bridges vol. 20, December 2008 / OpEds & Commentaries

By Guruprasad Madhavan , Barbara Oakley , and Luis Kun


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Guruprasad Madhavan
Barbara Oakley
Luis Kun

When you go to the grocery store, you often carry a list with you so that you'll be sure to get the important things you really need.  

Rice?  Check.  

Onions?  Check.  

Chocolate ice cream?  If you're a chocoholic, you might check that last one twice.  

We might summarize this last as the prime rule of lists:  Don't leave out the most important items.  After all, what is a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips?  Or beef stew without the beef?

It's odd, but running a civilization can sometimes seem a little like running to the grocery store.  People - and organizations, for that matter - just love to make lists.  The following are a few examples:

Nine years ago the United Nations put together a list of the Millennium Development Goals to combat major issues such as poverty, illiteracy, infectious diseases, and environmental sustainability, as shown in the following table:

The Millennium Development Goals

The following eight Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved by 2015 in response to the world's main development challenges. The Goals are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations - and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000. They break down into: Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Source: The UN Millennium Development Goals URL: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/