----- Forwarded Message ----
From: UN Millennium Campaign <i...@standagainstpoverty.org>
To: arbieba...@yahoo.com
Sent: Fri, February 26, 2010 5:03:50 AM
Subject: Stand Up and Take Action 2010
Stand Against Poverty
When world leaders gather at the United Nations for the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) Review Summit in September, the voices of their citizens will
follow them, telling them, loudly and clearly: "We will no longer stay seated
or silent in the face of poverty and the broken promises to end it!'
The demands and expectations of citizens across continents and countries, made
visible and audible throughout 2010, will culminate in the "Stand Up 2010"
mobilization. Stand Up 2010 will take place over three days beginning Friday
September 17th till Sunday 19th.
The MDG Review Summit offers us as MDG Campaigners, a unique opportunity to
leverage and even influence the political and media focus surrounding the lead
up to the meeting and the meeting itself. Moving Stand Up forward to the
weekend before the Summit will allow us to drive our activities throughout the
year towards a high-profile Stand Up mobilization with a direct link to and
with the specific intention of impacting on the proceedings at the Summit
itself. It will also allow us to focus our activities and work in 2010 towards
a specific policy moment and to articulate clear and relevant policy demands
based on what we want our various governments and delegations to do leading up
to the Summit and what we expect them to achieve at the Summit itself.
The Dates
September 17th -19th, 2010: Three days of mobilization enabling all
constituencies and anyone wanting to be a part of the mobilization to organize
and participate in a wide range of events, relevant actions and initiatives to
show their support for the achievement of the MDGs and have their voices heard
articulating their demands for delegations attending the Summit.
Over this three day period, we are encouraging people and their organisations
to continue to incorporate the Stand UP moment and pledge reading into their
events and where relevant and possible to invite media to cover their events
and initiatives. The Stand Up pledge will be adapted this year in line with the
new timing to specifically reference the MDG Review Summit. As always, these
pledges need to be adapted to incorporate relevant messaging for each
participating organization or group.
One Day of Unified Global Action: Stand Up, Take Action, Make Noise for the
MDGs!
September 18th, 2010 Stand Up, take Action, Make a Noise for the MDGs!:
Adopting an idea that came out of the Africa Campaigners Retreat held in Malawi
recently, throughout the day on the 18th, we will "Make Noise for the MDGs!"
We are encouraging people all over the world to take part in a common global
action which is designed to grab public, political and media attention and to
make sure that the global movement in support of the MDGs is seen and heard in
every corner of the globe.
We hope to see widespread participation in this global action and are urging
everybody to think of creative ways to generate a noise which is also relevant
to their particular area or scope of work. Examples of noise- making ideas
include citizens gathering in a public space to bang spoons on metal plates as
a way of illustrating Hunger ; Church groups and temples could arrange for
their church/temple bells to be rung at the same time on that date in cities
across their country; local musicians could come together to play their
instruments in innovative locations - African drummers on Mt. Kilimanjaro; the
French National Orchestra from the top of the Eiffel Tower; football fans in
South Africa blowing their local "Vuvuzelas(trumpets) at football matches that
weekend. An online action allowing people to generate a noise through an online
and mobile phone application will also be made available.
The possibilities for creative noise-making are vast and this action is
accessible to all and easily adaptable to make it relevant and resonant.
Counting and the Guinness World record
This year, due to the unique nature of Stand Up 2010, the UN Millennium
Campaign will not be counting participants and we will not be tying this
mobilization to the Guinness World Record. Although we won't be counting
individuals, we will still be encouraging participants to let us know about
their events, where they are happening, who is taking part and the desired
outcomes. This will allow us to continue to message around the numbers of
countries, number of events underlining the broad scope, levels of support,
global participation and political impact of Stand Up 2010.
Thematic Focus and Desired Outcomes
The delivery to the Summit of an "MDG Breakthrough Plan" by each country has
been agreed as a common outcome towards which we will be working throughout
2010.
We will be demanding that regions and countries produce "Breakthrough Action
Plans" and that these plans be presented, discussed and adopted as part of the
outcomes at the Summit in September. The process of feeding into and shaping
these "Breakthrough" plans will take place throughout the year, from January to
June. Each national Campaign will define key moments throughout the year which
can be leveraged at regional and national level to intervene and influence the
process as well as to get the message out.
These plans must incorporate a strong focus on addressing accountability: from
rich countries to poor countries (at the global level) and from governments to
citizens (at national and local levels), on the issue of MDGs for all. The
issue of inequality across all spectrums, including gender, spatial, ethnicity
including indigenous people, caste and disability must also be addressed. In
addition, these plans must include concrete proposals for overcoming
implementation bottlenecks at the local level and allowing for citizen
monitoring of both national and local government delivery of services. Rich
country governments should deliver to the Summit ambitious plans with concrete
timetables and deadlines to scale up aid efforts and improve its effectiveness
according to the Accra Agenda of Action framework.
Messaging
We should strive wherever possible to create relevant messaging for each
national campaign based on a set of clear "citizen demands". But there are some
common top line messages we can also include:
* Breakthrough Action plans: We expect Heads of State of every country,
rich and poor, to come to the MDG Review Summit with clear MDG Breakthrough
Action Plans. These "Breakthrough Plans" should include approaches for scaling
up and sustaining successful small scale strategies and approaches, explore
innovative approaches to reaching the targets and design appropriate, relevant
and specific strategies and interventions based on specific needs and
circumstances. No more "business as usual" it's time for "business unusual".
* Localising the MDGS: MDGs must be mainstreamed and integrated into
local development plans; capacities of local authorities must be enhanced to
prioritise MDGs and increase access to information and engagement between
citizens and local authorities.
* Accountability: These plans must incorporate a strong focus on
addressing accountability of rich countries to poor countries (at the global
level) and from governments to citizens (at the national and local levels), on
the issue of MDGs for all. In turn, we should have a clear message and plan for
holding them to this commitment and we should articulate this loudly and often.
Citizens will be watching their governments and holding them accountable for
their commitments over the next five years.
* Goal 8: Rich countries should deliver to the Summit ambitious plans
with concrete timetables and deadlines to scale up aid efforts. Rich countries
must fulfill their existing aid commitments, deliver the 0.7 percent they have
pledged and make sure it is in line with oft-agreed aid effectiveness
principles, such as the Accra Agenda.
These plans should respect the policy space of poor countries and include
accountability mechanisms for aid delivery including tracking and mechanisms
for corrective action. In addition, the Summit outcome should include a
pro-poor breakthrough on the Doha trade talks.
* Inequality: The MDGs are for everybody. We will not accept inequality
in any area be it gender, spatial, ethnic (including the rights of indigenous
people and lower castes) or in relation to persons with disability.
* MDGs Are Achievable: Much progress has been made in the last decade
even in the poorest countries and most MDGs are still achievable in most
countries, as long as policies and implementation mechanisms that are
accountable to the poor are in place. In countries where governments have done
the right thing, success has followed. If this expands and continues there is
no reason why these successes cannot be repeated over the next five years.
* 2010 is not the beginning of a "new and uncertain" voyage towards the
MDGS: Rather, it is the "refueling' point on a voyage that has been ongoing for
ten years - more than long enough to have seen that the MDGs work. The next
five years are the final leg on that journey, what is needed is not a new set
of plans, but implementation of clear plans to reach the originally agreed
destination by 2015, building on the learning's of the first decade.
* Power of the People: We as individuals acting together have the power
to influence this process, but we must engage early and decisively to make this
happen.
Click here to join the Facebook debate
Click here to unsubscribe
Copyright © 2009
