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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Over 20 Million People “Stand Up Against Poverty” to set new Guinness World Record, announced on World Poverty Day
London, United Kingdom 2006-10-17For Immediate Release 17/10/06
On 15-16 October, 23,542,614 people, in over eighty countries around the world set a new Guinness World Record for the largest number of people to “STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY”. The Stand Up record attempt, an initiative of the United Nations Millennium Campaign in partnership with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) was set in time for the United Nations International Day for Poverty Eradication on 17 October.
Cricket fans in Jaipur, India; school children in Gaza and the Westbank; crowds at a concert in the Mbare slums, Zimbabwe and a huge gathering in Times Square New York all joined for the world record attempt. People stood together: at the foot of tallest hotel in the world in Dubai; in football stadiums across Spain and Mexico; in churches throughout Africa and schools all over the world including China.
At each event, people stood up and pledged their solidarity with the world’s poorest people and demanded that governments take urgent action to end poverty and inequality and to meet and exceed the Millennium Development Goals.
The UN Millennium Campaign’s Executive Coordinator Eveline Herfkens said: “Together we have set an incredible record for the largest number of people standing up to demand action on poverty. But the record we really want to break is the world’s record of breaking promises and ignoring the poor. We don’t want to record numbers of people dying of poverty every year. This is the great issue of our times, let us become great by dealing with it decisively.”
In Johannesburg, Kumi Naidoo, spokesperson for the world’s largest anti-poverty coalition – the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) said: “Ordinary people around the world have stood up to express their passion to end poverty. Together, we have sent a clear message to our political leaders that we are going to keep pushing them to deliver on aid, on debt cancellation, on trade justice and to provide good and accountable governments. The people’s voices are growing louder. We will not rest until poverty is ended”.
United by the international symbol of the white band, the World Record number will be announced at events held at the United Nations in New York, London, Johannesburg, Milan and Nairobi today.
Media Contacts:
Millennium Campaign:
Mandy Kibel
+1 212 906 6242
mandy.kibel@undp.org
Anand Kantaria
+1 212 906 6783
anand.kantaria@undp.org
GCAP
Sarah Jenkinson
+44 7810 180237
media@whiteband.org
For more information visit:
www.standagainstpoverty.org OR
www.whiteband.org
Notes to Editors and Producers:
1. Broadcast footage and photographs from “Stand Up Against Poverty” events around the world available from:
For footage:
ftp.whitebandmedia.org username: gcapftpdownload password: dyrzx8gZ
ftp://undp:eedee38@ftp.standagainstpoverty.org//MEDIA
Broadcast material also available from Reuters and APTV
For photos visit:
ftp://undp:eedee38@ftp.standagainstpoverty.org//MEDIA
www.box.net User name: GCAP Media 1 Password: GCAP Media 1
2. ‘Stand Up’ country highlights
- In Jaipur, India 30,000 cricket fans, with support from legendary batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, ‘stood up’ at the start of the India vs England match.
- In the US, United Nations Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown, Queen Noor of Jordan and HH Swami Ramdev ‘stood up’ with thousands in Times Square, New York.
- Hundreds of thousands stood together for one minute at an anti-poverty music concert in Mbare slums in the capital, Harare, Zimbabwe.
- School children across Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza and Westbank ‘stood up’ together to highlight the injustice that not all children can afford to go to school.
- Organisers in Bangladesh have reported figures of over half a million young people who stood united in gigantic white human chains across across 64 districts of the country.
- Malawi’s President, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika joined thousands at a rally against poverty in the capital.
- In the Philippines, more than 10,000 people ‘stood up’ and marched against poverty to assert that ‘36 Pesos is Not Enough’ for a Filipino to live on in a day.
- In Mexico, several hundred thousand people stood up at football matches lead by 9 Football Clubs
Visit www.standagainstpoverty.org or www.whiteband.org for full list of events from around the world
3. OFFICIAL Guinness Verification text
“The world record for the most people to 'Stand Up Against Poverty' in 24 hours was set on 15 - 16 October 2006 for the United Nation's Millennium Campaign and involved a massive total of 23,542,614 participants in 11,646 events around the globe.”
4. The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is a coalition of anti-poverty and economic justice campaigns. GCAP brings together a diverse group of organisations united in the knowledge that we will be more effective when we work together.
We want to pressure governments to eradicate poverty, dramatically lessen inequality, and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We are demanding:
a. Public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights
b. Trade justice
c. A major increase in the quantity and quality of aid and financing for development
d. Debt cancellation
Since it launched at the World Social Forum in January 2005 GCAP has mobilised more than 38 million citizens. Faith groups, women’s groups, trade unions, youth organisations, international NGOs, grassroots movements and numerous other civil society groups for the backbone of the national campaigns whose symbol is the is the white band.
5. United Nations Millennium Campaign
The UN Millennium Campaign supports citizens' efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
6. To find out more about Stand Up Against Poverty visit www.whiteband.org and www.standagainstpoverty.org
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