Dr. Sigrid Skarpelis-Sperk: The MDGs could be achieved but nothing happens. In particular when you see the very small efforts in Africa. When you spend more money, nothing will be improved beside the enrichment of the elite’s accouns.
The developed countries give only money to countries fulfilling the economic agenda the developed countries want them to implement, and those agendas are too often only in the Noth’s interest but not in the South’s interest.
And the one and only players pointing out the corruption in Africa are firstly the young students in Africa, and secondly the Northern governments – but only when they want to cut the budget for development countries not following their directives.
So, it is impossible to achieve the MDGs?
It is actually still possible but when I see what happens or what doesn’t happen respectively, I am really pessimistic. The new thing with the MDGs and our chance is that, with the MDGs, we have for the first time in history a global promise that everybody agrees on.
We can finally put all the talking behind us and concentrate on action to improve the lives of the millions who go to bed hungry every night. Now there has been a lot of talk about whether we
will, or will not reach the Goals by 2015. I think this is counterproductive.
We should instead be asking ourselves, "Why aren't we going beyond the Goals by 2015?" I don't think it is too much to ask the world to ensure every boy and girl can attend primary school. I am not ashamed to demand that our environment isn't polluted for our children.
How do you see the role of the youth for the MDG process?
Young people really are the future of the world. It will not be the old grey haired men at the UN Summit or WTO who suffer the consequences if governments don't keep their promise to end poverty, it will be you, the young people who will have to live in a world that allows more than a billion people to liveon less than $1 US dollar day. It is your future; it only makes sense that you become part of the solution. Without the help of young people, the MDGs cannot, and will not be achieved by 2015.
What can young people do to promote the implementation of the MDGs?
This depends whether you are from a rich or poor country.
If you live in a rich country, as Germany is, your government has promised to achieve Goal 8, which is to develop a true partnership between rich and poor countries by providing more and better quality aid, more debt relief, and more trade opportunities for poor countries.
Young people from developing countries should know that their governments promised to achieve the first seven Goals, which ensure everyone has equal access to education, health care, food and water.
The first thing that you should do is get the facts. One of the key indicators for Goal 8 is their promise to give 0.7% of their national income to the poorest countries of the world. You can look up in the internet to find out how your country is doing. Germany, where my party is governing, has promised to fulfill the 0,7% target until 2015 and is raising the budget to 0,33% until 2006. So, this is too less effort what we do. But it is a permanent struggle against powerful interests.
If you're from a developing country you should find out if your government is using the MDGs in its decision-making. Does your government have a plan to raise poor people out of poverty, and get every child, boy and girl, into school? If not, they're not living up to their promises.
You can also help get the word out about the Goals. You would be surprised how few people know that their government promised to reduce poverty by 2015. Let your friends and family know what the Goals are and why they are important. You could pass out flyers on the MDGs or even have a school assembly on the Goals. Be creative, you know the best way to reach your friends.
Another thing you can do is let your government know that you want the Goals to be achieved in your country. Many young people have successfully become involved in their youth parliaments or councils to lobby governments to achieve the Goals. You could also start a letter writing campaign to remind an elected official of their promises, or organize a rally in your community. I've always felt that the best ideas are homegrown and you probably have many more creative ideas than I do on how to draw attention to the problems.
The more voices you can get together, the more powerful you become. Many young people think that because they cannot vote yet, their voices don't matter. But just imagine if you were a government official and only one person called you to fix a broken road. You might not pay much attention, but if 1,000 people called you to complain, you might change your mind. I'm convinced that when young people team up and unite their voices, they can do whatever they want to.
Mrs Skarpelis-Sperk was interviewed by Wolfgang Gründinger.
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