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The Millenium Development Goals: are we achieving them? Gli Obiettivi del Millennio: li stiamo raggiungiungendo?

A cooperation RAI-EUGAD . EUGAD is the acronym for "European Citizens working for the global agenda for development"; a project financed by the European Commission External Cooperation Programme.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include reducing extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development.

The documentaries will follow the Eugad team that interviews politicians and bureaucrats in Europe and moves in the field, in Africa and Asia, searching for  the ideals behind the Millennium Development Goals and why we are so late and so hesitant in achieving them.

While showing what the team “finds” the story will also shows the backstage of the team doing their work, their debates, their approach, so as to portray different approaches and use different interpretations and keys to the issues under observation. 

The search for the clues to understand the "state of art" with MDGs activities the team travels in different continents and reveal many different social stories which finally lead the question: what makes people "different"? and what makes them "equal"? What is "the human element"? Can we "develop" that ? By revealing to each and discussing other their impressions and thoughts. the documentary  team members expose in a discursive manner some of the most challenging issues of global politics today and will reveal intimate aspects of the beliefs of the developed and developing world.

Gradually the team members will understand how cultures are different and still similar in their effort to preserve their identities while also opening up to universality. And the viewers will have a closer look to how the different communities live up the dilemma that the whole world is now facing: how to preserve the social and environmental heritages that economic development exploits but by which it is sustained? 

Stefano: man 50 years, Western (but from where?) The one who has travelled, read, thought over. The thinker behind .... who tells the team member what to search ... and comments the findings ... but careful Stefano! Do not preach the viewer! (and do not bossy your colleagues).

Francesco: man 50 Italian . The journalist. The media expert. "Yes Stefano, but ... How do you think that .... And the public? And the "real" powers? .... Putting the feet on the ground, while leaving the head up tall. Hey boys: images! non just talking ! ... but Francesco! do not focus on pritty women!

Vrinda: woman 45 Indian. The archetype" of the committed development professional. The Eastern point of view. Why is the charm of working in International Cooperation? Can you pass over that charm, please? Even to those who pay the taxes for financing development in remote, and sometimes hostile, regions? And do not forget: development is empowering women (and that is the only way to finally get powerful men).

Gauri: woman 21 Mixed race? Where are you from G? Why don't you tell us? The "young one" of the team. She wants to "find out". She wants to know. She wants the answers! She will go, asks, find out. What are we doing ? What are we achieving? Why so little???? Whose fault is it? What should we do then? Ok Gauri. We will find out! ... But let's proceed with order .... And do not spend evenings also editing videos! You are 21!

Aarya: man 22. Arab. The young, sweet, a tittle pretentious philosopher. Hey guys, do not trey to find bid news. Nothing really new below the sun. Cultures always enriched one another and always clashed. there has been always dialectics between traditionalists and modernists ... nothing new. Let's enjoy the enquiry: it is the road that matters not arriving!. “Happiness is not a station to arrive at, but a manner of travelling.” “A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” Yes but ... Fausto ... We need video news !! ... Let's move! We need to go! Where have you been last night???

Mario: man 55. Musician . The MDGs cannot be achieved until they are mere policy declaration on text. We need the song, we need the dance! When we will have the music score of the MDGs and we will turn the objectives into a hymn that can be sung by all peoples as their song, then we will have the dance plan! So, let's search for the right harmonies .... Mario! Do non give us music lectures! But make for us a flying music caprpet! 

Starting from July-August 2010

On TV:   8 episodes of 1 hour each

On Web Portal:  total footage 20 hours. 

The documentary will make clear that the Global agenda for development is not, and never will be, a single "policy"; it is rather a plan that visualizes how inter-dependent we all are in tackling the problems of the world. 

The MDGs are a step, o political one,  towards the Global Agenda for Development,  which has a much wider scope: it is the "vocation" of our times, a non ierarchical action network where different peoples and institutions are integrating their efforts to increase knowledge, reduce conflicts and care for this World we live in together.

The documentary will explain why (a) the awareness of the global dimension of development and (b) the sense of responsibility for contributing at making it sustainable and fair  are the indicators of the ethical and cultural development of a nation.

The viewer will move away from the experience of this documentary with a sense of joy of  having discovered the richness and beauty of the cultural differences and how peaceful coexistence is prevailing; she or he will enjoy accepting a new identity of "citizen of the world".

See the purpose in the documentary synopsis.

By contributing to increasing a sense of responsibility for the peoples of developing countries we hope that the long term impact of the documentary will be more pressure on policy makers to implement international agreements aimed at reducing poverty and at establishing fairer relations between developed and developing countries. see more in ⇒ relevance of Eugad.

Format: Broadcast Quality Video Format, SDHS acquisition and non-linear editing.

Genre:  Contemporary Actuality Documentary Cinema Verite: Catalyst Documentary in which the director/producer and the team are part of the documentary

Sponsor: European Commission.

Target Audience: Public Broadcast audience