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Singaporeans Stand Up and Speak Out against Global Poverty on October 17

Singaporeans are preparing to join an estimated 30 – 50 million people around the world on October 17th 2007 to mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty by calling on world leaders to honour their promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

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Across some 100 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – as well as here in Singapore - concerned citizens will gather at schools, landmarks, in concerts and at sports and cultural event to Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty.  The number of participants will be documented by the Guinness Book of World Records.

”Every day we stand up  - in taxi queues, at the MRT, waiting for food at our favorite hawker stall,” says radio host and actress Vernetta Lopez.  “But on 17 October, we stand with millions around the globe for a reason - to remind world leaders to honour the commitments made at the United Nations in 2000 to end poverty.  Please join us.”

Twenty-three and a half million people - more than 17 million of whom live in Asia - stood up against poverty last year to set a world record.  An even greater number are expected to participate this year.  Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty 2007 is touted as the biggest mobilization against poverty ever, with millions of people around the world demanding a more urgent political response to the growing poverty crisis.

“Every three seconds a child dies from extreme poverty.  That’s like hundreds of jumbo jets crashing every day or a tsunami every week,” says ONE (SINGAPORE) co-founder Michael Switow.  “Yet most days, poverty does not make the headlines or even page 3.   We have the resources and ability to end poverty and transform the hopes and dreams of an entire generation.”

The M Hotel Singapore is sponsoring STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT 2007 in Singapore.  Celebrities Vernetta Lopez, Gerald Chew and Randall Tan will host the event in the M Hotel ballroom on October 17th 2007, 7.00 - 9.00 p.m.   Jazz singer Robert Fernando, who has been hailed as the James Ingram of Singapore, will also perform.  Thousands of students are also expected to Stand Up in schools throughout the city, including Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Hwa Chung Institution, Raffles Girls School and the National University of Singapore.

Natalie Tai, a fourth year student at RGS, adds, “We want to be involved in Stand Up 2007 because we want to raise awareness of the global poverty issue. Everyday 50,000 people die from poverty. We believe that we are the generation with the power to make a difference and collectively, we can make a difference to the global poverty crisis by being the voice for those in need.”

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About the Millennium Development Goals

End poverty by 2015. This is the historic promise 189 world leaders made at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 when they agreed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world’s poorest people. World leaders have agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Background on Poverty

"At the start of the 21st century more than a billion people are trapped in a situation of abject poverty and gross inequality. 70% of them are women. We face an AIDS and malaria emergency, with 40 million people infected by the diseases. 104 million children are denied access to school and 860 million adults (70% of them women) can not read or write. Millions of people are unemployed or working in precarious jobs with deteriorating conditions of labour. Neither have a secure income to sustain their families. Children and young people make up half the world's population and suffer from the lack of inclusion and provision of basic services. Hunger is a daily reality for many.  In parts of the world, the death of mothers in childbirth and infant children are still routine -- deaths that could be prevented by the availability of simple healthcare.  1.4 billion people don't have access to safe water. We draw inspiration from their persistent daily struggles to realize their rights to livelihood, resources, assets and basic services. Today the world has enough resources, knowledge and technology to eradicate poverty."

Source:  Global Call to Action Against Poverty, "Beirut Declaration"

About ONE (SINGAPORE)

ONE (SINGAPORE), the group who organised the celebrity walkabout on 7.7.7, is dedicated to raising public awareness and taking concrete actions to Make Poverty History. Since starting up in late 2005, ONE (SINGAPORE) has produced a celebrity video in Singapore's four national languages to highlight poverty issues, conducted educational programmes including a Make Poverty History "Banquet" (based on a role-playing game conceptualised by Oxfam International) and purchased food aid for drought victims in Niger, West Africa. The English version of our CLICK video has appeared on MTV Asia, ESPN and on a large outdoor screen at the venue of the World Bank/IMF meetings. For more information, please visit www.onesingapore.org.

Contact Info

Michael Switow                       
Co-Founder of ONE (SINGAPORE)         
Mobile: +65 9070 1724
Email: switow@onesingapore.org

Tania Tan
EASTWEST Public Relations for ONE Singapore
DID: +65 6429 0312
Mobile: +65 9451 380
Email: tania@eastwestpr.com

Joan Khor
EASTWEST Public Relations for ONE Singapore
DID: +65 6429 0310
Mobile: +65 9187 0990
Email: joan@eastwestpr.com

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