Brian Heater and Chloe Albanesius are reporting from the U.N. on this new initiative.
We're here at the United Nations. Google and Cisco are set to deliver a press conference to announce an initiative aimed at decreasing global poverty. I'm working from news reporter, Chloe Albanesius's computer--mine wouldn't start up. Also, they misspelled both of our names on our security badges, and then made us leave the room, as a chocolate lab sniffed our belongings--I'm glad I left my biscuits at home. Otherwise, everything is wonderful. The conference is beginning now.
More after the jump.
The intro: The MGDs adopted by all the world government in 200, is our commitment toward building a better world in the next century. Some regions are not on track to meet goals by 2015. Millions of children die every day. Malaria and AIDS are taking their worst toll on countries that can't afford it. A billion people live on less than a dollar a day.
Clearly we need emergency action. For the first time in history, we have the means. There is no silver bullet, but the knowledge and tools do exist. That is what makes today's launch of the MDGs so essential. The DG Monitor will pinpoint areas where additional efforts are required.
It will encourage countries to learn from one another and harness the power of the Internet. It will encourage leaders from rich and poor countries to join together.
It will require countries, citizen, and corporations to join together. I thank Cisco and Google, and with that, I launch the MDG Monitor. They are all press a mouse on a notebook for a photo-op. Now I turn it over to our collegues fromCisco, Google, and the UNDP.
UNDP rep. is bringing up the model on the screen.
UNDP: We are using Google Earth to fly around the earth and assess the campaigns.
We have experts from 130 countries to assess how we are doing. The monitor is a very comprehensive online resource that we can use to get a snapshot of how we are meeting the goals, across the world. We hope to open the site to all organizations to gather information. We are working with governments and using their data. We are engaged in a dynamic debate with this data. UNDP is the facilitator, but all countries are involved in this effort. In this world of extreme proparity in some ways, there is still poverty that is unacceptable.
The secretary general has appointed an inquiry into Africa, where there is the largest problem. The first step is to have the numbers on the table. URL: www.mdgmonitor.org. Turns floor over to Google and Cisco.
Google's Michael T. Jones: There is probably no company convinced that an open source of information can lead to a better world. The reason we built Google Earth is that people can better learn about their world.The conext of the planet makes information more understandable.
Any of our 300 million users can see the project of the goals on the globe--the successes and failures.
We don't measure failure--we plan for success. We're proud to have the ability to play our part. We're not the source of information, but we're the hub. We also thank Cisco for building the networks that make all of this possible.
Cisco's Carlos Domingues: I've been fortunate to be here 16 out of Cisco's 21 years. As you look at some of the goals that are set here today--they're pretty lofty. They require a global effort. We're able to enable the monitoring and the ability to analyze what is happening. The workwe've done here fits in with out corporate responsibility. We're focused internally on global education. We pledge to continue not only our own initiative--reducing carbon--but we're proud to be working with UNDP and Google
The secretary general has to run. Question time.
Q: A guy is complaining about Wi-Fi.
Cisco: We have plenty of products to do that.
Q: We want you to pledge to fix this on the third floor.
UNDP: We'll follow up on that.
Q: You said the degree of poverty is no longer acceptable. As you know, 1 billion people live in poverty. Do you consider the fight against poverty a moral issues? Should it be elevated to the level of a human right?
UNDP: In terms of the message from the international community, I think the message has been unanimous. The message was quite clear, strongly endorsing the MDGs, and calling for the international community to meet them. UNDP is much more than measuring GDP. We work with many agencies, but our primary source is from the governments. I want to emphasize that as a UN agency, our counterparts are the nations themselves.
Q: What is the budget?
UNDP: It's an ongoing project, but it's not a very costly thing. The systems are there. It's a question of putting it together.
Google: We dedicated our existing services. It's the framework that's been Google's investment.
Cisco: It's also an investment for us, but we don't disclose numbers.
Q: You specifically mentioned Africa. How will the MDG Monitor assist, given the problems with connectivity?
UNDP: There are no places which are not connected at all, from the government level. The problem is on the citizen level. There's a special connectivity plan being developed in the UN. The question is how much will the citizen participate.
Google: It's not that every citizen needs to use this to help. It can be at a variety of levels. It's not just a pervasive broad level.
Q: Do you think the UN is powerful enough to solve all of the problems in the world?
UNDP: I think we have to try our best, but at the end of the day, the UN is not more than individual nations coming together.
Q: Is the system telling you where info is coming from? What about the 62 other countries that are members of the UN--do they fall out of the program? Thirdly, when is the outside information being included--has that already started?
UNDP: This is a global system. The UN has a universal presence--no countries are excluded. Even rich countries. As for the info, there are procedures in place. The source will be listed on the Web page. There are many methodological details. There are, in every country in the world, national statistics that are worked on. This is, to use Silicon Valley speak, version 1.0.
Q: The Democratic People's Republic in Korea is not on the list. What's the status of getting North Korea onto the list? Also, to Cisco: There's some debate regarding the censorship issue. And to Google: Are you member of the Global Compact?
UNDP: When we don't get the required info, we can't include them in the program. That doesn't mean they won't be included in the future.
Cisco: I'm probably not the right person to answer that question.
Google: I actually don't know. See me afterwards.
Q: For Google: Do you have plans to use Google's other sites?
Google: This is not our site. The UNDP is published info on our platform. The framework that we built is rich, and we want to make it richer. We'd be thrilled to use our other services, if we're asked to. We wanted to publish the data first. Maybe new Google tools will organize dialog.
UNDP: This is a particular presentation of data. This will stimulate conversation. Why aren't the countries equally meeting the goals? We launched a new development blog for discussion. It's important to be able to compare information.
Q: Human rights violations are impeding development. Will this address that? Also, censorship is a major impediment for the release of information. Will you be working to give citizens access to information?
UNDP: This site is going to be available to anyone who wants to use it. It is as available as you can make it. If, in some countries, there are blockages, these need to be addressed by the member countries. This is looking at the particular outcomes. The reason that there are failures are multiple--lack of resource, violence, etc. Each tool has its limitations and strength. You'll be able to compare numbers, but the reason requires another set of resources. All of these things can be more easily analyzed when we have the numbers.
Q: For Google--can you show us how the Global Awareness layer would work?
Google: We'll show you, later, on my computer. People can put any data they want in context. It gives it a certain power when you see it in context. It's the juxtaposition of the global knowledge of earth and the knowledge of these goals that gives us the insight. You might realize that the problem's not what you think it is.
Q: To Google--current numbers suggest that certain Sub-Sahara nations won't hit the numbers by 2015. Also since shares are up, are you looking to help fight AIDS and other things that will concretely help.
Google: Sometimes you set big goals for yourself. You need to work harder, when you set goals and know you're falling behind. Hiding information is the failure of everything. We already use the Google Foundation to reach out. We are engaged as a company and an organization.
Q: Black African journalist--you are avoiding me!
They are allowing one more question.
Q: Will you give updated statistics on the site?
UNDP: These are the most update statistics, but there are some countries where the statistics take longer.
End of conference.
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