June 17th 2013, 1:15pm- 2:30 pm

United Nations; North Lawn Building, Room 4

Gregory Swistel

Key Speakers:

Amina Mohammad; Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning

Homi Kharas; Deputy Director for the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution

Attended by:

Gregory Swistel, Sunny Hor, Marli Kasdan, Janice Wong, Candace Tang, Alyssa Strasser, Iman Yashruti

The panel submitted its report to the secretary general on May 30th. After yesterday’s review of the Post 2015 agenda, today’s speakers come with the purpose to amplify the comments and concerns that have been raised in order to create a seamless transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the Post 2015 Agenda.

The speakers do agree that the Post-2015 panel did an excellent effort to literately reach out to thousands of civil societies to promote growth and development, despite the newfound realization that carrying out addressing pressing global issues, BAU (Business as usual) is no longer acceptable. From these consultations, several messages arose.

A prominent one was the message that it is time to end extreme poverty. A stronger global middle class must arise and thus needs to be done then just making everybody in the world at least living on $1.25 a day. Second, the development agendas pertaining to environmental, economic and social development goals must be merged together in order to effectively end poverty via utilization of sustainable development.

In order to cope with such a wide agenda, five trans-formative shifts are created. The first is to make sure no person is left behind, and look past the averages to measure actual progress. Instead the most marginalized people of the target countries should be the data that is most closely examined. The second shift is to implement sustainable development at the core. The third is to transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth. The fourth is to build peace and provide open as well as accountable institution for all.

The last shift is to create a fortuitous global partnership, that creates a stronger multilateral front. Since the report has been published, two key concerns have arisen. Questions of feasibility have been fabricated regarding eliminating extreme poverty as an estimated 1 billion people will have to be lifted from poverty to them $1.25 a day threshold, which the panel feels is a possible, though arduous task in which significant public policy must be involved. The second common concern is whether or not enough environmental sustainability goals have been created.