Stand up for poverty this weekend

With the credit crunch looming over our lives it is easy to forget that life is a daily struggle for the millions of people in developing countries who face extreme poverty.

As world leaders pledge bail-out money for financial institutions, this week people worldwide are being asked to stand up for a minute, between Friday and Sunday, in solidarity towards the eradication of poverty.

By standing up, people will be showing that they refuse to accept more excuses in a world where 50,000 people die every day as a result of extreme poverty and where the gap between rich and poor is getting wider.

"Standing up may seem a simple gesture with little impact. However, it is a meaningful action, a sign of hope, an expression from the world's citizens who believe in a society where true justice and true peace are possible," said Mario Gerada from SKOP - The National Platform of Maltese Non Governmental Development Organisations.

"This is one of the citizens' biggest movements as this simple gesture sends a strong political message and calls on politicians to keep the promises enshrined in the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," he said.

These goals were agreed to by 189 nations - including Malta - in 2000 and pledged among other things, to half extreme poverty, halt the spread of AIDS/HIV and provide universal primary education by 2015.

Following last year's success, when 15,948 Maltese and Gozitans stood up together with a further 43 million worldwide, SKOP is once again inviting people to join the global Stand Up campaign to show solidarity with the fight against extreme poverty and inequality.

Participants can send photographs and details with the number of people who stood up and the name of the organisation, workplace or school by sending a text message on 7984 2015 or an e-mail to standupmalta@gmail.com.

SKOP will also be holding the second seminar on the MDGs on Friday at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The seminar - which is organised in collaboration with the voluntary organisations Kopin (Koperazzjoni Internazzjonali), STOPoverty and Global Action Schools - is free and is aimed at raising awareness about poverty and global issues and enhancing networking capacities between organisations involved in development work.

In similar vein, on Saturday Moviment Graffitti will be holding the annual Reclaim the World activities in Freedom Square, Valletta, starting at 10 a.m.

The activities, that include two panel discussions, aim to highlight social injustice brought about by globalisation.

The activity will come to an end with a live concert at 7 p.m.