The following is a summary of two opinion pieces addressing the post-2015 development agenda.

• John Podesta and Casey Dunning, The Guardian’s “Comment is Free”: “‘Ending extreme poverty in all its forms’ is no longer a platitude or a dream for development experts — it’s the guiding vision of the United Nations High Level Panel [UNHLP], as well as an achievement that’s closer to being realized than ever before, thanks to the millennium development goals,” Podesta, president of the Centre for American Progress and a member of the UNHLP, and Dunning, a senior policy analyst for the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative at American Progress, write. “[F]or us, it’s clear that the increased, global scope of social safety nets will make the most vulnerable of populations more resilient. We need these to end extreme poverty,” they continue, adding, “These transfers can come from the state, donors, [non-governmental organizations (NGOs)], or the private sector, and they run the gamut, including cash, food, and fee waivers for healthcare or schooling” (5/7).
• Olav Kjørven, The Guardian’s “Media Network” blog: “For the first time in history, the United Nations is engaging hundreds of thousands of people around the world in shaping an important global agenda: the next generation of anti-poverty goals,” Kjørven, the U.N. assistant secretary-general and director of bureau for development policy at U.N. development program, writes. “We are breaking new ground by not only holding simultaneous conferences in almost 100 countries, but by using digital media and mobile phone technology to include as many individuals as possible in the debate on future global targets,” he continues, adding, “I encourage you to be part of this historic project and help the U.N. member states include your priorities in the future global development targets by voting at www.MyWorld2015.org” (5/7).