SOCIAL WATCH E-NEWSLETTER - Issue 130 - May 17, 2013

The main problem with the MDGs, globally, is that the overall approach towards development they represent is quite narrow, limiting countries’ incentives to institute structural changes that would foster development.

This is particularly evident in the case of Goal 2: ‘Achieve Universal Primary Education,’ which excludes economically active people in developing countries who are in need of further education, re-skilling or vocational training. Using the case of Cyprus, we can examine how the Lifelong Learning strategy it adopted made the link between LLL and sustainable development, and ask whether the Cyprus model provides a potential model for developing countries in the post-MDG agenda.

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Funders play a critical role in the increasingly urgent project of strengthening the capacity of global and local citizen movements to actively engage in the design and implementation of international instruments and standards. In particular, the coming three to five years will be a pivotal time for citizen movements for human rights and human dignity throughout the world.

An opinion column by Tanya Dawkins, co-chair of the Coordinating Committee of Social Watch. Read more

Republican US President Ronald Reagan mocked his Democratic predecessor Lyndon Johnson saying that "LBJ declared war on poverty ... and lost ". Will the same be said of the World Bank? After initially promising to end absolute poverty by 2000, the Bank now marks 2030 as the date for completion. To avoid the embarrassment of another defeat, on top of decades of delay, the Bank seems to be lowering the bar that measures progress.

An opinion column by Roberto Bissio, of the Social Watch international secretariat.

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A group of Southern NGOs, including many members of the Social Watch network, gathered signatures and sent this letter to the members of the High Level Panel that is advising the UN on the content of a future Agenda for Development post-2015.

Download the letter in English, Spanish, French and/or Arabic.

See the list of signatories here. Read more