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UN, Google, Cisco unveil online poverty alleviation resources
The United Nations (UN), Google and Cisco has recently unveiled a pioneering online site that tracks progress towards decreasing global poverty by 2015, a global campaign known as the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the project, called MDG Monitor, and highlighted the urgent need to increase global cooperation, says a press release. The site is available at www.mdgmonitor .org. "Achieving the Goals is a truly global task, requiring Governments, international organisations, private companies and civil society to work together," said the Secretary-General. "I thank Google and Cisco for helping us create the MDG Monitor -- an example of the kind of innovative partnerships we need." The Secretary-General was joined by UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviº, Cisco Senior Vice President Carlos Dominguez, and Google Chief Technologist for Google Earth and Maps, Michael T. Jones in launching the project, a groundbreaking innovation in charting development progress. MDG Monitor tracks progress toward the MDGs in a number of categories in nearly every country in the world. The site presents the most current data from multiple sources in development bellwethers like public health, education and women's empowerment. By laying out areas of progress and continuing challenge for the world to see, MDG Monitor aspires to keep the global community's eye firmly fixed on the Millennium Goals, and to provide vital information for policy makers and development practitioners worldwide. On one portion of the site, MDG Monitor allows a visitor to use Google Earth to fly anywhere on the planet and explore from above, in three dimensions, the places where work is being done to realize the MDGs. With a few simple clicks, users can access country assessments and data collected by the UN worldwide. MDG Monitor enables more than 300 million Google Earth users to better understand the MDGs and what it will take to achieve them. This information will soon appear as a Global Awareness layer in Google Earth, and is currently available for download on the MDG Monitor website (www.mdgmonitor.org). "We at Google are honored to join the UNDP in making this valuable data more accessible to the public," said Michael T. Jones of Google. "It is our hope that the Millennium Development Goals and issues of human development will become more openly and frequently discussed, and we believe Google Earth and its users around the world can play an important role in making that happen." Cisco, whose approach to corporate citizenship includes applying its business and technological expertise to social issues, provided expert consultancy as well as technical and financial support for MDG Monitor's development. Many of Cisco's corporate social responsibility initiatives are aligned with the MDGs, such as achieving universal primary education through its Global Education Initiatives.
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