10 young leaders from the Oaktree Foundation have arrived in the United States of America! After many hours on planes, trains and buses, the delegation arrived safely in Washington, DC. Despite some having been awake for around 51 hours straight, everyone was energized to be in the States and immediately began engaging with aid and development agencies in Washington DC. And now they’re headed to New York, for the real reason the delegation is in America.

In September of 2000, world leaders came together to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new global partnership and setting out a series of targets to be reached by 2015 – to put an end to poverty and hunger; achieve universal education; promote gender equality; improve child and maternal health; to combat HIV/AIDS; to ensure environmental sustainability; and, to develop a global partnership for development.

Ten years on from this commitment, there has been one major review Summit – in 2005 when more than 170 Heads of State gathered to assess their progress towards these goals and discuss what more could be done. The next review Summit is this week in New York.

Oaktree’s delegation has come to New York to be a physical presence at the Summit. We will be reporting extensively on the happenings, including important announcements and international reaction. Our presence will also serve to remind the Australian Government about the importance of Australia’s role in fulfilling its international obligations on these critical issues. The delegation is also participating in the headline Stand Up! event in Lincoln Square New York.

The team will be bringing you the latest from the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Review Summit (MDG+10) – stay tuned!