COSCA holds workshop on Millennium Development Goals

In line with the University’s core value of Service, the Center of Social Concern and Action (COSCA) today held a workshop entitled “Building Solidarity Transforming Our Community”: A Consultation and Planning Workshop using the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

The Millennium Development Goals were set in stone in the year 2000 where 189 countries made a vow to elevate the lives of people living in poverty, improve healthcare and provide education for everyone living in developing nations by the year 2015. The MDG consists of eight goals which are: (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, (2) achieve universal primary education, (3)  promote gender equality and empower women, (4) reduce child mortality, (5) improve maternal health, (6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, (7) ensure environmental sustainability, and (8) develop a global partnership for development.

The objective of this workshop is to propagate the Millennium Development Goals to the surrounding communities near the University. Various speakers presented data on the current state of how the MDG is being implemented in various locales and how the implementation can be improved. To cap off the workshop, a break-out session was done where the various representatives of the different barangays were grouped together to talk about the different issues in their communities and to think about solutions on how to solve them.

While this may not be the first time the University has engaged the communities surrounding it, it is through workshops like these that the Lasallian core value of Service is accomplished. Constant dialogue between thr various communities and the University is also needed in order to make the solutions found effective in the long term.