In a bid to bring the voices of Nepal to the global development agenda, over 50 volunteers surveyed people in Kathmandu and surrounding districts on their preferred priorities. The ‘MyWorld Survey’ covers a wide array of development priorities, ranging from better job opportunities to better healthcare, and from political freedoms to better education. Findings from the survey will inform world leaders when they define the new global goals for development after 2015. The volunteers coming from number of colleges and civil society organizations gathered over 15,000 responses.

At an appreciation ceremony held for the volunteers at the UN House on 17th June, Jamie McGoldrick, UN Resident Coordinator, emphasized the importance of engaging youth and marginalized groups in the discussion of development priorities for the future.

Subash Neupane, President of Yuwalaya, a youth-led organization, which coordinated the volunteers, also extended his appreciation to the volunteers, who shared stories about people’s reactions to the survey and reaffirmed the need to engage with multiple communities.

The top three priorities for Nepal are a good education, better job opportunities and better health care. The priorities selected in Nepal differ somewhat from the global priorities, with better healthcare and equality between men and women ranking higher than globally. More than 1/3 of the Nepali votes came from people under 15, compared to only around 10% globally.

The UN, various civil society organizations, and the MY World volunteers have already gathered over 29,000 responses from across Nepal.