Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57462
U Unıting Business niting Nations, by Tricia Bisoux tasks presented to Ban Ki-moon when he stepped into his role as Secretary-General of the United Nations, succeeding Kofi Annan, in December 2006. But Ban's most daunting objective is to lead the organization E to achieve its eight Millennium Development Goals: Eradicate poverty and hunger, improve global educational opportunities, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, improve mater- nal health, fight diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, inspire environmental sustain- ability, and establish a global partnership of organizations to achieve these goals. If those weren't challenging enough, the organization plans to achieve its MDGs by 2015. Ban hopes, however, that the U.N. won't have to do it alone. He is promoting the U.N.'s Global Com- pact, an initiative that brings together government, nonprofits, educational institutions, and business to improve the prosperity of those at the bottom of the world's economic pyramid. The world's businesses possess the power to make these objec- tives a reality. The contributions of business schools also will be essential in helping the U.N. meet its 2015 deadline, Ban stress- es. By teaching social responsibility, he says, business schools can instill in each of their students the skills to change the world—and the intention to make a difference. 16 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2008 nd genocide in Darfur. Ease tensions in the Middle East. Prevent nuclear proliferation. Reform the U.N.'s operations, which have changed little since its forma- tion in 1945. These were just a few of the formidable The United Nation's Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that business may be the catalyst to bring peace and prosperity to the world.