FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA ADVISORY: ANTI-POVERTY ADVOCATES ATTEMPT TO MOBILIZE 1% OF THE WORLD’S PEOPLE TO TELL WORLD LEADERS TO END POVERTY NOW

New York, USA 2008-10-02 New York, 2 October 2008 -- From October 17th to19th, in an unprecedented mobilization, more than one percent of the world’s population is expected to “Stand Up and Take Action”

to demand that their leaders end poverty and meet and exceed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

 

The mobilization comes at a time when hundreds of billions of dollars are being found to bail out wealthy bankers and financial institutions while the emergency summit on the MDGs held at the United Nations last week was only able to generate $16 billion in commitments to ending poverty. Large amounts of this money come form the private sector and non-governmental organizations and there is scepticism as to whether government commitments represent new money. Participants in “Stand Up and Take Action” will send a clear message to world leaders that just weeks after they recommitted to taking action to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, millions of citizens are monitoring their actions and will hold them to account for meeting their commitments.

 

“This October 17-19, world leaders will hear directly from their people that we will no longer stand by while 50,000 people die of preventable causes each day,” said Salil Shetty, Director of the Millennium Campaign. “World leaders have just re-committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and from this moment on, we will be holding them accountable for taking urgent action to deliver on their promises.”

 

“The financial crisis combined with the past year’s soaring food prices, and subsequent hunger, particularly in women-headed households, has highlighted the injustice of global poverty and inequality more than ever.  This action is about solidarity between men, women and children in rich and poor countries; it’s about taking responsibility for what we ourselves can change and holding leaders who fail their promises accountable,”

said Sylvia Borren, Co-Chair of the Global call to Action Against Poverty alliance.

 

Last year, 43.7 million people from all walks of life in cities and villages, in rich and poor countries, stood up against poverty on October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. In the last year, as the combined effects of the food and financial crises with climate change have been felt, the call to action has grown and more than one of the world’s population -- 67 million people -- are expected to Stand Up and Take Action.  

 

Interviews are available with groups and individuals “Standing Up” around the world, including:

 

In India

, 90,000 people will march to Parliament in Delhi. Amongst them, thousands of women will demand political representation for women in India.

 

Members of the Art of Living Foundation

, one of the largest spiritual movements in the world and based in India, will mobilize to plant more than 100 million trees around the globe.

 

Indonesia

's CSO Network will use "Stand Up" to demand better access to local health services for the poor and people of marginalized areas, better reproductive healthcare, and equal education and employment opportunities.

 

In Abuja, Nigeria

, a concert hosted by Femi Kuti to make “Music Against Poverty” will commemorate the life of renowned Nigerian Musician Fela Kuti and Stand Up in support of the MDGs.

 

In Tema, Ghana

, “Games Against Poverty” will use sport as a platform to support the MDGs.

 

Groups across Europe

will mobilize to demand more and better aid. In Portugal, members of the Star Trackers group will parachute on the sky of Évora, a Unesco World heritage site, to raise awareness of the MDGs. In Italy, sea dolphins will Stand Against Poverty at the Oltremare Park in Riccione and 300,000 people will Stand at the beginning of all Italian Premier Football League matches. In Spain, the Spanish Alliance Against Poverty will organize street demonstrations in more than 50 cities. In Germany, Bianca Jagger will host an event at the Sony Center in Berlin with video messages from recipients of alternative Nobel prizes.

 

“Stand Up and Take Action” is organized annually by the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) and UN Millennium Campaign to coincide with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  It began in 2006 with 23 million people Standing Up, the following year it increased to 43 million when they Stood up and Spoke out. This year they will Take Actions as well as Standing Up.  The actions range from immediate practical actions people can take in their communities to presenting political demands to governments and e-actions.

 

All Stand up events are registered on www.standagainstpoverty.org.

 

 

To plan interviews and coverage and for more information contact:

Ciara O’Sullivan            Kara Alaimo
+ 34 679 594 809            + 1 212-906-6399
ciara.osullivan@civicus.org        Kara.Alaimo@undp.org

About the Campaigns:

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a civil society alliance of social movements, international NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of public accountability, just governance and the fulfillment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation; and gender equality and women’s rights. For more information, visit www.whiteband.org.
                                                                                                                                 
The UN Millennium Campaign was established by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments accountable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.  The Millennium Development Goals, formally adopted by 189 countries in the year 2000, are a set of eight specific goals which commit rich and poor countries to work together to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, ensure all boys and girls complete primary school, promote gender equality, improve the health of mothers and children, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, protect the environment, and create a global partnership for development by ensuring rich countries give more and better aid, debt relief and trade opportunities to poorer countries. For more information, visit www.endpoverty2015.org.

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