The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
A set of 8 goals agreed upon by 189 member countries of the UN that, if achieved, would lift hundreds of millions out of exteme poverty and save the lives of tens of millions.

The MDGS represent the greatest improvement to the human condition we could possibly undertake, creating a more prosperous and more just world that would be safer for all to live in.

MDG Email Signature Campaign

The average person would send more than 1000 emails in a year. Included in every email program is the ability to set an email signature that will automatically be added to the bottom of every email you send.

Our goal is to change 100,000 email signatures. If achieved would result in hundreds of millions of emails being sent each year promoting the MDGs.

Sign up to the campaign today! Signatures below

First name:
Last name:
Email:
I am a Young Professional(18-40)
I have changed my signature
I will tell a friend
Country

Tell your friends (one email per line):

(or forward the confirmation email, it will contain all the relevant information)

Email Signatures

Copy signatures from below and set them as your signature in your email program or webmail.

Text Signature (short)


Text Signature (long)

The UN Millennium Development Goals

Why Promote the MDGs?
The Millennium Development Goals are something that every human being should know about. They are a set of goals signed upon by 189 members nations of the United Nations, with the purpose of trying to achieve the greatest possible advancement to the human condition.

What will the goals achieve?

  • Halving the number of people living on less than a dollar a day,
  • Every single child completing at least a primary education,
  • Equal numbers of boys and girls in school everywhere in the world,
  • Two-thirds fewer children dying before they reach the age of five,
  • 75% fewer women dying in childbirth,
  • A reversal of the spread of AIDS, malaria, and other diseases,
  • 50% fewer people without sustained access to safe drinking water, and
  • A cleaner and healthier environment for our children and grandchildren.

Why are the MDGs special?

  • The Millennium Development Goals are people-centred, and can be measured.
  • They are based on a global partnership, stressing the responsibilities of developing countries for getting their own house in order, and of developed countries for supporting those efforts.
  • They have unprecedented political support, embraced at the highest levels by developed and developing countries, civil society and major development institutions alike.
  • They are achievable.

So what is the problem?
The MDGs were designed around problems we already have the solutions to; we know how to solve these problems. Rather the issue is how to gain the political support and resources to fund the programs to make them a reality. Part of the original commitment to the MDGs was that countries developing contribute 0.7% of their GDP. Unfortunately, all but 5 developed nations are meeting this commitment.

To put this in perspective the current economic bailout of the US economy is valued at 700 billion. The total cost of the MDGs is estimated to be less than the total cost of the bailout of the US economic crisis, however, spread across 189 nations, over 10 years.

The MDGs are an 'economic bailout' for over 1 billion living in extreme poverty!

What are the MDGs?
The MDGs is a set of 8 goals with 21 targets. The 8 goals are:

  1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  2. Achieve universal primary education
  3. Promote 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

Read more on the MDGs

About the Project

The Idea
The average person would send more than 1000 emails in a year. Included in every email program is the ability to set an email signature that will automatically be added to the bottom of every email you send.

The Goal
If 100,000 people were to change their signature, over the course of a single year over 100 million emails would have been sent explaining the MDGs. Unlike normal signature campaigns that seek to the gain attention of centralised officials, this campaign is also an effort to promote and make the MDGs accessible to all.

The Reason
The MDGs represents the most significant and coordinated effort to create the greatest possible improvement to human condition. The goals cover the areas of poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, and global partnerships.

The Project
mdgpledge.org is a project to enable practical action by Young Professionals (18-40) around the United Nation's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDG Email Signature campaign represents the first campaign by mdgpledge.org focused on the promotion of the MDGs. One of the key bottlenecks to achieving the MDGs is awareness, particularly in the developed world. The more people know about the MDGs and why they exist, the easier to rally support and legitimise action by government and corporations behind them.



What next?
The email campaign is only stage one of plans for mdgpledge.org, it's focus is just on the promotion of the MDGs.

Stage two is about action and accountability, we are currently working behind the scenes to develop mdgpledge.org into a web site that will enable individual pledges of action you will take to help achieve the MDGs. To help you out we are going to bring together a list of actions that anybody can do, so that you won't get stuck thinking how you can help make a difference.

If you have any questions regarding mdgpledge.org, please email us at mdgpledge@iypf.org.