Eurizons: Open Letter To All Members Of The European Parliament
Riga, Kaunas, Krakow, Olomouc, Bratislava, Sopron, München, Strasbourg
23 August - 7 September 2006
Dear Members of the European Parliament,
We are a group of over 100 young Europeans from 11 different European countries joined together in a project called Eurizons. It is a campaign promoting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and focuses on the responsibility of Europe and Europeans for their achievement. It is organised by the Global Education Network of Young Europeans (GLEN) and 25 local NGOs in old and new EU member states.
During Eurizons 50 of us hitchhiked over 2 500 km from Riga to Strasbourg crossing 8 EU member states in order to raise awareness about the MDGs. We organized events, debates, street actions & theatre, workshops and concerts in 8 cities. We have encouraged the people we met to take part in the global struggle against poverty and to become active supporters of the MDGs, as responsible consumers and citizens.
Why did we engage in such a long and exhausting tour? Because 5 years after the confirmation of the Millennium Declaration 88% of the population of Europe has never heard about it. We feel that this topic, and the commitments made are extremely important and we are concerned about the effort that is currently being invested in achieving the MDGs. We believe that we can count on European individuals to assume a responsible role in this long process, and we want to contribute to a debate on development issues – a debate in which Europeans from different countries and with their different historical, political and cultural backgrounds can participate.
On our tour we have talked to a lot of people in the streets, as well as NGO representatives and political actors. Their opinions, experiences and messages for you made the greatest contribution to this letter.
What did we find out?
As expected, we have experienced a very low awareness level concerning development issues and the MDGs among civil society and also political actors. What surprised us though, was the sincere interest of people we talked to. We found out that in a casual discussion, without the use of abstract terms such as M-D-Gs, we were able to make a great impact on their way of thinking by showing them the links between their lives in their country and the lives of people in developing countries. We believe it is important for future projects to talk to people in their language, on a personal level and provide them with understandable information they can relate to.
The opinions of the people we met however were not only positive. The main concerns were about the mere achievability of the MDGs as well as the right use of the financial aid. Also, a lack of political will both in developing countries and in Europe was sometimes assumed. There is a need for more transparency and concrete examples of how the goals are being reached and how the fi nancial resources are being used.
We found it particularly challenging to gain support for a programme like the MDGs in the New Member States. In these countries fewer historical connections with the Global South and only little experience with developing countries are present. They are not used to the role of a donor and they have a small development budget. In addition, the idea of being responsible for others is unusual for many people. Some still consider their own countries not to be a part of the “developed world†and the struggle against internal poverty is still important. On the other hand, there are also many people who are committed and feel responsible for the global community as citizens of a democratic Europe.
We realised that a lot also has to be done within the EU in order to reach the MDGs! More attention should be given to sustainable ways of living, gender equality, the global partnership for development. The MDGs are not a problem of the others, we have to look to ourselves too, and maybe in the first place.
What we commit ourselves to do
We believe that we must find answers to global challenges together. We are a new emerging generation of young Europeans that has the chance to work together for finding solutions for important global issues. Building on our positive experience, we definitely want to go on using the potential of our network.
A lot still needs to be done to promote common action for the achievement of the MDGs. We commit ourselves to carry out more European awareness raising projects like Eurizons, within our European network for development education.
During Eurizons we learnt a lot about each other, while visiting each other’s countries. We are going to increase our efforts to involve more young Europeans from both old and new member states in order to allow them to experience the same enrichment we felt from our intra-European co-operation.
What we ask you to do
The EU is the biggest donor in development in the world, and we, Europeans, are proud of this. But the efficiency of the aid given and the transparency of international development co-operation projects is perceived as not satisfactory. It will not surprise you that many people we met perceive “Brussels†(and also “Strasbourg†by the way) as far away. You need to dialogue more, to explain EU policies better!
If we can help to gain public support for development work, we also need (your) support for doing so! You can and should work on establishing a good framework in which topics such as the MDGs can be communicated and explained to people from all walks of life. Structured financing for developmental awareness raising activities of NGOs or networks like ours is essential.
Partnerships between old and new member states in development co-operation and education are highly valuable and need stronger political support. In order to bring the process of creating European unity further you should encourage and support more initiatives in which Europeans act together.
Of course we must also urge you to do everything you can within the European institutions and within the Member States to ensure, politically, the achievement of the MDGs:
- Struggle for the provision of adequate funds for development: the EU and its Member States must keep the 0.7% promise and the promised gradual increase of development spending
- Speak out against European policies that contradict the MDGs! The EU trade & agricultural policies must be changed so that they support rather than undermine development processes! In its external relations, the EU should not be opportunistic, e.g. by supporting undemocratic regimes or striving for short-term self-interests, but establish fair and just relations with the Global South.
- Take the MDGs seriously, as real targets to be reached by 2015, not just as vague goals. Don’t lose the energy and motivation for working towards the fulfilment of the MDGs and make real improvements where they are needed most, not only where they have the greatest impact on statistics. Consider the MDGs in the process of any resolution or decision you vote for and the EP adopts.
We would like to discuss our opinions and proposal of co-operation further with you personally and we are grateful to those of you who accepted our offer to meet us in Strasbourg. We are looking forward to this discussion.
Yours sincerely,
Eurizons hitch-hikers & campaigners
23 August - 7 September 2006
Dear Members of the European Parliament,
We are a group of over 100 young Europeans from 11 different European countries joined together in a project called Eurizons. It is a campaign promoting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and focuses on the responsibility of Europe and Europeans for their achievement. It is organised by the Global Education Network of Young Europeans (GLEN) and 25 local NGOs in old and new EU member states.
During Eurizons 50 of us hitchhiked over 2 500 km from Riga to Strasbourg crossing 8 EU member states in order to raise awareness about the MDGs. We organized events, debates, street actions & theatre, workshops and concerts in 8 cities. We have encouraged the people we met to take part in the global struggle against poverty and to become active supporters of the MDGs, as responsible consumers and citizens.
Why did we engage in such a long and exhausting tour? Because 5 years after the confirmation of the Millennium Declaration 88% of the population of Europe has never heard about it. We feel that this topic, and the commitments made are extremely important and we are concerned about the effort that is currently being invested in achieving the MDGs. We believe that we can count on European individuals to assume a responsible role in this long process, and we want to contribute to a debate on development issues – a debate in which Europeans from different countries and with their different historical, political and cultural backgrounds can participate.
On our tour we have talked to a lot of people in the streets, as well as NGO representatives and political actors. Their opinions, experiences and messages for you made the greatest contribution to this letter.
What did we find out?
As expected, we have experienced a very low awareness level concerning development issues and the MDGs among civil society and also political actors. What surprised us though, was the sincere interest of people we talked to. We found out that in a casual discussion, without the use of abstract terms such as M-D-Gs, we were able to make a great impact on their way of thinking by showing them the links between their lives in their country and the lives of people in developing countries. We believe it is important for future projects to talk to people in their language, on a personal level and provide them with understandable information they can relate to.
The opinions of the people we met however were not only positive. The main concerns were about the mere achievability of the MDGs as well as the right use of the financial aid. Also, a lack of political will both in developing countries and in Europe was sometimes assumed. There is a need for more transparency and concrete examples of how the goals are being reached and how the fi nancial resources are being used.
We found it particularly challenging to gain support for a programme like the MDGs in the New Member States. In these countries fewer historical connections with the Global South and only little experience with developing countries are present. They are not used to the role of a donor and they have a small development budget. In addition, the idea of being responsible for others is unusual for many people. Some still consider their own countries not to be a part of the “developed world†and the struggle against internal poverty is still important. On the other hand, there are also many people who are committed and feel responsible for the global community as citizens of a democratic Europe.
We realised that a lot also has to be done within the EU in order to reach the MDGs! More attention should be given to sustainable ways of living, gender equality, the global partnership for development. The MDGs are not a problem of the others, we have to look to ourselves too, and maybe in the first place.
What we commit ourselves to do
We believe that we must find answers to global challenges together. We are a new emerging generation of young Europeans that has the chance to work together for finding solutions for important global issues. Building on our positive experience, we definitely want to go on using the potential of our network.
A lot still needs to be done to promote common action for the achievement of the MDGs. We commit ourselves to carry out more European awareness raising projects like Eurizons, within our European network for development education.
During Eurizons we learnt a lot about each other, while visiting each other’s countries. We are going to increase our efforts to involve more young Europeans from both old and new member states in order to allow them to experience the same enrichment we felt from our intra-European co-operation.
What we ask you to do
The EU is the biggest donor in development in the world, and we, Europeans, are proud of this. But the efficiency of the aid given and the transparency of international development co-operation projects is perceived as not satisfactory. It will not surprise you that many people we met perceive “Brussels†(and also “Strasbourg†by the way) as far away. You need to dialogue more, to explain EU policies better!
If we can help to gain public support for development work, we also need (your) support for doing so! You can and should work on establishing a good framework in which topics such as the MDGs can be communicated and explained to people from all walks of life. Structured financing for developmental awareness raising activities of NGOs or networks like ours is essential.
Partnerships between old and new member states in development co-operation and education are highly valuable and need stronger political support. In order to bring the process of creating European unity further you should encourage and support more initiatives in which Europeans act together.
Of course we must also urge you to do everything you can within the European institutions and within the Member States to ensure, politically, the achievement of the MDGs:
- Struggle for the provision of adequate funds for development: the EU and its Member States must keep the 0.7% promise and the promised gradual increase of development spending
- Speak out against European policies that contradict the MDGs! The EU trade & agricultural policies must be changed so that they support rather than undermine development processes! In its external relations, the EU should not be opportunistic, e.g. by supporting undemocratic regimes or striving for short-term self-interests, but establish fair and just relations with the Global South.
- Take the MDGs seriously, as real targets to be reached by 2015, not just as vague goals. Don’t lose the energy and motivation for working towards the fulfilment of the MDGs and make real improvements where they are needed most, not only where they have the greatest impact on statistics. Consider the MDGs in the process of any resolution or decision you vote for and the EP adopts.
We would like to discuss our opinions and proposal of co-operation further with you personally and we are grateful to those of you who accepted our offer to meet us in Strasbourg. We are looking forward to this discussion.
Yours sincerely,
Eurizons hitch-hikers & campaigners
feuerwehrtrompeter - 15. Sep, 14:49
