Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

This track will look at the current development initiative - MDGs - and the role that civil society organisations can play in meeting it. It welcomes papers that critically look at the dilemmas, opportunities and challenges that the current consensus around the MDGs poses for civil society organisations. Contributions from researchers and activists working in the South are especially welcome. Papers may cover a variety of issues related to the MDGS from a variety of perspectives (e.g. human rights, gender, etc.) and these include but are not limited to: Examples of what civil society organisations are doing at the national and international levels to make governments and international institutions meet MDGs; Reflections on whether MDGs are effective instruments for poverty reduction; and Analysis of what opportunities MDGs create for global movements focusing on democracy, human rights, and poverty reduction.