GET READY TO STAND UP AND TAKE ACTION FOR THE MDGS:
October 17th - 19th 2008
Last year, more than 43 million people all over the world stood up and spoke out sending a clear and powerful message to governments:
"Keep your promises to end poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals."
This year we are inviting you to Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty, to be a part of the growing global movement determined to stamp out poverty and inequality.
We have reached the halfway mark to 2015, the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. There has been some progress, but there is still a long way to go. We need to take urgent and inspired action now, to remind our governments we expect them to deliver. That's why this year we're focusing on country-specific actions in support of the achievement of the Millennium Goals. Millions will be Standing Up and Taking Action, locally, nationally and globally.
Standing up and taking action can involve signing a petition, sending a text message campaign, making phone calls to local government representatives, face to face meetings with parliamentarians, local and national leaders. We can all take action to eradicate extreme poverty!
Schools can do their part in standing up too. Listening to the principal read a pledge from the United Nations will send a clear and vital message to students: That everyone can stand up for a cause.* What's important is that we all Stand Up and Take Action to make our demands heard loud and clear.
Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty 2008 will be held over a three day period from October 17th -19th.
By starting on a Friday and concluding on a Sunday, everyone, whether at home, at work, at school, university or in a place of worship will have the chance to take part. We will once again be aiming to break the world record for the most number of people to Stand Up Against Poverty. But even more importantly, you will be building on the momentum created over the last two years, a momentum which has already contributed to real progress. Thank you for all you have done to make Stand Up a strong movement and powerful force in the fight to end poverty and see the Millennium Goals achieved and exceeded. Let's resolve to make Stand Up and Take Action even more successful in 2008.
*School pledge will be provided – Just contact us at standup@un.org.au
For ideas and useful resources:
http://www.endpoverty2015.org/resource
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
Have a look at what we all did in 2007: http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/