About The Conference
The Millennium Declaration, adopted by all member states of the UN in September 2000, outlines a vision based on fundamental values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility. The Declaration identifies key objectives necessary to achieve this vision including: peace and security, development and poverty eradication, environmental protection, human rights, good governance and protection of the vulnerable. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are derived from these values and objectives, and include: 1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 2) achieve universal primary education, 3) promoting gender equality and empower women, 4) reduce child mortality, 5) improve maternal health, 6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, 7) ensure environmental sustainability and, 8) develop a global partnership for development.
Full achievement of the MDGs is only possible if critical services and inputs are available to, and managed by local communities and governments. Localizing the MDGs is the key step towards addressing MDGs and wider inequalities within a country. It refers to the process of aligning the MDG goals and targets to local contexts and addressing them through sub-national development strategies and budgets. It recognizes that sub-national and local actors have a fundamental role to play in achieving the MDGs.
In such context, the purpose of the conference is: to provide a forum for discussion on local level efforts to achieve the MDGs, discuss best practices for implementing and monitoring the goals at the local level, and share the challenges, successes and opportunities from different experiences to encourage learning.
The conference aims to contribute to policy debates at the global, regional and country levels by understanding the key issues in scaling up MDG interventions at the local level, including the need for articulated efforts in key services delivery. The results of the event will contribute to the discussions during the upcoming UN MDG Summit in September 2010, MDG regional/country reports, and UNDP-UNCDF global programme “Scaling Up the MDGs at the Local Level”.
Full achievement of the MDGs is only possible if critical services and inputs are available to, and managed by local communities and governments. Localizing the MDGs is the key step towards addressing MDGs and wider inequalities within a country. It refers to the process of aligning the MDG goals and targets to local contexts and addressing them through sub-national development strategies and budgets. It recognizes that sub-national and local actors have a fundamental role to play in achieving the MDGs.
In such context, the purpose of the conference is: to provide a forum for discussion on local level efforts to achieve the MDGs, discuss best practices for implementing and monitoring the goals at the local level, and share the challenges, successes and opportunities from different experiences to encourage learning.
The conference aims to contribute to policy debates at the global, regional and country levels by understanding the key issues in scaling up MDG interventions at the local level, including the need for articulated efforts in key services delivery. The results of the event will contribute to the discussions during the upcoming UN MDG Summit in September 2010, MDG regional/country reports, and UNDP-UNCDF global programme “Scaling Up the MDGs at the Local Level”.