Meeting the Millennium Development Goals with Imagination and New Energy

"Some men see things as they are, and say, 'Why?' I dream of things that never were, and say, 'Why not?'"

-Robert F. Kennedy (with a tip of the hat to George Bernard Shaw)

Not long ago I was sitting on a beach in Jomtien, Thailand, looking at the waves and trying to relax. As I was looking out at the beautiful ocean scene in front of me, a young Thai boy, about eight years of age, walked down to the edge of the ocean near where I was sitting. In his hands, he carried a long stick. A rope was fastened to one end of the stick. Attached to the other end of the rope was a large brick. In other words, the boy had made himself a fishing pole complete with a "brick fish." Curious about what he was going to do next, I watched him as he threw his brick into the ocean. The boy stood there, pole in hand, patiently waiting for something to take his bait. Suddenly the boy's fishing line went taut. He became excited knowing that a "fish" was on the line. And pulling with all his might he somehow managed to bring his catch to shore. Then he turned around in my direction and looked at me with an excited expression on his face that seemed to say, 'Can you see it?' 'Can you see this huge and magnificent fish that I just caught?' Well, I could see it. I could see it because I did the same thing when I was his age. And I used the same method to do it: IMAGINATION.

Imagination is one of the greatest gifts our species possesses. Only our species has the ability to imagine things that are not yet part of reality. This special gift allows us to dream of new possibilities. It allows us to envision the future and take corrective action to avoid future mistakes. It is what leads to new inventions, innovative art, and progressive social developments. It is what allows us to rise above mediocrity. It is one of the primary reasons underpinning our advance as a species. When imagination and action meet, great things can happen. Perhaps the most important example of this in the 21^st century is the United Nations Millennium Declaration. What is this document if not the product of collective imagination? After all, the sustainable world that it is designed to create is clearly more of a dream than reality, existing primarily in the imaginations of men and women of good will.

The shared values and principles contained within the Declaration gave rise to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development. These time-bound goals, with a target date of 2015, are currently guiding sustainable development efforts worldwide. They are designed to generate responsible reproductive behavior, eliminate poverty in all its forms (including income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of shelter, and lack of opportunity), address the challenges of gender equality and universal education, and promote environmental sustainability. From a broader perspective, they are designed to set the stage for 21^st century sustainability by creating a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, humane, equitable, and environmentally sound global community. The Declaration and Goals reflect the best qualities of our species. They are an example of what good and decent human beings can do when they choose, deliberately, to rise above petty differences and selfish instincts.

All of us would like to see each of the Goals met by the target date of 2015. And those of us working to meet the Goals are committed to doing our best in this regard. Progress is being made on many fronts. Some developing countries, such as Thailand, have already met many of the goals. But it is becoming clear that the majority of developing countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa, will not be able to...