Posted by Bryan Turner | Sep 15, 2009 | Tinyhttp://2mp.tw/1v | Comments
Millennium Development Goals • Millennium Villages Project • Partners
Carleton University students fund Millennium Promise with tuition fee
Carleton Univeristy's Students To End Extreme Poverty
Instead of fundraising, last year at Carleton University, Students To End Extreme Poverty campaigned to get a question to referendum whereby students would vote on whether or not they would pay an extra $6 per person annually in tuition fees to help finance a Millennium Village.
We got 73% of the vote. The 20,000 students at Carleton now contribute over $120,000 annually to Millennium Promise.
We chose to support Millennium Promise because it offers the most effective approach for providing people with the tools they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. It is also the only approach that, if scaled, would see countless lives saved, an African Green Revolution and, amongst other things, every child in primary school.
Scaling the Millennium Villages also falls within the globally endorsed 0.7% of rich world GDP in aid and can therefore be an advocacy tool to show what effective, transparent, monitorable, scientifically backed, community led development assistance can accomplish – especially important given the scattered success record of aid.
There are two ways to break a chain: A steady, gradually increasing tension or a concentrated spurt of energy. Why not do both?
2010 is two thirds of the way to the Millennium Development Goals’ 2015 target. It is also the year that the commitments made by the G8 to Africa come due.
If there has ever been a time for widespread concerted pressure on politicians to follow through on real commitments to make the Millennium Development Goals the world’s goals, it is now.
If enough universities, businesses, faith groups, unions, and organizations come together to support the Millennium Villages through institutionalized giving (aside from helping communities help themselves out of extreme poverty), it could raise enough awareness, get enough media attention, engage enough people, foster enough cooperation, and generate enough civil society will to see policy changes.
We can do this. It doesn’t take a huge number of people to facilitate a global cascade of political will that could see the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Bryan Turner is the Founder and President of Students to End Extreme Poverty at Carleton University. He is based in Ottawa, Canada.
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The Students to End Extreme Poverty group at Carleton University is an excellent example of how perseverance, raising levels of awareness and concerted effort amongst motivated individuals can make a demonstrable contribution towards the battle against extreme poverty. The approach adopted by STEEP has been relentless education (and engagement) amongst the student population at Carleton on not only the problems facing impoverished communities but also on the solutions that are available. They offer a measurable way in which those who are interested in making a difference can participate. The University is better off for the efforts of this group and the Canadian government (and all governments who are not meeting their 0.7% GDP aid investment) would be wise to learn a thing or two from this group of talented speakers, leaders and educators. If a group of students are able, in 1 year, to generate a commitment by students to donate at least $120, 000 / year there should be no reason why governments around the world are unable to do the same.
Students from around the world that want to get involved can join the facebook group for starters…and then initiate a similar effort at their own school.
Right on! We’re following suite at the University of Alberta for a $15 fee and reaching out to Saskatchewan and Manitoba and British Columbia to try and get them on board. Looks like the Millennium Campus Network is going to try and get 10 universitiesin the states on board. Very exciting. There is huge potential here. We need more champions.
Wow very impressive approach. $6.00 from each student can really add up.. Good job, for a good cause.
York University is picking up the reins this year to follow in Carleton’s footsteps! Wish us luck and give us support!
-The Poverty Eradication Project @ York U
http://www.yorku.ca/povproj/club