With just two weeks to go before International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the biggest ever mobilization against poverty and inequality and in support of the Millennium Development Goals, is geared to take place in almost 90 countries (highlights below). Stand Up and Speak Out is a day when the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) alliance and UN Millennium Campaign call on millions to show courage and demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global poverty.

TWO WEEKS TO GO: WORLD PREPARES FOR HISTORIC ANTI-POVERTY MOBILISATION October 16th/17th, 2007 02-10-07: With just two weeks to go before International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the biggest ever mobilization against poverty and inequality and in support of the Millennium Development Goals, is geared to take place in almost 90 countries (highlights below). Stand Up and Speak Out is a day when the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) alliance and UN Millennium Campaign call on millions to show courage and demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global poverty. For 24 hours from 9pm GMT on the 16th of October people around the world from all walks of life will gather in public spaces, schools, places of work or worship, at sports and cultural events and at landmarks to demonstrate their frustration that we still live in a world where 50,000 people die daily from preventable causes. It will also offer a voice for global civil society seeking more involvement in the current aid architecture debate, debt cancellation processes, trade negotiations and public accountability monitoring. Last year on this day 23.5 million people stood up to demand an end to poverty and set a Guinness World Record in the process. This year the goal is to widen the call to action so that we send an even louder message which politicians cannot ignore. The result of the Guinness record attempt will be announced globally on the 18th of October. "The staggering range of events show more than just creativity but that there is a new energy and compulsion to speak out against the greatest injustice of our time – the disgrace that is preventable death from poverty. The gap between rich and poor, unequal distribution of resources and sheer lack of urgency our leaders show in responding to this with real action, is driving this year’s mobilization to new heights. People want trade injustices tackled head on now, debts cancelled immediately and aid to be far more effective than it is at present in poor countries –places where the people are preparing to hold their own leaders accountable for how this money is spent.” said Kumi Naidoo, Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty in South Africa this week. In 2000, world leaders made a commitment to do everything in their power to end poverty, by agreeing to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This year marks the halfway point to this deadline and still almost a billion people living on less than a dollar a day. Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign said “As we cross the mid-point to the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it is clear that urgent action in many countries is needed now more than ever. By standing up last year millions around the world demonstrated their frustration with the lack of real progress in poverty eradication. This year, millions more are joining this growing global movement of people who refuse to stay silent in the face of poverty or broken promises to end it". Virtual Stand Up - As well as the vast range of events, millions of people will join the campaign in cyberspace posting October 17th blogs, wikis, videos and pictures on the standagainstpoverty.org website and other online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and MyGamma. In Italy, Microsoft will create a dedicated micro-site for the action and in many poor countries, particularly in Africa, mobile phone technology has enabled groups to pre-register their activities online using WAP phones and viewing videos of Stand Ups in other countries on services like You Tube. Events are being registered and recorded on www.standagainstpoverty.org Event highlights – Thousands of events are happening for 24 hours from 16th October including: In India the NGO NACDOR is planning a march of 20,000 Dalits. They will all Stand Up and Speak out on issues focusing on land rights and the achievement of MDGs for Dalits in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Across Africa thousands of events are planned. In Kenya, the Ministry of Education has given permission to mobilise 25,000 schools and the Kenyan Commissioner of Prisons will host Stand up and Speak out moments in the prison service across the country (93 prisons holding approximately 60,000 prisoners), attending an event himself at the country’s biggest remand prison, holding 3,000 inmates. This is also the first male prison in Kenya to be headed by a woman. Elsewhere on Lamu Island a human chain will be formed from Lamu to Shela Island, after the finals of an anti-poverty football match. Leaving from Japan the floating community on Peace Boat’s 59th voyage will once again gather again on the top deck to call for an end to poverty. In Ramallah, a choir from the University will speak out through music and perform a new musical work “The Poverty Requiem” as one of a unique global chain of 20 performances taking place on every continent. Elsewhere in Palestine, one million Palestinian children throughout the Occupied West Bank and Gaza speak out raising banners, releasing white balloons and shouting slogans to say no to poverty. The children’s activities have been organized jointly with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and are taking place for the first time in both public and private schools, as well as UNWRA schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Afghanistan campaigners will take to the streets with government ministry staff, private sector representatives and others in Kabul, Harat and Mazar e Sharif to demand greater public accountability, transparency in how foreign aid is spent and tackle corruption in how contracts are awarded. In Bangladesh, despite the serious flooding earlier this year, civil society groups are mobilizing to demand more and better aid is spent on direct services and employment-generating projects. The Dhaka City Corporation will hold a rally in front of the Nagar Bhaban on the 17th led by the Mayor and later a People’s Concert for youth is expected to draw at least 20,000 people. Outside the capital 40,000 women’s groups and children from 35,000 learning centers are all going to stand up and speak out against poverty and inequality. Somalia is one of 25 countries where delegations of civil society representatives will present policy demands to the Head of the Transitional Federal Government pushing for changes in world trade in favour of their agro-pastoral economy. Across Europe, in Germany, the Euro 2008 Qualifier football game against Czech Republic will see fans start the match with a massive stand up and speak out moment. In The Hague, the national anti poverty campaign will display 200 uniquely created life-size ‘Avatars’ representing members of the public from across the Netherlands, whilst in the UK, as well as several political activities in Scotland, in London, trade union representatives, students and the UN Deputy Secretary General will use the white band symbol of the global anti-poverty campaign to call for renewed commitments from rich countries. Pakistani campaigners have arranged an unprecedented Stand Up and Speak Out event to unfurl a 10km–long banner along the main canal in Lahore, ending with a political rally at the door of Parliament. This is one of 25 countries across the world using giant banners to form a white band, the symbol of the global anti-poverty movement. Youth Stand Up and Speak Out - The world’s largest youth organizations, including the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the International YMCA, AIESEC, IMCS and the Global Youth Action Network support the action. In Rwanda youth groups are organizing a Stand Up soccer tournament with 20 primary schools. A youth network in Ghana has appointed Stand Up ambassadors to lead events all over the country, including an MDG youth declaration and in Bangladesh, an umbrella organization of youth movements will mobilize 10,000 young people to block a busy crossroads with a human chain. Faith leaders Stand Up and Speak Out - His holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will mobilize 40,000 people at his ashram in Bangalore and millions more across the globe to raise their voices through the Art of Living Foundation that aims to relieve disease and violence at a societal level. In India and worldwide, renowned yoga guru Swami Ramdev, has also agreed to encourage millions to participate in the action. Micah Challenge, the global Christian campaign aims to engage support for impoverished and marginalized communities and will also be taking part. In the US, Canada and Europe Episcopal and Lutheran churches have made the MDGs their top social justice priority and have appointed an MDG-focused organizer in every diocese. Women and Poverty highlighted –women make up the majority of the world’s poor (70%) due to unequal access to resources and opportunities, discriminatory land and inheritance laws and unequal distribution of household resources. World Food Programme reports that 7 out of 10 of the world’s hungry are women and girls. On October 17, women will join the Stand Up and Speak Out Campaign to call on world leaders to empower the women that power the global economy. International Women's Tribunals on Poverty will be held in New York, Malta, Cairo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lima, and India highlighting the feminization of poverty highlighting racism, violence against women and discrimination among other factors leading to women’s poverty. UNIFEM the women’s fund at the United Nations and the Women’s Funding Network will also join together to launch a digital Stand Up moment online for their networks. Spokespersons - GCAP and the UN Millennium Campaign are offering people all over the world for interview plus spokespersons for the alliance including: GCAP: Kumi Naidoo, Co-Chair GCAP & Sec. Gen of Civicus (Global/South Africa) Ana Agostino, Co-Chair of GCAP, Member of GCAP’s Feminist Taskforce (Latin America & Caribbean) Sylvia Borren, Co-chair GCAP & Director Oxfam Novib & Lyricist Poverty Requiem (Global/Netherlands) Lysa John, Wada na Todo, GCAP member (India) Hamdi Al-Khawaji, The Democracy and Workers Rights Center in Palestine & GCAP member (Middle East) Alison Woodhead, GCAP IFT member & Campaign Manager, Oxfam International (UK) Christophe Zoungrana, GCAP Africa Coordinator & ANCEFA (Sénégal) Millennium Campaign: Eveline Herfkens, Executive Coordinator, United Nations Millennium Campaign (US) Salil Shetty Global, Director, United Nations Millennium Campaign (US/UK/Ghana) Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, Africa Director, United Nations Millennium Campaign (Kenya/Nigeria) Minar Pimple, Asia Director, United Nations Millennium Campaign (India/South Asia) Marina Ponti, Europe Director, United Nations Millennium Campaign (US/Italy/UK) Juan Miguel Diez, Officer in Charge, United Nations Information Centre (Mexico) There is still time to plan a Stand Up & Speak Out moment or join an existing one. To register online or see what existing events are planned in your country, go to www.standagainstpoverty.org For more information go to contact: Ciara O’Sullivan, GCAP Media Coordinator, ciara_os@hotmail.com Tel: +34 679 594 809 www.whiteband.org Mandy Kibel, Deputy Director, Head of Communications, United Nations Millennium Campaign mandy.kibel@undp.org Tel: +1 212 906 6242 and Anand Kantaria, Global Media Coordinator, United Nations Millennium Campaign Anand.kantaria@undp.org Tel: +44 7908 230 165 www.endpoverty2015.org www.standagainstpoverty.org Notes to Editors: 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. The UN Millennium Campaign was established by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by 189 world leaders from the north and south, as part of the Millennium Declaration which was signed in 2000. These leaders agreed to achieve the Goals by 2015. Our premise is simple, we are the first generation that can end poverty and we refuse to miss this opportunity.

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