Revisiting the Millenium Development Goals

As one of our first topics in my DM 201 class (Introduction to DevCom) , we talked about the Millennium Development Goals or the MDGs. If you are not familiar with the MDGs, you can read more about it here. These development goals are supposed to be achieved by 2015, but it looks like we are merely plodding along. We were asked, what do you thinks is the one greatest barrier stopping us from meeting the MDGs? 

It has been a while since I last heard of the MDGs, I remember the days when I used to carry a handy MDG card in my wallet! The thing is, if you don’t work directly with a development organization directly advocating these, they are not really on top of your mind.  Before I proceed with my discussion, I’d also like to share the Philippines’ MDG anthem that they released back then to promote the MDGs (I couldn’t find my CD anymore , so thank goodness for YouTube!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_i0ujLOv1E

It was difficult for me to come up with one greatest barrier, so let me present you with three.

(3) Lack of focus and sustained awareness
I mentioned earlier that I used to be an MDG fanatic but gradually forgot about it as I took on different posts and as priorities in my life and career shifted.I think this loss of focus and direction is also possible on a global scale. Our world continues to change - the global economy, political landscape, environment/ ecology has undergone dramatic changes in the past few years and economies struggle to keep up. It’s easy to lose focus on the MDGs when countries around the world struggle to live through disasters, economic instability, and political turmoil. Smaller, individual, national or regional interests come before global ones.

After the initial hype of the MDGs, there might have been a lack of sustaining activities to keep up the buzz and discussions between a wider range of people.

(2) Need for an adequate and consistent monitoring and reporting system
For us to better gauge our progress and success towards the MDGs, there should be a sound monitoring and reporting system. I am not sure if this is in place, or how reliable the data being reported are, or how consistent the measurement techniques are across the globe. Unreliable data will make it difficult to streamline and report towards common goals.
From the scarcity of data available on the web for some countries, I would say there might be a lack of a good M&E framework , or if there is one – then, I hope reporting could be more transparent so those interested could quickly get an idea of where we are.

 (1)  We’re growing too fast
MDGs and its success indicators (http://www.undp.org.ph/?link=mdg_goals_indicators) list ratios and proportions. However, we are simply growing and developing too fast. The goals that seemed achievable in the year 2000 may seem to be out of reach now due to our growth!

High population growth, rapid urbanization, fast-paced development of technology, increasing environmental degradation, calamities and climate change contribute to the weighing down of most development initiatives that are meant to address MDGs.

With this, I wonder -- do the MDGs really tackle the root cause of our societal problems? Easier said than done -- but our dev't programs need to be more flexible and responsive to the changing times!

What do you think?  What's your opinion?

Why M in DC?

Why Masters in Dev't Communication? 

Ever since I was a kid, I have been a fan of good stories and pictures. I loved (and still love) brochures , print ads and marketing materials. My mom says that whenever we traveled, our suitcase will always be filled up with all sorts of "pulyetos" (brochures and handouts) that I would collect from every place we visited.

I also loved (and still love) "stuff for a good cause"  - donation drives, garage sales, outreach programs, girl scouts, awareness posters, volunteering. As I grew older, my fondness for sharing information about helpful stuff grew through my involvement in school activities, newsletters, theater, student council, etc. etc. My favorite suggestion for every project and campaign is, "we should have a good awareness plan so that they will know."

I planned to take Journalism in college because I loved to write and I didn't want to take the advertising route nor the literary route (not a huge fan of poems and creative writing is too... "seasonal" for me - i get writers block all the time). However, I was meant to stick to UPLB where I did BS Human Ecology, Major in Social Development. I planned to shift during my second year but I fell in love with the campus and the science of development. I said , why not combine my passion for communication with social development? It was fun. I was not the best student, but I was doing what I loved, and I was still writing !

Because of my background and the sheer number of communications graduates, I never vied for a communications-related job. As with college, I infused my passion for communications in everything I did. I could not help but get involved with awareness and IEC (information, education, communications) programs. I felt really drawn to it.

I consider myself an advocate of development communication - I believe that information is power. It is a fundamental requirement for improving the quality of life, of creating change, of sharing knowledge.  I enrolled in MDC to gain credibility in this chosen field.

I always put it in my resume, interested to pursue a career in program management and communications for social development. After a while, I thought - why not support my development career with an academic degree on something I really like? Some people say you don't really need the degree to pursue something you like. But face reality guys, unless you are lucky enough to be  a famous celebrity columnist, or won some award out of school that automatically made you an expert on a certain subject, an academic diploma still matters!

My student number 98 - * * * * *

I've activated my U.P student number once again.

If you are familiar with it , you will know that I entered U.P in 1998 and graduated around 2002ish. Once we get issued our student number in our freshman year, we keep it for life ... we meet again if and when we decide to go back to school.

This is not the first time that I entered graduate school. I have about 12 units finished for the Master of Management, Major in Development Management (MMDM) at the UPLB Graduate School.

I loved going to school. Driving every weekend to my beloved UPLB from Binan, Laguna was a refreshing break , and was like going home. However, a combination of opportunities and events prevented me from pursuing my studies.

I did consider going back. But I feel that I already have my hands full with work, travel and family. That's when I decided to earn my Masters through the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). The Masters in Development Communication (MDC) program appealed to me, especially since I knew that UPLB's undergraduate DevCom program is really good (cheers, cheers! DevCom friends!)

UPOU is a distance learning institution ran by the country's premiere state university. Students get their lessons and readings via mail or the internet , where we participate in discussions with our professors and fellow students. Distance learning creates an impression that education through this method is less demanding or less serious, but based on feedback from other UPOUers and my own few weeks of school -- it's not a joke and can be as enriching (and as panicking!) as regular school!

Anyway, now I'm a student again and I am so excited :-) I have always been interested in development and development work , and also dabble with writing and communications work on the side. Although I deal with it in my day to day work, it is different to be studying the science behind it and interacting with other like-minded individuals.

Me on the 1st day of school. UPOU Orientation, June 2012

To help me in my studies, I thought of starting this blog and hopefully gather enough interest to start mini discussions on the side (not only with my classmates, but with other development professionals as well).  I like getting feedback and knowing what other people think! Would also LOVE to be able to publish contributions from other people , hence the title "Communicate 4 Change" - hope this graduates from an individual to eventually, to a group blog!

I am also not limiting this to UPOU stuff, but may also extend to my experiences and thoughts as a young (!!!) development professional.


A few disclaimers and reminders:

(1) I am an enthusiast (not an expert)
         Most of what I will probably write here will be based on my own thoughts , experiences, and values. I am not and will not claim to be an expert on anything - I am a student of the world : observing, learning, and gathering knowledge. I am also still developing my analytical thinking skills , so please bear with me ;-)

(2) I value respect. 
         I look forward to healthy conversations! Please respect diversity of people and thoughts.

(3) Copy with care
        Or better yet, please don't copy. I would hate it if my stuff finds its way to other discussion boards as somebody else's stuff :-( Please link back to me or refer to this blog in case you want to share the thoughts! I commit to also put adequate citations when needed.