International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The International Day for the Eradication of
Poverty is celebrated every year on October 17 throughout the world. It was
officially recognised by the United Nations, but
the first commemoration of the event took place in Paris, France, in 1987 when 100,000 people gathered on the Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the Trocadéro to honour victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear. This call was made by Joseph Wresinski (1917–1988) founder of the International
Movement ATD Fourth World.
(The International Movement ATD Fourth World is a nonprofit organization which aims towards the
eradication of chronic poverty through a human-rights based approach. It works
in partnership with communities across the world to end the exclusion and
injustice of persistent poverty, and focuses on learning from and supporting families
living in poverty, through grass-roots presence and involvement in
disadvantaged communities).
One of the main aims of the day is to make the voice
of the poor heard. To this end, commemorations often include testimonies from
people living in poverty, describing their own experiences or those of people
they know.
«Wherever men and women are condemned to live in
extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that
these rights be respected is our solemn duty. » – Joseph Wresinski (1917–1988) founder of ATD Fourth World.
Pardon! This delay isn't my fault, problems with the Internet!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a very important day, not only for the USA but for other countries (particulary for Russia too).
ReplyDeleteSome statistics:
854 million people are undernourished.
Annually, Americans spend over $558 billion eating out and $33 billion on weight loss products.
One child dies every 5 seconds due to hunger-related causes.
Half the world's population lives on less than $2 a day.
1.6 billion people have no access to drinking water.
Every day over 29,000 children die from preventable diseases. Providing malaria prevention to the developing world would only cost $4.2 billion.
$24 billion a year would be enough to deliver life-saving health services to low-income countries.
The cost of eradicating poverty is only 1% of global income.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZblPaIXiTs
The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 each year since 1993. It promotes people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, particularly in developing countries.
ReplyDeleteVarious non-government organizations and community charities support the Day for the Eradication of Poverty by actively calling for country leaders and governments to make the fight against poverty a central part of foreign policy. Other activities may include signing “Call to action” petitions, organizing concerts and cultural events, and holding interfaith gatherings that may include a moment of silence.
The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to October 17, 1987. On that date, more than 100,000 people gathered in Paris, France, to honor the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. Since that moment, individuals and organizations worldwide observed October 17 as a day to renew their commitment in collaborating towards eradicating poverty.
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is a call to everyone to gather with people living in extreme poverty to share and exchange information, as equal partners, on initiatives that focus on the most vulnerable and excluded populations, and their active participation in poverty eradication. This day is also a call to strengthen the ways in which we communicate with one another so that we can better share our thoughts, lessons learned, experiences, and act in solidarity against poverty and social injustice.
How can we bridge the gap from poverty to decent work? By investing in economic and social policies that foster job creation; promoting decent labour conditions and deepening social protection systems. Access to education, public health and job training is also essential.
ReplyDeleteThe observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17 th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day. One such replica is located in the garden of United Nations Headquarters and is the site of the annual commemoration organized by the United Nations Secretariat in New York.