ONE Act a Week: Tell Christine Lagarde to keep her promises

Jul 1st, 2011 2:00 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Action 2. Time: 10 to 15 minutes. Level of difficulty: Moderately easy.

Thank you to everyone for participating in our first ONE Act A Week. Nearly 240 people from around the world sent messages of encouragement to the African Leadership Academy students featured in our “The Future of Africa” video. We’ll be sending your notes to those students soon. Here’s a few of my favorite messages that we received:

I’m a 49 year old American woman and I’ve been brought to tears by your optimism and your energy. I can’t wait to see Africa under your leadership!!!! -Brenda Nightingale

Wow – you guys have inspired me! Africa has a bright future in your hands. Here is one thing I have learned: Dream big but start small. Each of us has the power to change the world, even if we change the life of even one individual. People acting together on small things will do big things. Good luck. I will be rooting for you! -Katie LaFrank

Your task for this week? Tell Christine Lagarde to keep her promises. In case you missed the news, Ms. Lagarde, former finance minister of France, is the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As the IMF’s first female managing director, Ms. Lagarde will have one of the most powerful positions in global finance.

During her candidacy, she promised to enhance the IMF’s responsiveness to the needs of low-income countries, especially those in Africa, and promote diversity in the organization. But let’s make sure she keeps her word. Your assignment is to read the following articles and documents about Christine Lagarde, then leave a statement declaring that you are hereby holding her accountable for her efforts to fight global poverty.

Article 1: A short bio of Ms. Lagarde and current news clips
Article 2: Her statement to the IMF board
Article 3: Our petition to the IMF

Submit your statement here:

Next week, we’ll put your declarations in a document for you to tweet to the IMF’s Twitter handle, @IMFNews. How’s that for taking action on what’s happening in the news?

You have one week to complete this assignment.

TAGS: Featured Series, IMF, ONE, ONE Act a Week, ONE App