ECOSOC - High Level Segment 2017

I represent the Legion of Good Will/Legião da Boa Vontade, a Brazilian originated civil society organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in all its forms by promoting educational and social assistance programs in seven different countries: Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Portugal and in the United States.

Throughout the organization’s 67 years of experience, we have learned that the most effective way to overcome the multi-dimensional nature of poverty is through a holistic solution that provides access to various essential services, but most importantly, to quality education that aims to be transformative.

A recent UNESCO report that examines the correlation between poverty and education revealed that “achieving universal primary and secondary attainment in the adult population would help lift more than 420 million out of poverty, thus reducing the number of poor worldwide by more than half.”

It is vital to prioritize actions that will prepare the future generations with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to make them partners of the international Sustainable Development agenda.

And our educational approach successfully achieves that outcome, because our learning goals aim to go beyond the intellect. Our proposal suggests that the complete development of individuals should combine “brain and heart.” In other words, in addition to developing cognition, we must also empower the good feelings and illuminate the consciousness towards a more just, inclusive and peaceful world.

In the last five years, over 3.5 million people were impacted by our extensive educational and social assistance work performed in nearly 150 vulnerable communities across three continents. In all of them, we observed a high social mobility and an increased solidary civic engagement of our clients in their local community issues.

As highlighted by the Brazilian journalist and educator Paiva Netto, president of our organization and creator of our innovative educational approach: “While effective education desired by all those of common sense does not prevail, any nation will suffer the captivity that the lack of preparation imposes upon itself.”

His entire article and the complete set of recommendations of the Legion of Good Will can be found in the magazine “Good Will Sustainable Development” available in this room in many languages.

Thank you.