The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has encouraged its members to stand up against poverty on 16 October 2006

 

CEMR has asked its members to organise events to contribute to the aim of setting a world record for the largest number of people to physically stand up in support of the United Nations Millennium development goals.

 

Local leaders can encourage their workforce to stand up against poverty, outside their city hall or main building, CEMR secretary general Jeremy Smith said. They can also persuade the general public to take part and spread the word via local media and other organisations.

 

The United Nations Millennium Campaign has organised the initiative to highlight awareness of the eight Millennium goals; it has enlisted the support of local government, with the aim of getting at least 10,000 people across the world to sit down and stand up on 16 October at 11.00am. The initiative has been timed to coincide with the international Day for poverty eradication on 17 October 2006.

 

CEMR is also organising a special conference on the Millennium development goals on 12-13 October in Lisbon.

 

The Millennium development goals

 

The Millennium development goals consists of a list of anti global poverty targets to reach by 2015. These targets were adopted by world leaders at the UN Millennium summit in September 2000; they include halving extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, reducing infant mortality rate, reversing the spreads of diseases such as AIDS and malaria, ensuring environmental sustainability...

 

More details on the Stand Up campaign

The UN's Millennium Development Goals website