VOICES RISING
YEAR III - VOL 3. Nş143.2
CONTENT
ICAE ACADEMY OF LIFELONG LEARNING ADVOCACY (IALLA)
1.- ICAE IS CALLING FOR ACTION AND INVITING EVERYONE TO WEAR A WHITE BAND ON JULY 1 AND JOIN US AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD AS AN ACT OF SOLIDARITY AGAINST POVERTY
2.- FAMOUS GLOBAL LANDMARKS WEAR GIANT WHITE BANDS
**********************************************************
ICAE ACADEMY OF LIFELONG LEARNING ADVOCACY (IALLA)
From July 26 to August 11, 2005.
Buskerud Folk Highschool, Norway
www.icae.org.uy
******************************************************************
1.- ICAE IS CALLING FOR ACTION AND INVITING EVERYONE TO WEAR A WHITE BAND ON JULY 1 AND JOIN US AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD AS AN ACT OF SOLIDARITY AGAINST POVERTY
FRIDAY JULY 1 - WHITE BAND DAY
www.whiteband.org
When: on Friday 1 July, one day before Live 8 and less than one week before the G8 meet in Scotland, and at the start of a week of global action - known as WHITE BAND WEEK.
Who: the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is the worlds largest anti-poverty coalition, whose organisations together represent more than 150 million people globally. The campaign is aiming to make a breakthrough on poverty in 2005 and is calling for world leaders to honour their promises on more and better aid, trade justice, debt cancellation and transparent and accountable poverty reduction initiatives.
The coalition is made up of national campaigns across 72 countries.
What: the GCAP coalition will undertake one of the biggest weeks of global action ever seen, commencing with WHITE BAND DAY ONE when national landmarks being wrapped in huge versions of the campaigns symbol - a white band. Events, street parades and marches, concerts, petitions at G8 embassies and much more will form part of the day.
Where: across the world - Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Europe
July 1 is the International White Band Day will see people around the world wearing their white bands and wrapping public buildings in white to send a message to the G8 world leaders that they demand action on trade justice, debt cancellation, and more and better aid. International White Band Day will prove to be one of the largest global actions ever taken.
Below are just some of the White Band events planned. More will be announced soon. For more information or to get in touch with national coalitions, please visit the GCAP Country Coalitions section in the following website: www.whiteband.org
HIGHLIGHTS:
· The Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia will be wrapped in a gigantic white band, with the Australian coalitions slogan Make Poverty History across it.
· In Mozambique, thousands will attend a music festival in the slums of Maputo to call for an end to poverty.
· A large mosque in Indonesia will be wrapped in a giant white band.
· Landmarks across Europe will be wrapped in white bands: in Rome, Italy, the Trevi Fountain will be drapped in a huge white band, in Germany, the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) will be wrapped and in Paris, the Trocaderos buildings will be wrapped with two white bands, with the Eiffel tower as a backdrop. At the same time, two small demonstrations - one symbolising the north and the other the south will take place in Trocaderos gardens. In the UK, the famous St Pauls Cathedral will be wrapped in a massive white band
· In Sierra Leone, the famous cotton tree planted by freed slaves when the nation was founded will be draped in a white band alongside a street party in Freetown.
· In Zambia, a march walking past all the G8 embassies is planned for 1 July to end in an open air concert in Lusaka.
· In Ghana on 1 July, a beach party with farmers groups is planned, to highlight the plight of rice farmers, due to unfair trade rules.
· In the Philippines, a peoples summit and concert will be followed by a rally of 10,000 people.
· In Kenya, a white band will be wrapped around Kenyatta International Conference Centre on Friday July 1 after which they will deliver their messages to the respective G8 embassies.
You can be part of this global movement by wearing the white band in 2005, whether you are a member of an organisation, or an individual who wants to act against poverty.
***********************************************************************
2.- FAMOUS GLOBAL LANDMARKS WEAR GIANT WHITE BANDS
source: GCAP
Famous global landmarks wear giant white bands
The Global Call to Action against Poverty marks its first global White Band Day mobilization on Friday 1st July
Some of the worlds most famous landmarks will be adorned with huge white bands on 1st July, as part of a curtain-raiser to a week of global action during which campaigners and the public in 72 countries will use their voices to call for an end to global poverty.
As part of the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), the worlds largest anti-poverty movement, landmarks including Australias Sydney Harbour Bridge, Romes Trevi Fountain, a huge mosque in Indonesia, St Pauls Cathedral in London, Berlins Brandenburg Gate and a famous cotton tree in Sierra Leone will simultaneously be wrapped in oversized white bands the symbol of the global campaign.
Coming just 5 days before world leaders arrive at Gleneagles for the G8 summit and a mere 24 hours before Live8 concerts are broadcast around the world, this first White Band Day mobilization will mark the occasion when millions of people will call on their leaders in developed countries to honour their promises on more and better aid, trade justice and debt cancellation. Campaigners across developing countries will also reiterate demands on their leaders for transparent poverty reduction initiatives and challenge them to aggressively fight corruption.
An eclectic array of events also marking White Band Day will include: a music festival in the slums of Maputo, Mozambique, an open air concert in Lusaka, Zambia, a peace rally in Nepal, a rally in the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam and a concert and rally with a human dragon in the Philippines, a peaceful march of 10,000 in El Salvadors capital San Salvador and beach party in Ghana with farmers groups who will highlight the plight of rice farmers burdened by unfair trade rules.
The anti-poverty coalition is calling on people across the world to wear white wristbands, armbands and headbands, made out of white rags, ribbons and bed sheets, from 1st July until the G8 meeting ends, as an act of solidarity with the global campaign. By wrapping their homes, schools, places of worship and themselves in white bands, people across the world will underline that they are unprepared to accept simple rhetoric in the fight against poverty.
White Band Day 1 kickstarts a week of global action - or White Band Week - during which hundreds of thousands of people wearing white bands will turn out for the Live8 concerts in Johannesburg, London, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome and Berlin, supported by 2 billion more watching the concerts on television and descend on Edinburgh for a rally calling for an end to poverty. The week will culminate with hundreds of people making their way to Scotland, representing campaigns in developed and developing countries, as part of the Long Walk to Justice.
GCAP Chair Kumi Naidoo said that G8 leaders could not ignore the worldwide call for action when they meet in Gleneagles, Scotland, from 6-8 July.
Turning a blind eye to the plight of the worlds poorest is an approach that the G8 has routinely taken. This time around, people in rich and poor countries are standing up to say that they will not accept inaction, indifference and timidity its crime against humanity, said Kumi Naidoo.
We will be saying to G8 leaders do not look the other way and do not fail millions of people across the world the lives of 50,000 people who die of poverty daily depend on it said Guy Ryder, a spokesperson for GCAP. We are stepping up pressure on G8 leaders to mark Julys summit with a commitment to increase aid annually by USD 50 billion necessary if the Millennium Development Goals and more are to be reached by 2015.
We recognise that aid alone will not eradicate poverty but 35 years ago, rich nations of the world committed 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to international development. Today only 5 OECD countries have met this obligation - not a single G8 country has managed to achieve this goal. 35 years is a long time to wait for less than 1% said Kumi Naidoo.
Ahead of next weeks Summit, GCAP will be calling on G8 leaders to extend the scope of Junes debt deal. Whilst a small step in the right direction, the package announced by Finance Ministers, failed to grant debt cancellation to some of the worlds poorest countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Haiti. We want to see the same political will which led to Iraqs debt mountain being written off virtually overnight applied to the worlds poorest countries. When compared to the Iraq debt deal, the deal offered by the G8 Finance Ministers is timid and lacking in courage, to put it politely. Gleneagles is the perfect occasion to redress this, said Coumba Toure, speaking on behalf of the campaign.
For more information, contact Caroline Green for more information on +1 202 321 7858 or +1 202 496 1174 or caroline.green@oxfaminternational.org or Barbara Kwateng on +44 7950 899 653 barbara.kwateng@icftu.org
Campaigns website:
www.whiteband.org
The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is the worlds largest anti-poverty coalition, whose organizations together represent more than 150 million people globally. The campaign, bringing together charities, trade unions, faith groups, grassroots movements and womens groups across 72 countries, is aiming to make a breakthrough on poverty in 2005 and calling on world leaders to honour their promises on combating poverty.
The International Gender and Education Office (GEO) of ICAE creates
VOICES RISING
Email: voicesrising@icae.org.uy
Web: www.icae.org.uy
Tel/fax: 00 5982 401 00 06
Address: Acevedo Diaz 1600 / 1002.
11200