A newly formed student committee hopes to work with the United Nations to make UNC the first public university to sponsor an African village.
The Millennium Villages, a part of the U.N.'s Millennium Development Project, seeks to bring new technology and education to villages in some of the world's most poverty-stricken areas.
"This is one of the most powerful steps being taken toward ending poverty and proving that the Millennium Goals are possible," said Lennon Flowers, founding member of the Millennium Development task force at UNC.
"It's basically the time to put our money where our mouth is."
Task force members said they hope to convince the University to sponsor a Millennium Development Village, which would require a commitment of $1.5 million during five years.
Committee members approached Chancellor James Moeser about the project during a chancellor's open house held earlier this month.
Group members said they are trying to schedule follow-up meetings with the chancellor and academic department heads to discuss the task force's research and financial goals.
"We want to get that strong base of student support and then go to the administration to help with the financial aspect," said Danika Barry, a member of the task force.
Private schools such as the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University already sponsor villages through the U.N. initiative, she said.
The Japanese government also has expressed interest in the project, said Annika Rosenblatt, research assistant to the director of health and sciences initiatives at the U.N.
Rosenblatt said she works with universities interested in collaborating with Millennium Villages.
"A lot of faculty are approaching us looking for research opportunities or ways to structure syllabi for classes about these topics," she said.
"We try to have as much collaboration as possible with universities when they approach us for sponsorship, academic opportunities and student-led movements."
A teleconference with Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Millennium Project, sparked interest in starting similar projects at UNC.
The conversation was initiated by the health focus committee of the Campus Y.
"The long-run goal is to have UNC adopt a Millennium Village," Flowers said. "In the short term, we want to raise student awareness of the overarching issue of global poverty."
Committee members said they hope Sachs will come to speak on campus next year to help inform students about the project's success.
Task force members said that they would like to create either weekly or monthly events tailored to achieving specific goals and that they hope to show students that Millennium Villages have the research and funding to achieve progress.
"There are some really idealistic notions of how to end poverty, but this project has a grounded realism behind it," Barry said. "It's a real, practical framework for solving issues of world poverty."
Millennium Development Where are the Millennium Villages located, and what do they hope to achieve? The villages are located throughout Africa and are being used to combat poverty.
What are some of the key features of the village? Access to low-cost fertilizer and training on agroforestry. Daily school lunch feeding programs to increase school attendance and completion. A new health clinic in the village, access to essential medicines, a village doctor and nurses. Solar-powered lighting systems for homes, electricity and cleaner cooking stoves. How much does it cost to sponsor a village? $110 per person per year. What are the UN's program goals? 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. 2. Achieve universal primary education. 3. Promote gender equality and empower women. 4. Reduce child mortality. 5. Improve maternal health. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. 8. Develop a global partnership for development. When does the UN want to reach these aims? By 2015.
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