Upcoming Stand Up Events
Here is more on what is happening around the world re-blogged from an United Nations Millennium Campaign email.
With less than 40 days left until "Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now" in 2009, the excitement and energy behind this global anti-poverty movement is building rapidly. From Uganda to Canada and Poland to Nepal, people all over the world are sharing their stories and creativity with us, telling us about the incredible events that they have planned for "Stand Up" this year.
World leaders will hear the "Stand Up" pledge echoing from the highest point in the world when anti-poverty campaigners climb to the top of Mount Everest. Some incredible people in Nepal are planning this high-profile mobilization. In neighboring India, there are plans to host a creative writing competition around "Stand Up" for young people in Patna. A short boat ride across the Indian Ocean in Uganda, there are plans to host 5,000 students at a public debate about the MDGs -- along with a music concert with gospel singers and prominent speakers at an event for over 15,000 people. Continents away in Edmonton, Canada, a very enthusiastic group of college students are coordinating a campus-wide initiative wrapping hundreds of trees in white 'Make Poverty History' bands and with their University President delivering the "Stand Up" pledge. A member of the Canadian parliament will speak at the event on behalf of the Canadian Government. Down south in sunny California, 1,200 people are ready to parade onto a soccer field where they intend to form a large peace sign with their bodies prior to 'Standing Up'. This will be followed by a number of youngsters staging a Kite Fair (based on the book The Kite Runner) to raise funds for impoverished students in Afghanistan and in support of women entrepreneurs in Guatemala. In Europe, an MDG lecture series at colleges will lead up to two prominent Polish musicians taking the stage in Warsaw to anchor a large "Stand Up" event.
Stand Up events and actions are coming to us from all over the world in all shapes, colors and sizes. Share your ideas and plans with us. Let us know how you are doing your part to call out to politicians and ask them to bring an end to extreme poverty. Find out more on www.standagainstpoverty.org.
