When my friend Barbie Barbieto asked me if I want to be a part of The World We Want Philippines project of the United Nations for bloggers, I readily agreed. After all, each one of us is a part of the whole.
Like any developmental organization, the UN has a bunch of goals that it has set for a certain period and the current set of goals will be reached in 2015. It is beginning to draft its plans for 2015 onwards but this time, it wants input from people it would not otherwise reach. To do this, it is turning to the internet.
1. Support for people who can’t work! This means that every person should have enough money to live on, either through employment or government help. When people can’t work, or are affected by events like natural disasters or economic crises, governments should make sure that they and their families won’t go hungry, children won’t drop out of school, and they can get the healthcare and other essential services they need.
2. Freedom from discrimination and persecution. This means that no person in the world should have their economic, social or political opportunities limited because of their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual preference, or for any other reason, and that no person should fear for their personal safety for the same reasons.
3. Better health care. This means that good quality health services should be available to everyone when they need treatment. Efforts should be made to reduce the impact of infectious and other chronic diseases. Both the funding and the organization of health systems should suit the needs of the country and its citizens.
4. Access to clean water and sanitation. This means that every person should have access to safe water for drinking, cooking and washing, and access to sanitation.
5. Phone and Fast Internet Access. This means that governments and the private sector should make sure that everyone has access to a minimum level of communications technology to get online information and participate in social networks.
6. Protecting forests, rivers and oceans This means that natural resources should be looked after, because people depend on them for food, fuel and other resources. Governments should agree on plans to reduce pollution in oceans and rivers, plant new forests and preserve existing ones, and move towards sustainable agriculture and food systems. Global agreements should protect biodiversity and fragile ecosystems.
The survey also provided a graph that shows specific age groups and how they voted. See it here.