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THE GCAP E-LETTER 2007 - September 10th 2007 - Edition #9
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THE GCAP E-LETTER 2007
10 September 2007 - Edition #9
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The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a growing alliance of trade unions, community groups, faith groups, women and youth organisations, NGOs and other campaigners working together across more than 100 national platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. The white band is our symbol and expression of solidarity against poverty.
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Dear GCAP friends,
Welcome to the 9th edition of the GCAP e-letter.
It has been a busy two weeks since we last communicated. The GCAP Structure Group has a vital face-to-face meeting in Oxford which allowed for development of a proposed structure for GCAP post-2007. Present were Anil, Asia, Hassen, Africa, Andreas, Europe, Jiovanni, LAC, Josephine, ME, Oyeibisi, CYTF, Rosa, FTF, Seth, Workers Task Group, Denis, North America, Alison, OGB, Salil, Funders Group, Kumi, IFT Chair as well as Irfan, Katsuji, Ben and Ciara (see photo). The outcomes are being processed by the Support Team for circulation and inputs later this month via the IFT and regional secretariats. We really look forward to building a GCAP that reflects the needs and wishes of our regional and national coalitions take the call to action to 2015.
Straight after Oxford meeting we gathered our full Support Team in Johannesburg to pull together all the many threads of the October 17th mobilisation and produce some of the materials required by coalitions need for their mobilisations. We are excited to hear the wide range of activities and countries where people plan to Stand Up and Speak Out as well as the increasing number of delegations who plan to visit political representatives on and around this date. A handbook has been produced to support the delegations so please access the details below in the section on mobilisation.
We are also finding interest in the day of action from a range of media outlets, all of whom seem to be saying they want to hear the stories of ordinary people who have direct experience of poverty and who are motivated to take part in the Stand Up and Speak Out day and why they believe this will make a difference. We are gathering these personal accounts with photographs so please click on the link below under the Communications section if you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell us.
You will remember we mentioned a recent meeting in the Philippines which discussed ODA and Asia. The Quezon Declaration on ODA and Asia has now been published and can be accessed at …(insert link)
We are excited also that plans to make sure GCAP is seen and heard at the IFI meetings in Washington in late October are taking shape. We are putting together a team which will plan for media relations work and political lobbying at these meetings and will use the opportunity to call for reforms leading to greater transparency in these institutions. If you are planning to go there we would love to hear from you.
The e-newsletter is published in five languages and posted at the GCAP Letter section on the whiteband.org.
Warm Regards
Irfan Mufti, GCAP Campaign Manager & the IFT Support Team
MOBILISATION Update - Only 36 days to go until October 17th!
We at the mobilisation task force are still gathering plans from national coalitions. Please send your feedback forms with all your plans to sarah.gregory@civicus.org, copy to your regional secretariat. We now have feedback from around 20 countries which will be shortly made available on the website.
Stand Up and Speak Out – registrations are open on the website! The home page of the standagainstpoverty.org website is being redesigned and should be re-launched this week. We will also be circulating information on how to count for the Guinness Record. The brochures are now available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French and are downloadable from the website in both print-ready and e-mailable versions. More materials will be coming out shortly.
Delegations - Around 20 countries have organised to send delegations to their political leaders on or around October 17. For those countries who are sending representatives to their leaders, we have sent around a “delegations handbook” which is also downloadable from the website.
Banners - Our friends in Pakistan released details of their giant banner to the media there last week. They are inviting journalists to cover the growing numbers who are getting involved. Sri Lanka also launched their banners project last week and photos can be viewed at whiteband.org
Poverty Requiem - Last week in the Netherlands, international conductors who will be putting on performances of the poverty requiem in over 25 countries gathered together to learn how to mix the music so this unique piece of music will ring loudly around the world on October 17 in a global chain. To read their blogs and see the rehearsals go to povertyrequiem.org
Contact: Sarah at the GCAP IFT support team for more information.
Communications Update
Grey Campaign- The prototypes of ad designs have gone out to GREY’s regional offices and GCAP coalitions in those countries are in direct contact with them to agree the local adaptations. We will communicate these to you as soon as possible.
Media Releases – We will produce a media note on September 17th so people can use it with “One month to Go” messaging and release details of their national plans to their national media.
Focus Cities – We have identified places across the world where events are planned that will be interesting for media and to tell the story of our special day. These include Sydney, Lahore, Delhi, Nairobi, London, New York – and we are still identifying others.
Profiles – We are asking GCAP people to help us build profiles of our mobilisers around the world – ordinary people with fascinating life stories and their reasons for taking part in Stand Up Speak Out. Please download this template (insert link to media template) and complete with all the details of the person you know in your coalition who has the type of story the global media will use on October 17th to illustrate our amazingly diverse movement.
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The GCAP IFT Support Team
Irfan Mufti, Campaign Manager
Katsuji Imata, Organizational Development Coordinator
Ciara Osullivan, Media and Communication Coordinator (E-letter editor)
Sarah Gregory, Outreach and Mobilization Coordinator
Henri Valot, Web and New Media Coordinator
Joe Cressy, Mobilisation Officer
Caitlin Blaser, Support Team Assistant
Tebogo Sililo, Support Team Volunteer
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GCAP IFT support team
C/O CIVICUS
PO Box 933, Southdale 2135
Johannesburg – South-Africa
Email: info@whiteband.org
Tel: + 27 11 833 59 59 Fax: + 27 11
833 97 79