In her opening speach at the Th!nk3 kick-off Marina Ponti, Director of Europe for the Millennium Campaign delivered two key messages.
1) "We are the first generation that can end poverty".
2) "The main obstacle is not lack of resources, or lack of technology. It's the lack of political will".
To me, these messages were in equal parts optimistic and depressing.
On one had, it's encouraging to think that we have it in our reach to eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime; or at least to put into motion the events that will lead to its eradication. I, for one, don't doubt her assertion that there is enough food, enough technology, enough knowledge, enough energy to rectify the major imbalances in economic and social power that exist in the world today.
On the other hand, I also don't doubt the fact that without sufficient political will it remains entirely unachievable. As Marina commented, "We need to ask government to neglect their primary survival to focus on development". My optimism wanes.
Of course, it isn't simply our political leaders who bear the burden of responsibility. It's us as well. The voters, the citizens, the individuals who comprise developed societies. Political will is to all intents and purposes a mirror of our own will. If 80% of the population voted in direct relation to a party's stance on development then you can guarantee it would top the agenda.
In the UK we are gearing up to a national election. With the financial crisis on the tip of everyone's tongues you can be sure that the primary concern for most British people is the UK economy - not the ongoing misfortunes of developing countries.
In fact I haven't heard mention of anything related to development. Why? Because that's simply not what the electorate is worried about.
Marina was right. We have the resources. We have the technology. We have everything we need to eradicate extreme poverty except the will to do so. Yet, if we want things to change it's not our leaders who need to take responsiblity - it's us.
Image courtesy of Danilo Rizutti http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
I agree with you, it’s all of us who have to take responsibility of what is happening in our world. However, there is one issue that particularly bothers me: how to engage people, how to make sure that they honestly care? One’s own problems are of the highest importance to them, whether it’s “how am i going to pay my rent this month” or as lousy as “i need new fancy clothes”. You are right, everyone’s talking about the current financial situation and they are not too keen on worrying about water shortages or child labour somewhere far, far away.
Oh, it’s a tough one.
You’re right, Jodi. We need to take responsibility.
How?
Do I write to my representative? My MEP? My head of state? The editor of the biggest local newspaper? What do I ask for? If I ask my leaders to show political will, what I will get is campaign speeches. I suppose I need to ask for political action. What specifically? Which branch of the UN does my government need to contribute to? How much money does that organization need to end poverty within 5 years?
Definitely both inspiring and depressing all rolled into one. i guess it’s a case of trial and error, write to anyone and everyone, tell as many people as possible, let’s not stop until our work is done!
My first post (http://development.thinkaboutit.eu/think3/post/day_1_my_thoughts/) responds to some of your thoughts Jodi.
There is no one answer to what can be done, but in the immediate we can at least think about our own actions. As one of the speakers said “charity begins at home”. In the same vein, rather than waiting for other people to take action on behalf we should do whatever we can to make a difference - whether that is writing to our MPs, to the editors of newspapers, getting informed, talking to our friends, sponsoring a child, visiting the countries in question, volunteering… the point is that it’s going to start with the individuals not the society as a whole. It may not happen quickly, but at least you can honestly say you attempted to do something about it.
Jodi, I like your thoughts. I believe we need to combine both - make our political representatives being responsible for their promises (both local and global) and take actions ourselves. Sadly, the latter is easier to do, because we can go and do anything immediately, we do need surveys about our popularity….