Political will to end poverty

Peter Willis does not believe in half measures.

The Arts student was one of the driving forces behind the 2010 Make Poverty History Roadtrip which saw 1000 young people from around Australia converge on Canberra. As a result of the campaign, Federal Parliament passed a resolution supporting a recommitment to the United Nations’ 2000 Millennium Development Goals – a determination made by 189 countries to reduce extreme global poverty by 50 per cent by the year 2015.

Mr Willis is again at the centre of the action working in tandem with Professor Phil Batterham organising the first major UN conference ever held in Australia which will assess the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), make recommendations to the UN General Assembly on means to make them achievable and engage with the Melbourne community.

“What we’ve seen is an enormous amount of progress when governments put their minds to it and show political will. We can actually get results,” Mr Willis says.

“Australia has wiped out polio in the Pacific through our own aid program and globally we’ve more than halved the rate of extreme poverty in the past twenty years. About 42 per cent of the world’s population was in poverty in 1990 and now it’s just over 20 per cent.

“So we’ve made progress but it’s really an issue of political will and it’s a matter of turning the progress we’ve made into a renewed commitment.”

What drives a young man to defer his studies and take on the world as it were?

“It’s a challenge to myself and an opportunity to push the boundaries that are often set up for young people,” Mr Willis says.

“Another motivating factor that I have is that, despite being young, and despite being a student, I feel I do have a really important role to play.

“While I’m not bringing to the table the level of specialisation or expertise that many other people involved are, I feel I am definitely bringing something. I wouldn’t be interested in doing these things if I felt I wouldn’t have an impact.

In looking for an assistant to work on the conference with him Professor Batterham made a decision to employ a student of the University.

“This ended up being a wonderful decision. I have never received a better pile of applications for any position that I have advertised,” Professor Batterham says.

“As an academic I often tell others how talented our students are. It has been gratifying to work with Pete, benefiting from his organisational, problem-solving and communication skills.”

While the 63rd Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference titled “Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDGs” to be held in Melbourne for three days commencing on 30 August will have a primary focus for those involved with non government organisations (NGOs), Professor Batterham and Mr Willis have organised a comprehensive community engagement program – “Making Health Global”.

“The Melbourne Writers Festival have joined in with us and the Queen Victoria Market is hosting an event, both of which the public are invited to attend,” Professor Batterham says.

“A highlight will be an event organised by Parks Victoria where hundreds of people will camp out in tents as demonstration of the health benefits of a connectedness with the environment,” Mr Willis says.

The corporate sector will be involved and a large-scale event at an iconic Melbourne venue is to be announced in coming weeks.

And in an ideal world what attitude would Mr Willis like to see disappear?

“We talk a lot at the University about being global citizens but I don’t think that most people conceptualise themselves in that way,” he says.

“I believe fundamentally in the idea that we are all connected out of sight and out of mind and I’d like to see governments act as part of a global community.”

For more information on the conference

http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/conference/

For the public program from early August

http://www.makinghealthglobal.com/