I’m a huge believer in deadlines, goals, targets…they’re what gets me to leave my house on time every weekday morning (7:22 am) and they’re also what gets me to hand in deliverables on time. Over the past 12+ years, the international development community has been driven and inspired by an ambitious set of 8 targets established by the United Nations and appropriately named the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Real progress has been made since 2000, especially for the primary education goal which is MDG #2. However, we’re now facing the harsh reality that we’re still pretty far from accomplishing this goal which states that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. To be exact, we’re currently off by 61 million children. We’re now less than 2 weeks away from year 2013, and therefore less than 2 years away from the MDG expiration date. We know that these targets have helped focus in results, but what about the next set of targets after 2015? Well, now is your chance to have a say in shaping the world YOU want. The United Nations, along with many of our partners, are convening a global conversation that will help shape education goals for generations to come. The World We Want will gather the priorities of people from every corner of the world and contribute to the plan being developed by the United Nations and world leaders for a refreshed development agenda launching in 2015. And what’s really inspiring to me about this online consultation is that world leaders are listening and actually responding! Back in 2000, social media was still in its infancy and it was highly unlikely that any international organization was eager to hear from people in “every corner of the world”. We’re living in a different world today than we were 12 years ago, so let’s take advantage of this and collectively help shape not only the world we want, but the world our children and grandchildren will be living in. There is currently an e-discussion titled “Equitable Access to Education” which started on December 10th and runs through December 24th. Pauline Rose, Director of the GMR Education for All Report, is hosting this discussion along with Lori Heninger, PhD, Director, International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), and Mark Waltham, Education Advisor, UNICEF. There are already over 100 replies in the first discussion so hurry up and jump in! Here is the schedule: Themes and Timeline of the Online Consultations E-Discussion 1 – Equitable access to education – December 10 – 24, 2012 E-Discussion 2 – Quality of learning — January 5-19, 2013 E-Discussion 3 – Global citizenship, skills and jobs — January 23 – February 6, 2013 E-Discussion 4 – Governance and Financing for Education — February 10 – 24, 2013 Go check it out and help shape the world YOU want: http://www.worldwewant2015.org/education2015