Module 6: Taking Global Action
Have We Made a Difference?
How effective are the responses to issues of globalization?
In the southern town of Nyala, Sudan, tens of thousands of people line both sides of the road leading to the Kalma camp to greet Secretary-General Kofi Annan as he arrives in the region to get a first-hand impression of the humanitarian situation there.
Which actions have the most effect to respond to global issues?
Internet
Make Poverty History is a campaign started in 2005. Live 8 was a planned global call to action on global poverty and to work towards achieving the UN Millennium development goal on poverty by 2015. Review this campaign on the Make Poverty History website.
Reflection
Have we made a difference?Â
As a community of global citizens, have we made a difference? Are there global responses that are more effective than others? Explore one global response and evaluate if a difference is being made in addressing the challenges of globalization.
It is a challenge to evaluate the success or effectiveness of a global response. There are diverse perspectives on past responses such as the monetary efforts to respond to the famine in Ethiopia and the devastation after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the awareness campaign of Live 8, and international declarations to commit to ending injustices.
There is also a difference in expectation. Some citizens believe responses are not quick enough to make a difference. Others believe the twenty-first century will be the century of change—when poverty will end and globalization will result in prosperity for all citizens.