 The Millennium Development Goals are 8 targets set in 2000s by the United Nations that aim to eradicate extreme poverty, improve the health and welfare of the world's poorest people, and encourage the development of the world as a single unit. Set to be achieved by 2015, the MDGs have been backed by 193 countries since their creation. The eight goals are as follows. 1. To eradicate extreme hunger and poverty 2. To achieve universal primary education 3. Promotes gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development Each goal has its own distinct target set to be achieved for the year 2015. For example, for the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty, one target is the higher the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day. Over the course of 15 years since the creation of the MDGs, a global effort has been directed towards achieving these eight goals. Whilst there have been major advances, progress and improvements, many targets have not yet been reached. This is why the UN has established a post-2015 development agenda in order to continue to work on the issues that were highlighted 15 years ago. Although the MDGs were a big step towards the improved well-being of humans in this world, they were only the start. That is why the UN and its partners keep on fighting poverty, implementing intensive research on dangerous diseases and encouraging attention to the issue of environmental sustainability. For the last few months, we have all been excitedly preparing and anticipating this day and finally it has arrived. Throughout the next few days, you will have the opportunity to debate about current global issues that impact multiple areas ranging from the preservation of biodiversity in the world to the eradication of gender discrimination in education. The International Telecommunications Union has hosted Firmune for the last two years and today we are back to tackle the challenges associated with the Millennium Development Goals. Firmune is one of the few fully bilingual conferences in the world and this year it has assembled 600 participants from 15 different countries. Welcome to Firmune 2015.