MY World is a global survey for citizens led by the United Nations and partners. It aims to capture people’s voices, priorities and views, so that global leaders can be informed as they begin the process of defining the new development agenda for the world.
Through creative online and offline methods, MY World asks individuals which six of sixteen possible issues they think would make the most difference to their lives. The sixteen issues have been built up from the priorities expressed by poor people in existing research and polling exercises and they cover the existing Millennium Development Goals, plus issues of sustainability, security, governance and transparency.
From now until 2015, we want as many people in as many countries as possible to be involved with MY World: citizens of all ages, genders and backgrounds, and particularly the world’s poor and marginalized communities.
Results will firstly be submitted to the Secretary General´s High Level Panel for Post-2015 before their meetings in Monrovia, Bali and New York and will feed into their final report and recommendations for a new development framework in May 2013.
Afterwhich, MY World will continue gathering people´s voices up to 2015 and results will be shared with the Secretary General and global leaders as they prepare the next development agenda in the run up to 2015.
The Depart of Public Information of the United Nations and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme will also play a leadership role in MY World.
- About UNDP The United Nations Development Programme is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It is on the ground in 177 countries and territories.
- About UN Millennium Campaign Established in 2002 by the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Campaign supports and inspires people around the world to take action for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and facilitates participation of civil society in the post-2015 development agenda.
- About ODI The Overseas Development Institute is the UK’s leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues working to inspire and inform policy and practice leading to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries.
- About World Wide Web Foundation Established by Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to achieving a world in which all people can use the Web to communicate, collaborate and innovate freely, building bridges across the divides that threaten our shared future.
MY World asks individuals which six of sixteen possible issues they think would make the most difference to their lives. The sixteen issues have been built up following an extensive analysis and consultation exercise:
- The survey was designed as an options survey, rather than an ‘open question’ survey because MY World’s particular purpose within the UN’s wider global consultation effort about post-2015 is to offer insights about people’s priorities.
- An initial list of twenty four issues was drawn up from a variety of important sources, including participatory research, polling, civil society inputs , the Millennium Development Goals and plans for Sustainable Development Goals. The options were then refined to sixteen choices through numerous rounds of consultations, with NGOs, policy makers, academics, UN staff and expert opinion polling companies. The survey has also been tested on pilot groups, and through an SMS survey in Uganda to ensure that the sixteen options are comprehensive and appropriate.
- To capture any recurring themes which may have been missed, participants can also enter their own priority through an additional ‘add your own option’ choice.
- The MY World survey cannot cover everything that is important to citizens because not all problems can be tackled through global goals. However, the range of priorities that goals could address and which we know are important to people, have been included.
The MY World survey can be accessed through THREE main channels:
- Online: at www.myworld2015.org in the six UN official languages and through social media;
- Mobile phone technologies (available from January 2013): via SMS and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) through toll-free phone numbers; and
- Offline (available from December 2012): in paper form by way of a ballot – distributed through a network of grass roots organizations, faith communities, youth groups, private sector bodies and NGO partners around the world.
The survey is anonymous. Participants will only be asked their gender, age and country, to allow meaningful analysis of the data so that we can present an accurate global picture of what citizens think to decision makers.
Data from mobile phones, website and offline surveys will be continuously consolidated and available on the MY World website.
Results from the website, mobile phone and offline surveys will be submitted to the Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Post-2015 before their meetings in Monrovia (February), Bali (March) and New York (May) 2013.
You can vote here
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