More than a million people weigh in on the world they want, post-2015

Summarizing the findings of public consultations and surveys that engaged more than 1.3 million people in all 193 UN Member States, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today presented the “A Million Voices: The World We Want” report. The report is part of a UN-wide effort to identify priorities for the post-2015 development agenda, which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“For the last year, the UN has been encouraging an unprecedented ‘global conversation’ on the world that people want,” said Ban Ki-moon. “The report that we launch today captures the voices of over one million people from all regions and backgrounds. We sought the voices of those that are usually unheard – particularly those people that are poor, excluded or marginalized.

Since August 2012, the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), which unites 32 UN agencies and funds, organized a series of consultations and surveys on what matters most to people, their families, communities and countries. More than 300,000 people engaged in face-to-face meetings in 88 countries and a series of 11 consultations on issues such as food security, access to water, governance and inequalities. UN Women and UNICEF co-led the inequalities consultations, which included online discussions on the WorldWeWant2015 web platform, which brought together communities of experts.

UN Women Deputy Executive Director John Hendra co-chairs the UNDG’s MDG Task Force, along with UNDP, and is a member of the Informal Senior Coordination Group of four Assistant Secretary-Generals tasked by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to coordinate UN System efforts to support Member States to formulate the post-2015 development agenda.

In its position paper, UN Women advocates for a stand-alone goal in the post-2015 development agenda to achieve gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment, one that is grounded in human rights and tackles unequal power relations. Along with the stand-alone goal, UN Women is calling for integration of gender equality concerns throughout the other priority areas and goals of the post-2015 development agenda, with clear targets and indicators.

Click here to read the joint press release on the new UNDG report