Challenge Of The Millennium Development Goals

Challenge Of The Millennium Development Goals Introduction This essay addresses four main research questions, namely: what are the challenges of the Millennium Development Goal Two as an education development concept; how has the concept of the Millennium Development Goal Two improved the existing education system; what strategies are being used to achieve the Millennium Development Goal Two and how effective are these strategies in achieving the objective; and is 2015 a realistic objective for achieving the Millennium Development Goal Two, in terms of what means are being used to determine the achievement of the goal and how reliable/effective these tools are. Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; to achieve universal primary education; to promote gender equality and to empower women; to reduce child mortality; to improve maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; to ensure environmental sustainability; and to develop a global partnershi p for development. Each goal is composed of a series of targets that have associated indicators for monitoring progress. The Millennium Development Goal Two, for example, aims to achieve universal primary education, with the main target being to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls like, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling, with three main indicators for monitoring progress, namely the net enrolment ratio in primary education; the proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach the last grade of primary school; and the literacy rate of 15-24 year olds, both women and men. Some of the aims of the Millennium Development Goal Two overlap with those of Millennium Development Goal Three, which aims to promote gender equality, aiming to eliminate gender disparity in primary (and secondary) education in terms of the ratios of girls to boys in primary (and later) education. In Africa, the Millennium Development Goals are overseen by the MDG Afric a Steering Group, which brings together the leaders of development organisations working in Africa, the UN Secretary General and the heads of various organisations, such as the IMF, the Islamic Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group, in to order to identify the steps that are needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in Africa (MDG Africa Steering Group, 2009). The objectives of the MDG Africa Steering Group are to strengthen international mechanisms for implementation of development plans in health, education, agriculture, food security and infrastructure, to improve aid predictability and efficacy and to enhance coordination of aid at the level of individual countries (MDG Africa Steering Group, 2009). The Millennium Development Goals were developed as a fundamental part of the Millennium Declaration, which was signed by 189 countries in September 2000 (UN, 2000), supported by further countries at the 2005 World Summit via Resolution A/RES/60/1 of the UN General Assembly (UN, 2005). The Millennium Development Goals were conceptualised as a set of inter-related goals and targets that represent a way to encourage a viable partnership between developed and developing countries, in order to develop an environment – both global and national – that is conducive to development and to the elimination of the causes, and consequences, of poverty (UNDP, 2009). As of the date of signing of the Millennium Declaration, many hundreds of millions of people in the developing world lived below the poverty line, with a large proportion of these people failing to receive enough food to be able to survive. The Millennium Development Goals were, thus, developed as a concerted effort to identify where improvements were necessary and how these improvements could be made, via a series of targets and indicators, which would allow progress to be measured over the various goals. The Millennium Declaration focused on several main areas of improvement, inc luding the achievement of peace and security, poverty eradication, protecting the environment, ensuring human rights are upheld and protecting the most vulnerable members of the worldwide community, with this framework providing the conceptual basis of the Declaration and providing the holistic framework for the development of the specific goals, targets and indicators for monitoring progress.

Connection Between the Fine Arts and the Sciences Scholarship Essay

Connection Between the Fine Arts and the Sciences - Scholarship Essay Example The essay "Connection Between the Fine Arts and the Sciences" talks about the distinction between the sciences and fine arts that have been widely regarded as being nothing short of polar opposites. The previous can be characterized as precise and scrupulous while the latter is geared more towards the flamboyant and the extreme. The fine arts have always been concerned with the concept of beauty and how it can be depicted through different media while science has continuously busied itself with the discovery of things and the invention of tools that could make life easier. But when I think of the most perceptible historical era that brought forth an understanding that these disciplines can be ventured into concurrently by any person then it would be the Renaissance. This era has been deeply regarded for producing not only numerous great artworks but also massive discoveries in the field of science. The Renaissance man is known to be not only creative but also erudite and this has been adopted over the years as the ideal holistic person. The epitome of the Renaissance man who has extended perpetually his influence in humankind is no less than Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci once said that â€Å"The knowledge of all things is possible†. The man has lived to this principle. Starting out as an apprentice to t he highly regarded artist Verrocchio, he went to study with the Company of St. Luke to delve into understanding the human anatomy. This was considered by some as the time he rendered ‘Annunciation’.

Reflection paper Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection paper - Movie Review Example There are many features of the film that captured my imagination. The short film was very well made, with different departments such as direction, screenplay, acting and cinematography all supporting and complementing each other. The real stalwart of the movie (as well as in real-life) is Nick Vujicic, who transforms himself from being ‘a perversion of nature’, ‘a creature given up by God’, etc to an extraordinary circus performer, an overachiever. As his mentor, the owner of Butterfly Circus correctly points out, much of Nick’s predicament and diminished sense of self is of his own making. Admonishing Nick for his passive acceptance of fate, the mentor (played by Eduardo Verà ¡stegui) urges Nick to achieve something like other circus performers. Even when Nick falls down as he tries to cross over the river, the mentor allows him to ‘manage’ on his own. Apathetic and cruel as it might seem, Verastegui knew what he was doing – name ly cultivating self-sufficiency in Nick. Just as Verastegui intended, this attitude leads to a breakthrough event, when Nick falls into the water, and in a desperate attempt to keep afloat, discovers that he can swim. As a teacher of special needs children, I can play this film to my students and inspire them to make maximum use of their lives. In addition to the film, I would also play motivational talks given by Nick Vujicic to my students, for the film is only a representation of his own real struggles. The film has also taught me the role of mentorship in uplifting disabled children. For example, the kind of encouragement that a child is received has profound implications for the way it integrates into the mainstream society. Usually, a child from one of the minority communities has to overcome more challenges. The minority status may be as a result of disability, ethnicity, language, race or