Where Extreme Poverty Ends and Urban Transformations Begin
The Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), a project of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, assists sub-Saharan cities in their efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, thereby helping to make severe poverty a thing of the past. MCI helps selected, under-resourced urban centers become viable, sustainable “Millennium Cities” — each with distinct livelihood opportunities, improved access to public services and links with the countryside and international markets. MCI accomplishes this through a combination of research and policy analysis, and by working with local, domestic and international partners to stimulate economic and social development.
MCI Celebrates International Day of the Girl
MCI celebrated International Day of the Girl on September 22 by standing up for girls and their right to an education. We joined LitWorld, Connect-to-Learn, Asia Initiatives and the Children of Kibera Foundation to raise awareness and advocate for a transformative new era when every girl, however disadvantaged, can go to school. An educated girl can protect herself, advocate for herself, support herself and create promising opportunities for herself – and for her family and community.
Check out our Facebook and Twitter walls for more details on how this occasion was honored in the Millennium Cities and around the world.
Girls in Kumasi get ready to march for girls' education.
Bamako girls and women "stand up for girls."
"We will support the Millennium Development Goals ... and we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time."
U.S. President Barack Obama
Learn More
Learn more about MCI's approach to confronting the challenges faced by Africa’s urban residents. As our video suggests, there is a global movement underway, committed to improving the quality of life for millions of Africa’s urban residents. Watch the video.
Read Our Recent News
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MCI Releases Education Needs Assessment for Segou, Mali
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Ericsson Donates SmartPhones to Foster Innovative Learning in Ghana
Kumasi Stakeholders Finalize City Development Strategy to Attain Millennium Development Goals
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