Jordan joins the world in the global ‘STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)’ event to break World Record
As part of the global initiatives organized in observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty , UN Resident Coordinator in Jordan, Mr. Luc Stevens urged all the UN agencies in Jordan to organize events and encourage staff to become actively involved in this year’s ‘Stand Up and Speak Out against Poverty’ campaign.
Organized globally by the UN Millennium Campaign for the first time last year, the event saw the participation of more than 23.5 million people who literally stood up against poverty and in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). By doing this, concerned citizens around the world engaged their governments and demonstrated that there is a growing movement of individuals who believe that it is not just their right but also their responsibility to stand up in the face of poverty. Their actions also set the first ever Guinness World Record for the largest number of people to be mobilised on a single day against poverty.
For the second time, the United Nations this year is again joining forces with the aim to double last year’s number by mobilising an even greater number of people to stand up to remind world leaders and their governments of the commitments they undertook in the 2000 Millennium Declaration to halve the number of people lining in extreme poverty by 2015.
This year, Jordan saw participation of more than 2500 from Yarmouk and Muta Universities and Mu’ta School.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has also reported today that they managed to mobilize more than 124000 stundents in 177 of its schools around the Kingdom this year.
Being at the forefront of the fight against poverty in their daily work, more than 100 representatives and staff members in the country of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) have reaffirmed today during their Stand Up event their commitment to continue the fight in a world where 50,000 people die every day as a result of extreme poverty and the gap between rich and poor is getting wider.
The campaign has again been timed this year to coincide with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty during the 24 hour period between Oct. 16th at 9 p.m. GMT and October. 17th at 9 p.m.
Through resolution 47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. The resolution further invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to assist States, at their request, in organizing national activities for the observance of the Day, and requests the Secretary-General to take, within existing resources, the measures necessary to ensure the success of the Day's observance by the United Nations.
Since then, the October 17th presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty.