MDGs and the past
Just back from Yorkshire catching up with a charity I'm involved with. I feel a bit reconnected with my roots. I know it sounds pretnetious and earnest (I know, I know, I know) to say, but when I was younger I really felt that it was my (and probably everyone else's) duty to 'do good' (argh, a terrible phrase). For example, I felt I should only work for ethical organisations that dealt with worthy causes. This of course meant that I ended up spending a lot of time on the dole or working for zealous incompetant cooperatives, working with asylum seekers, studying development, time done in all sorts of weird & usually far-from-wonderful marxist/feminist groups. Not forgetting, when I was even younger, peace and church groups. I know it's to do with 'growing up' and various changes in society (postmodernism?), but eventually I got fed up and stopped all this. Although I like to think I kept the best bits of what I'd done. I got a 'proper' job (yeah, I know), moved to London, etc, etc. Anyway, the whole point of talking about this is thatt his weekend I felt this past stirring up again.
We had a session with Groundwork who talked about the Millennium Development Goals* and the Global Footprint project. (They have quite a good awareness quiz). I also had an interesting conversation with someone who's doing a doctorate in development and theology, which leads me to... I've just returned from St Paul's Engaging With The MDGs service. It was focussing on the goals of universial primary education, gender equality, and maternal health, along with music and information from Afghanistan. It was all very well done, there was even a reading list! However, I just ended up thinking 'what's the point?' The statistics and examples they gave were so familiar - similar to those we learned when I studied development - around 15 years ago! What changes? I do think things can change. But I don't think the wills of those in power want to facilitate change. And, instead, those wanting change end up trying to chip away, wearing themselves out and eventually burning out. Maybe I'm just too cynical. It just makes me wonder... Maybe it's even an excuse for me to do nothing but sit on the sidelines and snipe. I mean, I was thinking about doing a masters in social policy, but have effectively talked myself out of it as I don't see any way of using it practically enough, I' d just end up in a charity lobbying parliarment.
* No one there had heard about the MDGs. I only had a vague idea what they were due to the St Pauls events
We had a session with Groundwork who talked about the Millennium Development Goals* and the Global Footprint project. (They have quite a good awareness quiz). I also had an interesting conversation with someone who's doing a doctorate in development and theology, which leads me to... I've just returned from St Paul's Engaging With The MDGs service. It was focussing on the goals of universial primary education, gender equality, and maternal health, along with music and information from Afghanistan. It was all very well done, there was even a reading list! However, I just ended up thinking 'what's the point?' The statistics and examples they gave were so familiar - similar to those we learned when I studied development - around 15 years ago! What changes? I do think things can change. But I don't think the wills of those in power want to facilitate change. And, instead, those wanting change end up trying to chip away, wearing themselves out and eventually burning out. Maybe I'm just too cynical. It just makes me wonder... Maybe it's even an excuse for me to do nothing but sit on the sidelines and snipe. I mean, I was thinking about doing a masters in social policy, but have effectively talked myself out of it as I don't see any way of using it practically enough, I' d just end up in a charity lobbying parliarment.
* No one there had heard about the MDGs. I only had a vague idea what they were due to the St Pauls events
