The last time leaders gathered for the World Summit for Social Development, it was Copenhagen in 1995.
The world was still reeling from the Rwandan genocide, which had claimed nearly a million lives the year before. The internet had barely entered homes, and less than 15% of American adults were online. And global extreme poverty, according to the World Bank, hovered around 33%.
In Denmark, leaders agreed to eradicate poverty, expand employment, and build more inclusive societies — ultimately signing the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development, a set of commitments. Thirty years later, they’ve arrived at the summit’s second iteration to do the same — now in Qatar’s gleaming capital, and amid an entirely different world.
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About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
