GAP 2015 CoverAnnouncing the 2015 Global Action Report in partnership with the Global Action Platform Cover Story: The Sustainable Development Goals and UNGA 2015 Featured: Exclusive articles by leaders at the United Nations, the World Bank Group, and Gallup. This September the world will reach an important milestone: the deadline of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goals, set 15 years ago by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, aimed at putting the world’s most pressing issues—such as halting maternal and child mortality, eradicating extreme poverty, and universal education—at the top of nations’ foreign policy and development agendas. The goals were hefty and extremely ambitious. One could say maybe too ambitious. Could we see the complete eradication of poverty in our lifetimes? Late last year, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, released a synthesis report on the post-2015 MDG agenda titled, “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet.” The report integrated the range of inputs on the post-2015 agenda from global consultations with UN member states, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and citizens. The document, in essence, framed the sustainable development agenda after the expiration of the MDGs, focusing on prosperity, justice, and partnership. The Post-2015 Development Agenda—the Sustainable Development Goals—will launch this September at the annual UN General Assembly meetings. The launch will be the culmination of unprecedented activity and drive for success. These Global Goals—as they are known in the global community—have galvanized support like no other time in history. More than ever before, an unprecedented number of actors from the private and public sectors are collaborating, and individuals are pouring in their personal fortunes behind the actualization of these goals. We too, have been hard at work this past year producing a synthesis report. We are proud to release the 2015 Global Action Report, synthesizing the vision and findings from the Global Action Summit. Since its inception, we have been the official rapporteurs of the Global Action Platform (GAP) and Summit, and we have traced the progress being achieved by GAP leaders in the areas of food, health, and prosperity—all areas are critical to several of the SDGs. In addition to this report, this year’s editorial calendar at Diplomatic Courier has focused on the Post-MDG agenda. Since January, we have produced in-depth editions examining the rule of law in helping women and girls rise out of poverty, climate and planet, the future of food, health, and quality of life of individuals around the world, and the role of technology in driving more job creation and social good. The year 2015 and the Sustainable Development Goals offer an unprecedented opportunity to consolidate and galvanize action so that we may see real change in our time. And while the headlines are grim, evidence of abundance is all around us. We can and should aspire to a future where prosperity is the norm. We are proud to show you what the many thought leaders have accomplished and are aspiring to accomplish vis-à-vis the Global Goals. We think you will find the writings in this report both practical and inspiring. The report can be downloaded for free here. Ana C. Rold is Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Diplomatic Courier.  

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