies, Jackson School, University of Washington; Oikocredit Support NW, RESULTS, ONE, and Jeff Keenan, co-author of "Our Day to End Poverty".

The program, featured exhibits from a range of local microcredit organizations and a panel of experts representing leading Microfinance practitioners and organizations devoted to alleviating poverty in regions around the world. Panelists were: Rick Beckett, CEO of Global Partnerships, a Seattle-based Microcredit lender; Peter Bladin, VP of Grameen Foundation and Director of Grameen Technology, also based in Seattle; Terry Provance, Executive Director of Oikocredit USA, an ecumenical cooperative lender to be initiated soon in Seattle; and Carol Welch, former US Coordinator of the UN Millennium Campaign. The discussion was moderated by KIRO TV news anchor and reporter, Penny LeGate. Due to time limitations, the panel was unable to answer all of the excellent questions posed by audience members. Several of these, answered by Rick Beckett, are addressed in reading more.

Saturday February 2, 2008
Seattle Town Hall

Panel featuring: U.S. Representative Adam Smith, 9th District, WA, Samuel Worthington, President of InterAction, and Craig Nakagawa, Acting President of VillageReach. Dave Ross, KIRO Radio, moderated the panel. Congressman Smith is sponsor of the 2007 Global Poverty Act. InterAction is the largest alliance of relief and development non-governmental organizations working overseas. VillageReach is brings essential health services to Mozambique and others.

The forum addressed how the U.S. government has supported the Millennium Development Goals, and the need for improvements if the Goals are to be achieved by 2015.