The forum holds discussions in person and on the internet that draw on African Union (AU), NEPAD MDG consultation programmes, and the Commission for Africa report. For instance, each year an annual Bending the Arc summit takes place on the eve of the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York (USA); the September 2006 gathering brought together more than 100 leaders from the private sector, civil society, the UN system and donor governments. Participants in this, and other Bending the Arc gatherings, work to set out recommendations for the AU and G8 leaderships to adopt as they prioritise actions for achieving the MDGs in Africa.

As part of Bending the Arc, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used as a tool to share information about the MDGs, and to engage members of the general (African) public in the Bending the Arc process. For instance, the forum's pre-recorded contributions from different leaders - including Sir Richard Branson (Chairman of the Virgin Group), Paul Wolfowitz (President of the World Bank) and Mark Malloch Brown (UN Chief of Staff and UNDP Administrator) - may be accessed on the Bending the Arc website. In addition, a service is provided through which one may browse or search a database of online videos and case studies detailing projects that are contributing towards the achievement of one or more of the MDGs in Africa;

click here for details. The "Have Your Say" section of the site offers a chance for anyone to weigh in on the project and/or strategies for achieving the MDGs in Africa, in general.

Economic Development.

Bending the Arc was launched at a summit on July 4 2004 in London, which over 200 delegates attended. The summit addressed actions that business can take in partnership with governments, donors and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support the implementation of the MDGs.