Stand Up and Speak Out

Stand Up and Speak Out is a worldwide call to action against poverty and inequality taking place around World Poverty Day on Wednesday 17 October.

It is co-ordinated by the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), the worldwide alliance of anti-poverty campaigns of which Jubilee Debt Campaign is part.

A global day of action
On 16 and 17 October people around the world will literally and symbolically Stand Up and Speak Out, demanding their governments keep their promises to end extreme poverty, including by meeting and exceeding the Millennium Development Goals.

Last year, more than 23 million people took part and set a new Guinness World Record. This year, the aim is to help break this record so the message rings even louder. Every person counts!

The mobilisation is supporting Debt Week, and you can make the connection by SPEAKING OUT a statement about debt. You can also read out the Stand Up Against Poverty pledge (see right).

Why Stand Up and Speak Out?
In 2000, leaders of 189 countries signed up to the Millennium Development Goals, a global plan to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Yet, every day, 50,000 people die as a result of extreme poverty and the gap between rich and poor is getting wider. Campaigners will Stand Up and Speak Out to make governments honour their commitments on debt cancellation, more and better aid, trade justice, gender equality and public accountability. It will not happen without all of us taking a stand.

How can you get involved?
There are two ways you and your group can join this exciting global day of action:

1. Arrange your own Stand Up event.

2. Join an existing event – find out about UK events by visiting www.standagainstpoverty.org/events/uk

How it works
The idea is to have a Stand Up and Speak Out moment within the event, which could be a specific meeting or an existing event such as a church service or sports match. At a key point, everyone is asked to STAND UP in unison and SPEAK OUT against poverty. Once they have stood up people can be asked to perform an appropriate symbolic action such as reading an anti-poverty pledge, lifting arms, or waving flags.

Connect your Stand Up and Speak Out moment to Debt Week by reading a statement about debt, either the one provided by JDC or one you choose or write yourself. You could also combine your event with lobbying your MP by inviting them to attend – and using the opportunity to hand over some Lift the Lid postcards for them to pass on to the government.

World record attempt
All actions must take place within 24 hours between 10pm on October 16th and 10pm on October 17th to count towards breaking the Guinness World Record set last year.

Make sure you count the number of people involved and record this via the online form at: www.standagainstpoverty.org

Media work
You can download a template press release to send to your local newspaper, television and radio stations using on the link on the right of this page. Further media resources may appear at: www.standagainstpoverty.org/en/press