Aims

1. Shared Learning - To facilitate learning partnerships based on knowledge-exchange and joint-analysis of development issues.

2. Promoting a Culture of Inclusion - To be inclusive to different levels of knowledge, cultural perspectives, and academic disciplines.

3. Engagement with Stakeholders and Policy Makers - To understand their objectives and practices. We work with professional organisations as equal partners to achieve shared objectives. We aim to provide students with opportunities to take part in policy discussions and deliver their own recommendations.

4. Promoting awareness and understanding of development issues.


Organisational Priorities

1. Financial Security

• We are ambitious for what we can achieve as an organisation and to guarantee a stable and productive future for the U8. This necessitates financial planning with our aspirations in mind.

• If you would like to help secure an exciting future for U8, please click on the Donate tab. [LINK]

2. Meaningful partnerships with external organisations

• Partnerships with U8 provide our members with practical involvement in development work and other organisations.

• In December 2009, we signed a MOU with Right to Play.

• For more information visit the Partners page or contact our Director for Communications at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

3. Getting the word out about the U8

• We aim to produce marketing publications and resources for our members and contacts to publicise and provide clarity on U8 as a

• Our Comms team put together a clear one-page to explain who we are.

• We have taken part in many events; amongst others the Health & Human Rights Conference, Global Poverty Project feedback session , multiple DfID white paper consultations and COP15 as observers in Copenhagen.

4. Clarity of Structure

• We have looked at the structure of Internal management and made some adjustments to reflect our ever growing organisation.

• We hold weekly directorate meetings and Monthly board meetings for regular communication

• We are currently contacting all groups to update their profiles and have more direct contact with members

5. All our activities under specific themes to focus our work and provide clear & relevant aims

• Research projects will launch in early 2010 on the MDGs and topic development events throughout the year

• The Ulster Summit and our annual Magazine are based on MDG 8, building a global partnership for development.

6. Website; Careers section, online articles & interviews and questions from members

• You are seeing the hard work right here! Our Comms team and Kishen, the webdesigner have been so dedicated in putting this together.

• Our vision this year is build a more tangible network with increased global interaction of members through the website.

7. Accessible Research

• We want to encourage as many members as possible to get involved with research projects.

• There will be opportunities to instantly contribute via the wiki.

• Timing projects around events will create momentum and relevance.

• We aim to increase our input into policy and dialogue with stakeholders through key  partnerships

8. The Magazine & its use

• We have a successful and established annual magazine, distributed around the world.

• To build on this success, we want to maximise our impact by identify key contacts to receive the magazine and how best to distribute.

9. More regional summits & U8 presence at other events

• Ulster Summit 2010 in June in partnership with skype to stream across the world

• We have already been present at many development events and if you would like a representative from U8 at an event please email details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it