Millennium Campus Network

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The Millennium Campus Network (MCN) is a nonprofit organization of university student groups across the nation promoting sustainable development in the spirit of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The goal of the network is to improve the effectiveness of student-led development initiatives by facilitating communication and resource mobilization between university student groups.

The MCN was founded to combat the global emergency of extreme poverty. Currently, 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty, defined as less than one U.S. dollar per day. Each year, about 300 to 500 million people are infected with malaria; over one million children die each year from this preventable disease. Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies from starvation. Over one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. More than 6,000 people die every day from HIV/AIDS.

University groups everywhere are working on efforts to alleviate this global crisis. MCN member organizations connect students to universities and government agencies in sub-Saharan Africa, innovate policies to technologies to implement clean water solutions in local communities, and raise money to provide families with anti-malarial insecticide-treated bed nets. During the year, students collaborate on cross-disciplinary educational programs, measurable and auditable fundraising initiatives, and targeted projects to raise awareness about sustainable development and extreme poverty.

Millennium Campus Network, Inc. was founded in 2007 by Brandeis University students Sam Vaghar and Seth Werfel.

1 Mission Statement
2 The Millennium Development Goals
3 Member Organizations
4 The Millennium Campus Conference
5 Getting Involved
6 References

[edit] Mission Statement

According to the MCN website, the mission of the organization is the following: "The Millennium Campus Network, Inc. (MCN) aims to support student efforts to promote sustainable international development in the spirit of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals."^[1] Organizations that become members of the Millennium Campus Network receive several benefits. Member organizations of the MCN gain:

1. Access to a large database of contacts in the non-profit, political, and corporate sectors
2. Seed funding for sustainable development projects in developing countries
3. Publicity for organizational events on the MCN website
4. Unique networking opportunities with member organizations from across the United States
5. Connections with university students in developing countries

[edit] The Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals were set forth by the United Nations. These goals aim to reduce extreme poverty and hunger among the world's poorest by 2015. There are eight goals to be reached by this date^[2]:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

[edit] Member Organizations

Currently, the MCN consists of organizations at schools across the Boston area.^[3] Current member organizations are:

1. Student Musicians Against AIDS (Berklee College of Music)
2. FRESH Water (Brandeis University)
3. Positive Foundations (Brandeis University)
4. ONE (Boston University)
5. Harvard Project for Sustainable Development (Harvard University)
6. YALDA (Harvard University)
7. Global Poverty Initiative (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
8. Engineers Without Borders (Northeastern University)
9. GlobeMed (Northeastern University)
10. Social Change Through Peace Games (Northeastern University)
11. Results (Tufts University)

The MCN is constantly looking to expand by adding more member organizations from schools across the country.

[edit] The Millennium Campus Conference

Each April, the MCN in collaboration with one of its member organizations hosts the Millennium Campus Conference, an event designed to bring together students and educators around the issues of sustainable development and extreme poverty. The event features speakers, as well as workshops and networking sessions designed to help students learn about the issues surrounding the Millennium Development Goals. More importantly, the conference aims to arm students with a plan about how they can become active in working towards the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

The Inaugural Millennium Campus Conference 2008 was co-hosted by the Global Poverty Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from April 18-20, 2008. The event brought together 1,400 students from across the country and around the globe over three days to discuss, debate, and become engaged in issues of international development stemming from five main tracks of development: health, education, economics, public policy, and technology. The Opening Keynotes addresses were delivered by Senator John Edwards and Ms. Henrietta Fore, Administrator of USAID and Director of United States Foreign Assistance. Notable speakers included Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health, Ira Magaziner of Clinton Global Initiative, Ambassador Augustine Mahiga of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, Professor Paul Romer of Stanford University, John Wood of Room to Read, and Professor Amy Smith of the International Development Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, was joined by 5-time Grammy Award-winner John Legend as featured guest speakers from the Poverty Action Tour.^[4]

The Millennium Campus Conference 2008 was also accompanied by the Millennium Campus Concert featuring Braddigan, the former lead singer of the band Dispatch, which raised money for AIDS treatment in Zimbabwe. The Millennium Action Challenge gave students an opportunity to showcase their ideas about creating sustainable fresh water systems in developing countries.

[edit] Getting Involved

The MCN is constantly looking for new member organizations and supporters. For more information, those interested should visit the Millennium Campus Network website. Additional information about the Millennium Campus Conference can be found at the Global Poverty Initiative website.