United Nations Millennium Campaign

United Nations Millennium Campaign
Org type	UN campaign office
Acronyms	UNMC
Head	Corinne Woods
Status	active
Established	2002
Headquarters	New York City
Website	http://www.endpoverty2015.org/

The United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) is a UN campaign unit that was set up in response to the Millennium Declaration signed by 189 member states. Established in October, 2002,^[1] the UNMC aims to increase support to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and seek a coalition of partners for action. The Millennium Campaign targets intergovernmental, government, civil society organizations and media at both global and regional levels.

Background

Main articles: Millennium Development Goals and Millennium Summit

In 2000, leaders of 189 countries assembled in New York to outline a series of targets to address the most serious challenges in the developing world. The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world's poorest people. World leaders have agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Establishment

Establishment

In October 2002, two years after the Millennium Declaration was signed, the Millennium Campaign was established by then-Secretary General Kofi Annan and UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown as a response to the failing efforts of governments in keeping their promises and commitments to achieve the MDGs by the target year 2015.

Purpose

Consistent with the call in the Monterrey Consensus for a “global information campaign”, the Millennium Campaign aims to increase support for development assistance, trade opportunities, debt relief, technology transfer and other support needed to achieve the MDGs and, in the process, encourage the emergence of broad, self-sustaining and pragmatic coalitions of partners for action on the MDGs. The global Millennium Campaign targets intergovernmental and international bodies/forums at global and regional levels; national governments and legislatures; civil society organizations; the private sector; and the media.

Structure

Leadership

The Millennium Campaign Unit is headed by a Director, reporting to and working closely with the UNDP Administrator. While focusing primarily on building the external dimensions of the Millennium Campaign, the Director also ensures that the unit operates as a bridge to the analytical, communication and campaigning efforts of the UN system.^[2]

The current director is Corinne Woods, who took office on August 2, 2010. The previous director, Salil Shetty, left office on July 1, 2010.

Other senior staffs include:

• Sering Falu Njie, Deputy Director, Policy
• Mandy Kibel, Deputy Director, Communications
• Minar Pimple, Deputy Director, Asia
• Charles Abugre Akelyira, Deputy Director, Africa
• Marina Ponti, Deputy Director, Europe
• Anita Sharma, North America Coordinator (United States and Canada)
• Eveline Herfkens, Special Advisor on the MDGs to the UNDP Administrator

Branches

• Headquarters (New York)
• North America (Washington, DC)
• Asia (Bangkok)
• Africa (Nairobi)
• Europe (Rome)

Functions

• Disseminate data and analysis emerging from the substantive efforts of the UN system (Secretary General’s Reports, the Millennium Village Project and MDG country reports)
• Forge connections between the global Millennium Campaign and the existing campaigns and movements led or supported by UN agencies
• Promote networking, consultation and partnership-building among key actors, especially from civil society, and engage them in monitoring and analysis
• Help coordinate campaign strategies and consistent messages

Stand Up

Main article: Stand Up and Take Action

On 15–16 October 2006, 23,542,614 people, in over eighty countries around the world set a new Guinness World Record for the largest number of people to "STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY".^[3] Since 2007, the UN Millennium Campaign has organized Stand Up events annually around the world. The number of participants reached 173 million in 2009. Stand Up 2010 took place from September 17 to 19.

See also

United Nations portal

• United Nations Development Programme
• Millennium Village Project
• UNICEF
• WHO
• WFP
• G8 and G20
• USAID
• CIDA
• DFID
• OneWorld South Asia
• Other development aid agencies

References

1. ^ History of Millennium Campaign
2. ^ UNDG Working Group on MDGs, The UN and the MDGs: A Core Strategy, June 2002
3. ^ STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY AND FOR THE MDGs

External links

• United Nations Millennium Campaign
• Stand Up and Take Action
• United Nations Development Programme
• Make MDGs more inclusive, urges civil society - OneWorld South Asia