Eurizons

EURIZONS take MDGs on the Road through Europe - hitchhiking!

This article refers to Eurizons 2006. There is a Eurizons 2007 that will again be done by hitching.

No doubt you have heard of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs for short). Even if its only in connection with make Poverty History. Perhaps you recall the big rock concerts that happened in Summer 2005 around the G8 in Scotland? Or maybe you have a white wrist band as part of the ONE campaign. But what next? The UN MDGs Campaign: 2015 - YOUR ACTION MATTERS!

By Markus Petz, PNYV! UK

There are 8 MDGs based on the Millennium Declaration. The Co-ordinator of the United Nations MDG Campaign told PNYV that you “should get the facts and .... help get the word out about the Goals.“ A group of 50 young Europeans is doing just that and then some. They are awareness raising by hitch-hiking on The European Tour for Global Responsibility. This tour is called eurizons and is being run by the GLEN Network.

Furthermore eurizons is also partnering with MEPs to let the EUropean Parliament know we want the MDGs achieved. Awareness raising en tour is only the beginning. How-to knowledge is needed for people to be responsible global Citizens. Goal 8 of the MDGs is to develop a global partnership for development.

The main target of eurizons is to re-enforce such international solidarity. During the Tour Activities will inform people about the MDGs and lobby decision makers. The EURIZONS project will show European civil society has a responsibility to deal with global problems. It will provide concrete ideas on how individuals can take practical action to do this. The core message is:

6 billion people - 1 world - 8 goals YOUR ACTION MATTERS!

You can take part in EURIZONS, both during and afterward. As an armchair participant you can follow what's going on through a Hitch-hikers blog, the eurizons interactive website and reportages in the media.

EURIZONS runs through Riga, Kaunas, Krakow, Olomouc, Bratislava, Sopron, Munich and Strasbourg. If you are in one of the tour areas you can come along and meet us, give us a hitch or connect up with the local GLEN partner. We will be having 8 cultural, political and social events along the way, with debates, concerts, films, street performances, flash mobs.....…

During the tour we will be writing an Open Letter to the European Parliament, please give your suggestions and thoughts to the hitch-hikers, so that we can include them in the letter! A bit will be added in each city en route. eurizons wants to include a South perspective in the whole project so wherever you are, if you have something to say, we want to hear it!

On the road trip the hitch-hikers will be in bi-national pairs and will give out free information about the MDGs to those they meet. With this will be things you can actually do to make a difference. It will be things like; places to buy fair trade food - to help the developing world; tips for empowering women - such as cooking a meal for your girlfriend/wife once a week so she has time to get involved in community work or people to get in touch with in the developing world - so you can become involved in their lives on a personal level, thus making a real global partnership. All these tips will appear on the eurizons website.

Lastly why not connect with us afterward? Get one of the hitch-hikers to come talk at your school, community hall or group. Organize your own tour - We are there to help you! YES I am one of the HITCH-HIKERS! And if you want to do development work then get in touch with GLEN.

GLEN is a European network that links young activists in global education and qualifies them in their work as multipliers. It is a non-profit, that contributes to a better understanding of global development in Europe. Young Europeans work together in bi-national tandems or international teams for three months in countries of the Southern Hemisphere, e.g.: India, Uganda, Namibia and South Africa. Before sharing what they learnt back in Europe.

And - by the way - how about staging this on other continents? your part of the world? Get in touch, and we will support you!

Links:
 * http://www.pnyv.org/index.php?id=34&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=704&tx_ttnews[backPid]=8&cHash=edfc8fe294
 * http://www.eurizons.net/
 * http://www.glen-europe.org/index.php?lnk=2
 * http://www.asa-programm.de/en/aboutasa/partners.html

More articles in this category:
 * The UN Millennium Development Goals Campaign: 2015 - no excuse!
 * MDG Campaign Coordinator EVELINE HERFKENS on Youth and the UN's Millenium Development Goals