Grassroots organisations invited to join ‘Million Acts of Kindness’ project in honour of the Commonwealth and Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
The Commonwealth Secretariat is supporting a project utilising shared data to monitor the impact of grassroots organisations working towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the world.
The ‘Million Acts of Kindness’ campaign – spearheaded by social enterprise Verdentum.org – was launched in honour of the Platinum Jubilee: with the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust as an official partner and the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Youth Programme as a partner in-association.
The campaign aims to celebrate and advance the progress the Commonwealth community has made, and continues to make, on critical global issues. The goal is to track a million of ‘acts of kindness’ across the 56 member countries over the next 12 months.
In a 1953 speech, HM Queen Elizabeth II mentioned “friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace” as important qualities displayed by the Commonwealth.
Success since launch
Since the launch in June, over 25,000 acts have been recorded across the Commonwealth and are part of a live global dashboard showcasing collective progress in areas from climate change to poverty alleviation.
Some of the projects that have uploaded data include patient identification and medication distribution to villages in remote areas of South India and a youth entrepreneurial training project in Kenya.
Layne Robinson, Head of Social Policy Development, Economic Youth and Sustainable Development Directorate, said: “There is an incredible amount of amazing and inspiring work being done by community groups at the grassroots level across the Commonwealth.
“These organisations are improving lives and addressing the 17 SDGs - bringing the Commonwealth that much closer to a peaceful, prosperous, and equitable future for all its citizens.
“This project is an ideal opportunity for groups to connect and share data across the Commonwealth to help advance this aim.”
Verdentum’s Founder Rohit Pothukuchi said: “Organisations at the grassroots need to start thinking about their impact in a more scientific way.
“We hope this technology will empower them to drive greater change and share their data-driven work with the world. With technology every act can count. We wanted to launch a campaign that could really make a difference to small non-profits and volunteers, who often do not have access to technology and expertise.”
Organizations can get involved and apply to be a part of the campaign by email.
Media contact
- Amy Coles Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
