PRESENTATION OF THE WORKSHOP ON

“THE ETHICAL AND SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF THE

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS”

TO 57TH ANNUAL DPI/NGO CONFERENCE

In order to best implement the MDGs and insure sustainability of the goals, we must explore and include the ethical, moral, and spiritual dimensions of friendliness, love, compassion, respect for diversity, generosity, justice, fairness, peace, kindness and acceptance. The real power of the United Nations is the moral force that distinguishes humans from other living beings. It is the ethical, moral, and spiritual forces, the foundations of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions, which can transform political inertia into the political will necessary to achieve and surpass the Millennium Development Goals.

For children especially, it is crucial for them to develop images of themselves that inculcate these ethical, moral, and spiritual values in their lives. As part of this process, we suggest incorporating these values into children’s games and play, and to create children’s versions of the MDGs that include these ethical, moral, and spiritual dimensions to imbue young people with the worth and importance of the development goals.

The results of incorporating ethical, moral, and spiritual dimensions into the MDGs will enable us to create a culture of peace where each human life is valued, that each of us understands we come here with a purpose, and we all acknowledge our sacred responsibility to care for each other and the world.