The Dream Project in Paris - Click to Play

The Dream Project was birthed September 2006, when Kelly Sullivan Walden, then the newly elected Vice President of the Woman’s National Book Association-Los Angeles Chapter, was invited to attend the NGO/DPI (Non Governmental Organization/Department of Public Information) conference at the United Nations.

In the General Assembly, Kelly was introduced to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

By 2015 it is possible to...

	Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
	Achieve universal primary education
	Promote gender equality and empower women
	Reduce child mortality
	Improve maternal health
	Combat HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases
	Ensure environmental sustainability
	Develop a global partnership for development

Shamina DeGonzaga (Chair of the 2008 NGO conference, and Special Advisor to the UN) spoke about the vital role that young people play in the achievement of the MDGs.

It was then that Kelly saw a vision of creating and implementing a curriculum that interweaved the MDGs into Social Studies, English, Science, and Art classes in middle schools and high schools.

“Everyone is coded for genius…we all need a space that evokes it forth, says Kelly. “ I believe that we are also coded for heroism. If we create a space during class time that elicits this genius and heroism from the kids, not only will they discover solutions to the challenges in the MDGs, but they will also discover their own inner hero.”

The Dream Project pilot program was at Nimitz Middle School in South East Los Angeles. Following the successful pilot the Dream Project went into Celerity Nascent Charter School in South Los Angeles, SMASH (Santa Monica Alternative School), and Effingham High School in Central Illinois. Each class was filmed and the students from the multi-media class at Effingham High School worked throughout the year to create a documentary.

The Dream Project is now expanding into schools across the nation and other countries.