The Millennium Project (2003-2004)

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by world leaders at the U.N. Millennium Summit in September 2004 set targets to be achieved by 2015 in order to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degredation, and gender discrimination. The United Nations Secretary General and the Administrator of the UNDP launched the Millennium Project directed by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General to recommend strategies to achieve the MDGs. Ten task forces led the projects research effort focusing on identifying priority actions and the institutional and financial measures required for their implementation.

Mona Serageldin was a member of the Task Force 8 on improving the lives of 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020. She prepared a background paper for the task force on Local Authority-Driven Interventions to Improve the Lives of Slum Dwellers, an edited version of which was published in the November 2005 issue of the Global Urban Development Magazine. Elda Solloso and Luis Valenzuela worked with her on the review and documentation of 50 best practices worldwide. The paper highlighted the key features underlying their success namely partnerships, strategic priorities, multi-sectoral action plans and focused programs targeting vulnerable populations and marginalized areas. A condensed version of the paper entitled "Building Successful Partnerships" is presented as Chapter 2 of the Task Force Interim Report submitted to the UN Secretary General in February 2004.

The 2001 and 2005 Global Reports on Human Settlement are avaible through UN-HABITAT.