My greetings to the Heads of State, delegations, international agencies, civil society organizations, and everyone participating in the 2017 High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which will discuss the important topic “Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges.”
The contribution of the Legion of Good Will (LGW) to the debates is to highlight the monumental value of Education, Peace, and true Charity to achieve this bold goal for the progress and well-being of people.
UNESCO Report on Education and Poverty
We have been arguing for decades that the major outcome to be achieved right away lies in education! Education and Culture with Ecumenical Spirituality for the people, since early childhood—with the Pedagogy of Affection and the Ecumenical Citizen Pedagogy—are among the greatest concerns of the LGW, along with its much applauded Human and Social Work. In these almost 70 years of solidary activities, the Organization has transformed millions of lives for the better, based on an educated intellect and, above all, the wisdom of the heart. As I had the opportunity to point out to the notable former President and Prime Minister of Portugal, Mário Soares (1924-2017), while effective education desired by all those of common sense does not prevail, any nation*1 will suffer the captivity that the lack of preparation imposes upon itself.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conducted important research that monitored the relationship between Education and the eradication of poverty from 1965 until 2010. The recently published paper “Reducing global poverty through universal primary and secondary education” reveals on page 11: “Achieving universal primary and secondary attainment in the adult population would help to lift more than 420 million out of poverty, thus reducing the number of poor worldwide by more than half. The effects would be particularly large in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where almost two thirds of the reduction are expected.” As stated by UNESCO, “if current trends continue, of the 61 million primary school age children currently out of school, 17 million will never set foot in a classroom.”
These data are very relevant for drawing everyone’s attention to the responsibility of not only combatting effects, but acting on the causes, which will lead to more solid and sustainable results in the fight against the misery that shamefully still prevails on the planet.
The Union of All for the Good of All
Sustainable development is one of the biggest challenges faced by emerging nations or by those that have already reached the highest level of material growth in their economies. However, if it is our heartfelt wish to see progress shared with everyone, we believe that solidary development must, above all, enlighten the actions of the Earth’s inhabitants—from the highest to the lowest—and of their future generations who live on our collective home. Therefore, the planet demands something more than an effective public policy; it demands the commitment of a new conscience, based on principles that guarantee the continuity of life and human coexistence above all other interests. This awareness fosters joint efforts between nations that aim to urgently help people who are in need of someone who will stretch out their hands to them.
Jesus, the Divine Economist, in turn, offers us a new path built on the eternally renewable bases of the Spirit, the perpetual motion, the curule of planetary development. In the Gospel of the Ecumenical Christ, the Heavenly Statesman, according to the writings of John 13:34 and 15:13, we find: