That's good to know, trevster2k - the international whiteband movement needs Canadians to keep the pressure on PM Martin.
Here is a very lengthy but interesting clip from the GCAP email newsletter.
GCAP is the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and is the international umbrella organization of which ONE.org and MakePovertyHistory.org are member organizations.
This is the international white band movement. You can find them by going to
http://www.whiteband.org
This is TRULY an international movement for social justice.
Thanks for your interest.
GCAP Programme of events at the G8
There is a massive range of debates, events, parallel summits and other
activities happening within Edinburgh, Scotland, to campaign for change
at
the G8. GCAP has a central location at the heart of all these events -
the
GCAP 'hub' - and this will be the central space during the Long Walk to
Justice.
There will be on-going debates, seminars, and panel discussions about
debt,
aid, trade justice and governance, with perspectives from the national
campaigns, within the GCAP 'hub'. The space will also act as a space
for
delegates to talk and share the work of their GCAP country coalition
with
the many hundreds of thousands of people who will be in Edinburgh.
Events to mark the end of the Long Walk to Justice - 6th July
Participants in the Long Walk from across the world (an estimated
60,000,
with UK and European people) will all come together at an event in the
Edinburgh rugby stadium (Murrayfield) on the evening of the 6th. The
event
will be the 'send off' of the delegation to meet the G8 leaders on the
evening of 6 July to present the people's petition to the leaders to
end
poverty. GCAP will be represented on the stage in Murrayfield and the
event
will include singers and well-known speakers.
The delegation that will then go on to Gleneagles will include GCAP
representatives from the South.
3. July 1 events around the world
Some of the world's 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
world's
largest anti-poverty movement, landmarks including Australia's Sydney
Harbour Bridge, Rome's Trevi Fountain, a huge mosque in Indonesia, St
Paul's
Cathedral in London, Berlin's 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 Salvador's 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 world's 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 - it's 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 July's 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 week's Summit, GCAP will be calling on G8 leaders to
extend
the scope of June's 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 world's poorest countries, including Sri
Lanka,
Bangladesh and Haiti. "We want to see the same political will which led
to
Iraq's debt mountain being written off virtually overnight applied to
the
world's 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.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Australia - Wrapping of Sidney Harbour Bridge and events in Perth and
Melbourne. MDG 'statues' will walk from the Archibald Fountain to the
Harbour after the unfurling of a gigantic banner with the Make Poverty
History inscription. In Melbourne, a Make Poverty History hot air
balloon
will rise above the city and at noon giant letters with the same slogan
will
rove the city until 2pm.
Indonesia - Wrapping of the country's biggest mosque in Jakarta
followed by
prayers.
Japan - Japan's White Band Day will focus on the Live 8 concert in a
stadium
outside Tokyo featuring Bjork and Deftek, among other international
artists.
Vietnam - A meeting bringing together the poor, policymakers, donor
agencies, embassy representatives, NGOs and media. This will be
followed by
a rally along the main streets of Hanoi where people's signatures to
support
the global coalition will be collected. Rally and meeting participants
will
wear white bands to express a clear message : the demand for an end to
poverty.
Sri Lanka - Civil society groups will gather together at the
Independence
Square, Colombo wearing white bands and white clothes. The group will
them
march to G8 embassies to hand over a memo to G8 leaders. White flowers
will
be given to all ambassadors.
Nepal - A peace rally in Kathmandu and a memo to G8 embassies sent by
Nepali
civil society organisations. The memo will highlight areas of debt,
foreign
aid and trade that are of grave concern for Nepali society.
Philippines - A concert cum rally with dragon clothed in the campaign's
symbolic white performing a dance before the audience.
India: On 1 July the Indian platform Wada na Tado will be holding a
rally in
Delhi. A delegation will also submit a charter of demands to the Prime
Minister and G8 Ambassadors, which will be followed by a press
conference.
Hundreds of people will then march to Parliament House, concluding with
a
human chain, which will be carrying a white banner made up of different
pieces, each with a different message. Nukkad nataks (street plays)
will
also be take place at various key places in the city. These and related
events will be taking place all over the country. For further
information,
e-mail:
wadanatodoabhiyan@rediffmail.com or visit: Web:
www.socialwatchindia.com
AFRICA
Sierra Leone - Cotton wrapping and street party. A white piece of cloth
will
be wrapped around the famous "Freetown Cotton Tree" planted by freed
slaves.
A concert will also be held in the centre of Freetown with local
artists
performing live music and a call will be made on G8 leaders to
immediately
consider Sierra Leone for a 100% debt cancellation.
Mozambique - Concert and a march. Two mass activities are planned for
July
1. There will be a music concert in the Maputo slums with local
musicians
and crowds joining together for an end to poverty and a march that will
involve churches, students and trade unions to the US embassy.
Tanzania - Rally. Organised by Social Watch, there will be a forum, in
the
form of a rally, held with civil society, government and UN officials
in Dar
Es Salaam. In the evening a reception involving civil society,
governments
and donors will be held at the Sweet Easy Hotel.
South Africa - March. Southern African Catholic Bishops Commission have
organised a protest march to the US embassy where a petition will be
delivered.
Uganda - March. In Kampala there will be a street march. The Uganda
coalition will additionally launch a Millennium development Goals
report and
present it to government.
Nigeria - A coalition will converge in Abuja, march, and distribute
leaflets
at the embassies of G8 countries throughout the city.
Ghana - Beach party. With farmers' organisation, the beach party will
highlight the plight of rice farmers due to unfair trade rules.
Kenya - Wrapping of Kenyatta International Conference Centre and
marches to
G8 embassies to present GCAP list of demands will be the occurrence in
Nairobi. On July 2 thousands of people are expected to gather together
at
Uhuru Park to be part of "The People's March for Justice: an interfaith
and
Civil Society Organization Campaign to End Poverty."
Zambia - A march to G8 embassies to present petitions and a radio
program on
Zambia's number one independent radio station, Phoenix FM will mark the
Zambian campaign.
EUROPE
Italy - The Trevi Fountain in Rome will be draped in a white band.
France - The Trocadero's buildings, with the Eiffel Tower as a
backdrop,
will be wrapped with two white bands.
Germany - Bandenburger Tor will be wrapped with a white band.
UK - St. Paul's Cathedral will be wrapped in a massive white band.
Austria: 60 School Kids will wrap their own 300m White Band around the
Federal Chancellery in Vienna on 30 June. The street theater group,
SogTheater, will accompany this action. Politicians and press will join
the
action and raise awareness on the global fight against poverty.
In the evening of 30 June there will be an expert discussion about
Austria's
contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Throughout
the project time petitions have been collected in regional public fora
in
Upper Austria, Styria and Tyrol; those will be handed over to the
representative of the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
The action is part of the project 'MDGs do it!', launched by the human
rights organisation FIAN, Food First Information and Action Network,
and
Südwind. Visit:
www.armutszeugnis.at
Spain: On 25 June, the Spanish coalition organised one of the largest
anti
poverty rallies in Spain's history, attracting 50,000 people from all
over
the country. The rally took place in Madrid.
Sweden: On the 1st White Band Day the Swedish GCAP platform, Utrota
Fattigdomen Nu, is planning to cover parts of the centre of Stockholm
and
Gothenburg in white bands, which they hope to extend to more towns and
cities. A press conference will be held in Stockholm to inform people
of
GCAP and the G8 Summit. After the press conference a delegation will
hand
over the demands of the Swedish campaign to the British Embassy.
There has already been extensive media coverage about the upcoming Live
8
concerts, and Swedish Public Service TV will broadcast the concerts on
the
day.
White bands and information about the campaign have also been sent to
all
Swedish EU Parliamentarians as part of the upcoming white band week in
Strasbourg.
4. Regional news
This week, we are pleased to present a special feature on the GCAP
activities in various Arab countries and in Europe.
Lebanon: The Collective of NGOs in Lebanon and the Lebanese Center for
Training of Unionists, which is part of Public Services International,
have
called for a mobilization on the 1st of July at 12 noon at the Martyr's
Square in down town Beirut. The two groups have been working with the
media
and have been hosted on several TV shows to talk about GCAP. They have
also
issued a press release on the planned mobilization. The groups will
also
prepare a list of demands to be presented to official groups and
institutions, a brochure on poverty in Lebanon, a localized white band
and
shirts to be used in a mobilization in July. The organizers have been
holding several TV interviews on national and regional TV stations.
Contact
points:
Ms. Sabah Bader El Deen, Collective of NGOs in Lebanon,
colectif@cyberia.net.lb
Ms. Shaheenaz El Zein, Lebanese Center for Training of Unionists,
ltutc@cyberia.net.lb
Jordan: Launch of National Coalition for the GCAP in Jordan
Upon a call from the Jordanian Women's Union (JWU), a national
coalition for
the GCAP was launched in Jordan and it includes unionists, civil
society
activists, representatives of political parties and parliamentarians as
well
as media personnel. The participants in the coalition agreed upon the
participation in mobilization for July 1st, which is going to take
place in
front of the United Nations headquarters in Jordan. The coalitions
called
for the implementation of the following activities with the framework
of the
GCAP in Jordan:
· Launch and expansion of the national coalition for the Global Call to
Action against Poverty in Jordan
· Writing to the government regarding the political and economic
impacts of
policies imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
on
the Jordanian society, combating corruption, importance of the pan-Arab
economic exchange and complementarities, reform of the labor law and
social
protection systems as well as the health insurance systems, the threats
of
privatizing education and health sectors, and the impact of
militarization
on the socio-economic projects in the country.
· Raising a petition to the G8 meeting regarding the debts of Jordan
· Organizing an awareness raising campaign for civil society
organizations
at the national level regarding the impacts of the current economic
policies
on the standards of living in Jordan and the levels of unemployment and
poverty in the Jordanian society
Accordingly, participants in the coalition agreed on the importance of
moving fast for larger mobilization within the GCAP campaign in Jordan,
and
the wide use of the white band. They started planning visits to poverty
pockets and slums in the capital and other regions of Jordan. The
coalition
will be working actively with media groups in Jordan and posting
updates on
their activities on their websites. Contact point: Jordanian Women
Union
jwu@go.com.jo
Yemen: Following series of meetings, the GCAP Yemen's National
Coalition
developed a comprehensive plan on supporting the 1st White Band day
(July
1st 2005). The slogan of the campaign will be "Poverty is the Enemy of
Humanity". Due to the weekend in Yemen (Thursday and Friday), the
collation
decided to organize the main activities on 29th June.
On 29th June at 10:00 am, a minimum of 500 persons (representing CSOs)
will
be gathering in the premises of the Yemeni Women Union (YWU). CSOs
representatives and some celebrities (yet to be decided) will talk to
media.
At 12:00 noon, 5 representatives of the collation will meet the
Ambassador
of UK in Yemen and will deliver a letter asking for debt cancellation
and
increased aid to poor countries (the meeting was arranged with the
Ambassador). The letter will be complemented by one million signatures
of
Yemeni people from all over the country on support of the two demands.
A
team of Oxfam GB staff in Yemen will join the collation's
representatives in
the meeting with the Ambassador. Both activities (at YWU and UK
Embassy)
will be will be intensively covered by national and regional media.
Similar
letters with copies of signatures will be delivered to the Ambassadors
of
other G 8 countries in Yemen. White Bands with the national slogan will
be
posted on 5 sites in Sana'a (25th June - 5th July).
In view of the above, the following preparatory activities were
arranged and
on progress:
2500 personal White Bands (a white strip with black slogan in both
Arabic
and English) prepared. The 5 WBs to be posted on sites are under
preparation.
On 19th June, the collation organized a joint planning session with
selected
media persons and a detailed media plan was developed. On 23rd June, a
press
conference was organized to enlighten the media on the GCAP and planned
activities in Yemen.
Starting 24th June, there will be comprehensive media coverage by 6
national
newspapers, the national radio and TV, two governorate radios and 3
regional
TV channels.
So far, 300,000 signatures were collected from different parts of
Yemen.
Contact point: Mr. Ayman Omar, Oxfam GB in Yemen,
AOmer@oxfam.org.uk
Al Shakaik Group,
amal_basha@yahoo.com
Sudan: The national campaign for the GCAP has been launched by the
Center
for Gender Research and Training in coordination with the Sudanese
Civic
Forum during the day of the African child in the presence of 32
representatives of various Sudanese NGOs, whereby GCAP brochures have
been
distributed. Contact point: Center for Gender Research and Training,
Ms.
Neimat Koko,
kniemat@hotmail.com
Palestine : A committee of 11 people representing several of NGOs
working in
different field in Palestine was established to follow the GCAP
activities.
The committee is setting its work plan for GCAP activities during July
and
September. Contact point: Mohsen Aburamadan, Tel 082828106, Fax
082847745,
m_aburamadan@hotmail.com ; And Palestinian NGO Network PNGO,
bisanrd@palnet.com ,
pngonet@p-ol.com
Europe
Wrapping of European Parliament
>From 4th to 6th July, the building of the European Parliament in
Strasbourg,
France, will be wrapped with two White Bands. A 220m long White Band
will go
all the way around the Hemicycle, a second White Band, 50m long, will
be
displayed inside the building. Josep Borrell, president of the European
Parliament, will explain in the opening session on Monday, 4th July why
those White Bands are there, and what they imply for the European
Parliament. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will have the
possibility to sign the smaller White Band, but it will be made clear
to
them that signing it does have implications: They will be expected to
make
serious steps forward to making poverty history.
The wrapping of the European Parliament coincides with the beginning of
the
UK presidency of the European Council. A special focus will therefore
be put
on GCAP demands towards the UK presidency.
National GCAP platforms from the Czech Republic, France, Germany,
Italy,
Spain and the UK will be represented in Strasbourg during the whole
parliamentary session and will inform the MEPs about GCAP. More
activities
like press conferences, photo opportunities and probably a film
screening
will also take place. For more information about the wrapping of the
European Parliament please contact Ian (ian@solidar.org).
