Information for the Media
Join us Sunday, September 19, 2010, Noon-4pm, Lincoln Center
Anti-poverty campaigners from across the globe – alongside New York activists – will Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty outside Lincoln Center Plaza, a day before world leaders meet at the opening of the UN General Assembly for the most important anti-poverty summit in years. Campaigners are calling on the UN MDG Summit (20-22 September) participants to announce a breakthrough plan to achive the Millennium Development Goals within five years.
Giant copies of The World We Want Charters -- documents from Africa, Asia and elsewhere that outline concrete actions for creating a world without poverty – will also be on display for participants to sign.
Experts and leaders from several of these participating organisations will speak at the rally and are also available
for private interviews. There will be performances, “Make a Noise for the MDG” photo ops, video messages
from overseas and a reading of the Stand Up Pledge. About Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty
Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty is the world's largest ever social mobilization.
Co-organized by the UN Millennium Campaign and GCAP, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, Stand Up
calls on world leaders to honor their commitments to end poverty and inequality. More than 173 million people, or
two percent of the world population, participated in Stand Up 2009. GCAP carries these numbers to the UN, G8,
G20 and other forum to pressure leaders to fulfill their commitments to end poverty.
There have been some policy successes as well. In South Africa, for example, the campaign led the government
to introduce a new subsidy scheme for students, enabling some two million youth, who would have dropped out
to seek employment, to stay in school and complete their high school education. This year, Stand Up takes place
from September 17-19th, just before the start of a new UN session and the high-level review of the MDGs.
About GCAP
For more information, visit www.standagainstpoverty.org.
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 some 120 national platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world's leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, we demand solutions that address the issues of:
•Public accountability, just governance and the fulfillment of human rights
•Trade justice
•A major increase in the quantity and quality of aid and financing for development
•Debt cancellation
•Gender equality must also be at the heart of eradicating poverty
•Climate Justice
•Peace and Security
For more information, visit www.whiteband.org. About the Millennium Development Goals
Leaders from 189 countries signed The Millennium Declaration in 2000, setting out eight clear cut time-bound commitments to end poverty. While some progress and significant achievements have been made, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are not on track to be achieved by the 2015 deadline, due in part to the feminisation of poverty, the ever more apparent affects of climate change and the global financial and food crises. In 2009 alone, an estimated 90 million people – mostly women and girls - were pushed into poverty.
For more information, please contact:
Nehmi Klaassen
+31 6 418 65 986
nehmi.klaassen@whiteband.org
Rosa Lizarde
+1 (347) 451-7794
RosaenCasa@aol.com