http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/wvmeero/f4b51fa1e78f783a5d17d36 5b136143e.htm 500 young people call for poverty reduction in Romania and worldwide 22 Oct 2007 12:01:47 GMT Source: <http://www.alertnet.org/thepeople/members/10848865328.htm> World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO) Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone. Some 500 teenagers and young adults in Cluj-Napoca, northwestern Romania, called politicians to take action against poverty in support of the global campaign for poverty reduction, 'Stand Up and Speak Out'.
Participants signed a petition for Cluj-Napoca to become the first Romanian city to join the Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP) and stood up for several minutes in the centre of Cluj city wearing white bands on their wrists and holding banners with the well-known GCAP slogans, 'Stand up and Speak out!' and 'Make Poverty History!'. The event was organized by World Vision and Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR) on 16 and 17 October. GCAP is a worldwide alliance of trade unions, community groups, NGOS and other campaigners committed to seeing leaders fulfill their promises towards poverty reduction. They also requested that Romanian politicians fulfill their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as Romania is one of 189 nations that adopted the Millennium Declaration during the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. The MDGs are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges, including education, maternal health, gender equality, child mortality, environmental sustainability, and AIDS and other diseases. High school students participated in the events after employees and volunteers from World Vision and PATRIR lectured in nine high schools in Cluj-Napoca to raise awareness of extreme poverty and its consequences around the world. World Vision also partnered with other NGOs to organize a Parliamentary debate in which decision-makers, members of parliaments, and representatives from the international community and NGOs discussed how Romania could fulfill the MDGs by 2015. The debate, funded by the European Commission and the United Nations Program for Development, took place in capital city Bucharest on 16 October. As a new member state of the European Union, Romania is expected to strengthen its efforts towards the fulfillment of the MDGs both nationally and internationally. 'Romania is in a time of transition. While we still need support and resources to fight against poverty in our own country, we will soon emerge as a donor country to contribute to development efforts worldwide,' said World Vision Romania's Mirela Oprea at the debate. For more information on GCAP events see <http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/photos-map> http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/photos-map [ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ] (C) Reuters Foundation ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix) Aboneaza-te la <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ngo_list> ngo_list: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?
