The future of development - Main contents

Launching Action / 2015 campaign in Berlin

Yesterday I met up with a group of 15 year olds who were born as the Millennium Development Goals were put in place in 2000. They joined German Minister for Development Cooperation, Dr Gerd Müller, and I in Berlin to launch the Action/15 campaign.

Action/2015 - which was announced by Malala when she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize - is one of the biggest campaigns ever to launch and is designed to make sure the agreements of 2015 are shaped by the people for the people.

The young people I met were ONE Youth Ambassadors - young activists who will campaign around the post-2015 world agenda.

I highly welcome the Action/2015 campaign. Young people have a key role to play in shaping their own future and that of our planet. Their voice should be heard in our negotiations for a universal agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals we want to reach at the UN Summit in September 2015.

Young people are also very much at the heart of the 2015 European Year for Development. It is particularly encouraging therefore that according to the new Eurobarometer, 88% of young Europeans think it's important to help people in developing countries.

This, and meetings like the one I had yesterday, with young people, give me renewed hope for the future, and make me even more determined to secure a new set of goals this year which, in another 15 years, will really have helped to ensure a decent life for all people, no matter where they live.

You can find out more about the campaign at:

www.action2015.org and follow #action2015.