21 March 2013: The UN Development Group (UNDG) has released a publication, titled “The Global Conversation Begins: Emerging Views for a New Development Agenda,” which covers the UN’s efforts to facilitate national and global consultations surrounding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda.

The report indicates that, to date, the UN has partnered with national governments and civil society to host dialogues in 83 countries, and has heard the views of over 200,000 individuals. The organization is simultaneously hosting 11 global thematic conversations on specific development topics, and has conducted a survey online and in person.

The report summarizes some of these efforts’ preliminary findings and offers suggestions for the global community’s new agenda. The UNDG reports that the consultations identify the MDGs as fundamental to the development effort, and that their progress should be accelerated. The MDGs should also be adapted to account for growing inequalities, the impacts of globalization, and cultural differences. Consultations recommended that new forms of social media communication and data be included in MDG progress measurements.

The report also identifies a need for the agenda to adequately address contemporary global problems of environmental degradation, economic inequality, and conflict. Calls for such an expanded agenda encompass global movements for more sustainable development and public accountability. These views also include the definition of a new framework for development, including new indicators of growth and fairness.

Finally, the UNDG report identifies that broad participation of the public and civil society is wanted in the processes of agenda-setting and implementation for the post-2015 goals. It notes individuals’ emphasis on a human rights and people-centered agenda, and looks forward to the sense of ownership that people, especially youth, will feel for the new development agenda. [Publication: The Global Conversation Begins: Emerging Views for a New Development Agenda] [Webcast of Report Launch] [UNDP Press Release] [UNEP Press Release] [World We Want 2015 Post]