MDGs

[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-O5zSz5Uyk]]

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen…

Thank you for inviting me to this important meeting to help us rethink the current aid architecture.

This week, global leaders will evaluate our progress towards meeting the MDGs. But those of us here know that in 2010, our record of patchy progress means it’s already too late to achieve all eight.

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – New York) Speaking at a United Nations Foundation’s event in New York, Wednesday, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah urged world leaders and the global community to refocus their commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 deadline.

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – Davos) As the humanitarian conditions continue to worsen in Gaza, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah spoke out about the situation while in Davos, Friday, where she urged the international community "to reach out, to make sure that we deal with the humanitarian issues, to make sure that we take care of the women and children who have nothing to do with this political process in the first place.

(As it appeared in the Huffington Post)

Ironic. The peace conference, that brought me to South Africa, has been postponed.

A gathering billed to bring people together... that symbolized the power of dialogue and intercultural understanding... that was to be a medium for solutions to ongoing conflicts around the world has, instead, polarized opinions, fuelled frustration, and caused divisions.

(As it appeared in Slate)

(As it appeared in Slate)

Woke up this morning, and the first thing I did was phone my son Hashem to see how he was feeling. He was napping, and I didn't get much out of him, but it was still comforting to hear his sleepy little voice. I can't wait to give him a big cuddle.

(As it appeared in Slate)

It's not often that my morning starts with a really catchy tune, played live on a New York street corner by one of the coolest and most talented musicians around. But this one did. And it was all for a great cause. I can't wait to tell my eldest son, Hussein.