History of GCAP

In September 2003, prominent activist on women and children’s issues, Graca Machel, hosted a group of southern non-governmental issues in Maputo, Mozambique. It was here, with other prominent civil society activists such as CIVICUS Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo that the idea of a Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) was first aired. GCAP, which today can arguably be said to be one of the most ambitious civil society campaigns consisting of 900 organisations from 70 countries went on, a year later, to launch a campaign and issue a declaration which is now known as the GCAP Johannesburg Declaration.

The goals of GCAP range from ensuring the increase in aid from G8 countries, to maximising efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through to debt cancellation for developing nations and the removal of trade barriers that bring about unfair trade practices. GCAP has adopted the white band as its official international symbol – a symbol that has been seen on the hands of millions of people in several countries and the white band wearers keep on increasing thereby highlighting that the war against injustices brought on by poverty is not confined to a few activists but is, in fact, a global phenomenon.

What sets GCAP apart from most campaigns is that, in addition to being a coalition of international organizations, it also operates on national and regional levels – just as long as individuals and organizations realize the injustices of poverty and actively work to end it. The Global Call to Action against Poverty is a coalition of international organizations, but also operates on a national level. Each country can mount its own campaign, and choose the important emphasis for the national campaign from within the framework of the Johannesburg Declaration. Each country can name its own campaign, but each campaign is linked to the Global Call to Action against Poverty.

GCAP’s success stems from its endorsement, not just by non- governmental organisations, but by international personalities such as Brazilian president Lula da Silva, who endorsed it in Brazil at the World Social Forum in January and the iconic Nelson Mandela who said in London in February 2005, “As you know, I recently formally announced my retirement from public life and should really not be here. However, as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. Moreover, the Global Call to Action against Poverty represents such a noble cause that we could not decline the invitation.”