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Parana is performing two to three times better than other Brazilian states in meeting the 8 Millennium Goals. These are the words of the president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Parana (Fiep), Rodrigo da Rocha Loures, who opened the Dialog Circle of the Nos Podemos Parana Movement , last Friday (17), at the Federal University of Parana, in Curitiba.

According to him, four of the 8 Goals have already been achieved in Parana: Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; Gender equality and women’s autonomy promotion; Infant mortality reduction; and the Establishment of worldwide partnership for development.”  As for the four remaining goals, only the 5^th – improving mothers’ health – will not be met by the end  of 2010, the deadline set by the Movement for achieving the goals in the state”, says Rocha Loures.

He points out that the 5th goal requires a more complex project that will probably be in place by 2015. “We already have around 24 thousand volunteers working to achieve the goals by next year, and as the other goals are met, so will the 5^th”, he says. The Development Promotion Institute (IPD) is one of the partners of the Nos Podemos Parana Movement.

The national secretary of the National Secretariat for Political and Institutional Studies and Research of the President’s Office, Wagner Caetano, also a participat in the event, shares the same opinion. According to him, “the year 2015 is a worldwide landmark for meeting the Goals and Parana is one of the Brazilian states that is taking it most seriously. Achieving four of the Goals confirms that the state’s institutions are responsible and committed to the Dialog Circle and greatly contribute to developing the goals while at the same time setting a good example to other states”, reminds the secretary.

Volunteers – For UN’s volunteers program officer – Anika Gartner – what is important is for the goals to be met and for everyone to do their part. “It is necessary to think globally and act locally, as it is being done in Parana, for it is little by little that results are achieved and grow bigger”, states Anika. She participated in the event to sign an agreement with the Fiep System through the Business Citizenship Council of Parana (CPCE). “This partnership aims at fostering voluntary commitment from individuals and institutions to consolidate the Goals”, explains the officer, stressing that the partnership is unprecedented in the state.

Anika points out that besides helping to meet the goals, students participating in the Dialog Circle and developing projects involving the Millennium Goals (MGs) will be certified by the UN Volunteers Programme. “This certification serves to seal the commitment made by students to the cause, and it has been very useful in helping to get a job. It is a proof of experience”, says Anika. The MGs are sanctioned by Brazil and other 190 UN member countries as a way to improve social, environmental, and economic indicators.

Joining together several institutions and universities increases mobilization and consequently the project’s progress, says Zaki Akel Sobrinho, rector of the Federal University of the State of Parana (UFPR), an institution participating in the Dialog Circle together with UTFPR, UniBrasil, Fesp, and Faculdades Spei.

Technological University – On the day before the event, the 16th, approximately 200 students enrolled in technical and higher education courses at the Federal Technical University of Parana (UTFPR) took part in the first meeting of the Dialog Circle of the Nos Podemos Parana Movement and Fiep’s Corporate Citizenship Council of Parana.  For UTFPR’s rector, Carlos Eduardo Canterelli, “participating in the Movement is an important decision and as for UTFPR, it allows direct involvement in the country’s social sustainable development.”

Even though the UN certification attracts many volunteers, for the students participating in the first meeting the UN certification is not the most important thing. Contributing to achieving the MGs and working towards a better world is what excites them the most. According to students attending the seventh period of the Physiotherapy course, Taciana Vasselai and Cleusa de Lima, the meeting has awaken in them the desire to put into practice a guidance and physical fitness program for mothers-to-be, currently available only at a few health services centers in the Greater Curitiba.

For the Master’s degree student Deisi Akemi Yoshida, working toward Goal 7 means an opportunity to link technological innovation (her field of study) for society’s benefit. “We are planning an assistance program for rural property owners to plant native species on their land to get carbon credits”, she explains. “ Additionally, it is an opportunity in cooperativism, so important for the creation of jobs in our country”, she concludes.