MakePovertyHistroy SIT-OUT: Government Buildings 6pm-6am

international | summit mobilisations | event notice Thursday September 08, 2005 14:09 by Michael

MakePovertyHistory sitout - Friday 9th September - Government Buildings - Merrion St. - 6pm to 6am

Please try and come along, even for an hour, between the above times.

Please e-mail/pass on to all that you know.

A child dies every 3 seconds from poverty realted causes.

MakePOVERTYHISTORY SITOUT

What will happen on Friday 9th September at Government Buildings?

MakePovertyHistory campaigners and supporters will gather at 6pm. The giant clock will start ticking and the giant counter will begin to record the needless death of a child, from extreme poverty, every three seconds.

Our programme is shaping up to be a brilliant evening of storytelling, music and theatre. As the ‘count’ starts at 6pm sharp, we request that you encourage your supporters to come along in advance of 6, at 5.45pm.

Each hour thereafter we will stop to Count the Cost, to tell stories of those who struggle to live in poor nations and reaffirm our commitment to MakePovertyHistory.

We will also celebrate the life we want for all with the stories, music, and entertainment. If you cannot come for the whole night, why not come for a few hours, at the beginning, during the evening, or on you way home from the night out? Would you conisder supporting the "all nighters" during the tough hours of 2am to 5am?

This is just a few tips about what to bring!
• Warm clothes and shoes
• If you play an instrument bring it along
• Bring playing cards or other games
• Flask of tea or soup
• Bring an umbrella
• If you can, bring a seat – like a stool or a cushion or a beanbag! There will be
tables and chairs along the pavement as well
• Bring a blanket .. or a hot water bottle!

Why a Sit-Out outside Government Buildings?
The purpose of the event is to ‘Sit Out and Count the Cost’ - of the inadequate response of our government in tackling poverty and injustice in the developing world. This event coincides with millions of campaigners around the world who will also be taking action against poverty during that period. The Sit-Out is planned to take place just days before our Taoiseach, along with all other world leaders, travel to the UN Millennium Summit in New York in order to speak on our behalf about how Ireland intends living up to our commitment of reaching the Millennium Development Goals which aim to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Crucially, at the UN Summit the Taoiseach should announce by when Ireland will meet our obligation of spending 0.7% of GNP in overseas aid.

The event is planned to put pressure on the government to take urgent action on the three themes of the Make Poverty History Campaign – to deliver more and better aid, debt cancellation and trade justice to the world’s poorest countries. The event will highlight that while the government are sleeping, a child dies every three seconds from poverty related illnesses in the developing world. Our Sit-Out will count the time passing and correspondingly the numbers of lives lost over the 12 hour period.

White Band Day II, on10 September 2005, will remind world leaders, meeting at the UN Summit in New York, that the world is still watching and waiting for them to make poverty history.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:-

http://www.debtireland.org
http://www.makepovertyhistory.ie/
http://www.oxfam.ie/
www.dochas.ie