At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the UN announced an ambitious list of "Millennium Development Goals":

1. the halving of poverty and hunger by 2015;
2. universal primary education;
3. the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women;
4. the reduction of child mortality;
5. improved maternal health;
6. the combating of AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
7. environmental sustainability; and
8. the development of a global partnership for development.

Are these grand objectives achievable? Of course they are. And they are critical to the achievement of sustainable development in developing countries. What it will take to fulfill these goals is a new mindset--a mindset of action; not just talk. It will also require money, more money than was pledged by the rich countries at recent international conferences.

We have talked about sustainable development, the environment, poverty reduction and human freedom for years. We have conventions, agreements, protocols, instruments and organizations. We've demonstrated innovative thinking, we've learned much and we have created some exciting alliances.

All that's missing is serious implementation. Real progress. Real improvements in the lives of people and the planet.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development urges governments, our fellow research organizations and NGOs, business and individuals to view the World Summit on Sustainable Development as a prime opportunity to re-focus the sustainable development agenda on issues of implementation.

Let's move forward and take some risks. Let's celebrate when we succeed; let's go back to the drawing board when we fail.

The time to move forward is now.

Stay informed - the future depends on it

• Following WSSD--and based on the results of the Summit--the International Institute for Sustainable Development will be taking a look at some of the key issues and opportunities for action. We will update the SD Briefcase to reflect these.

• IISD has been covering the meetings leading up to WSSD and will provide coverage right through the summit. Visit IISD Linkages' WSSD portal.

• IISD continues to develop its Dashboard of Sustainability as a tool to measure progress toward--or movement away from--sustainable development around the world. Learn more about the dashboard.