In
2002, Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, launched the
Millennium project where 189 heads of state around
the globe promised that they would make the world
a better place for all kids and their families by
the year 2015 by reaching certain Development Goals.
Later
this year, world leaders will gather again to review
the progress made on these projects. Media plays a
crucial role in disseminating relevant information
to get their audiences involved in the Millennium
Campaign. Leading broadcasters like MTV Italy, Nickelodeon,
BBC, TV5 and Television Espanola have all responded
to the UN’s appeal and have pledged their commitment
to support the Millennium Campaign.
On
behalf of Nick in India, Dutta will lend her voice
to a child-friendly campaign to go on-air towards
the end of June and address issues like poverty, education,
equality, disease, environment and child mortality.
The
series calls upon the world’s six billion people
to join their voices and remind governments to keep
their promise to end poverty. The Nick-UN Millennium
Campaign partnership will help children know about
social issues and encourage them to get involved and
get their government to keep their promise for a better
tomorrow. Kids can do this by petitioning online on
www.nick2015.com. Their petitions and those of kids
across the globe will be presented to World Leaders
by the UN Millennium Campaign in September this year.
Addressing
a press gathering, MTV Networks Asia vice president
(channel development, creative and content) Natasha
Malhotra, who has been integrating this campaign said,
"We've always believed that what's good for kids
is good for Nick. So it only stands to reason that
pro-social activities are high on our agenda, be it
our Say Yes and Let’s Just Play campaigns or,
more recently, helping kids come to terms with the
Tsunami disaster. It's important for us to get kids
to understand larger social issues which will probably
affect them more than any other demographic."
Speaking
about her involvement with the campaign, Dutta said,
"My association with the UN goes back to the
Miss Universe pageant and I welcome this opportunity
to renew the association. This campaign gives me an
opportunity to voice my opinion and help kids understand
the global issues of poverty, education, equality
and environment because in 2015 they will be the adults
of the world and some of them will be world leaders.
Together we can all make a huge difference to the
lives of millions."
Nick
2015 will be broadcast on 23 Nickelodeon channels
across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Supported
by the UN Millennium Campaign, the campaign is a series
of eight 30-second original animation shorts public
and a dedicated website.
Each
spot explains how a Millennium Development Goal affects
kids and what they can do to have a voice in their
future.
