What’s involved?
We’re uniting a generation to create a sustainable world free from the devastation of poverty.
In May 2010 you could be one of the 1000 young people who will embark on a nationwide road trip to help end extreme poverty. We will be leaving from every major city in the country in order to spread the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY message and raise awareness of global poverty. Through flash mobs, meetings with MPs and businesses, speeches at schools, music events and more, we will generate the groundswell of support necessary to achieve real change.
Each road trip will converge on Canberra from the 12th to the 14th of May for a 3 day summit that will unite us in a call for action. We will urge individuals, communities and governments to do more to create the world we all want to live in. We will demand Australia keep its promise to increase foreign aid to 0.7% of our GNI.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your help. If you are aged from 16-26, are confident, engaging and a natural leader who is passionate about ending world poverty, we want you on our bus! Join the movement to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY by becoming an ambassador for change.
As an ambassador you will be given the training and skills needed to make a difference. Your bus will travel through Australia’s cities and towns, inspiring thousands of people to join the fight against global poverty. Being an ambassador will be at times crazy and fun, at others difficult and challenging. But one thing is for sure – it will never be dull!
Why should people do this?
In September 2000, in front of the whole world, Australia made a promise.
Our nation, standing proudly alongside over 150 world leaders at the historic UN Millennium Summit in New York, made a promise to fight extreme poverty.
Together with these nations, we signed a declaration committing us to a new global partnership and a new future for the world’s poor. We undertook to work with the rest of the world to meet a specific set of targets by 2015 that became known as the Millennium Development Goals. Among them are promises to cut extreme poverty in half, to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate of children under the age of five, and to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
The Millennium Development Goals are extensive and ambitious – but they are by no means unreachable.
In order to achieve these targets, the world’s 22 wealthiest countries must allocate the equivalent of 70 cents from every $100 earned in their economies to development aid. This is 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI).
Currently, only Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg, Denmark and the Netherlands have reached this target. Indeed all five have given more than 0.8% of their GNI as aid.
Sadly, despite being ranked 14th in the IMF’s list of the world’s richest countries, Australia has consistently lagged behind in its generosity towards the developing world. Our current aid effort has stalled at 0.5% GNI – a figure to be reached by 2015 rather than our existing contribution.
That is not enough.
If Australia is serious about ending extreme poverty, we must act now. We must work with the rest of the world to ensure that every child lives to their 5th birthday, that every mother survives childbirth, and that no one has to suffer the harrowing effects of prolonged hunger. Australia must do its fair share and pledge 0.7% of our GNI to end poverty. Surely 99.3% is enough for us?
With only 5 more years before the MDG deadline, it’s time to crank up our efforts. Australians must come together and show that they are no longer content to let the world suffer. We are the first generation to possess the resources, knowledge and skills needed to eliminate poverty. Now we must stand up and make our voices heard. We must demand more from our government and insist that they keep their promise.
The Australian Government must step up to the challenge and join the rest of the world in a serious effort to eradicate extreme poverty. It must commit to our fair share of 0.7% in aid before it’s too late.
Let 2010 be the year Australia decides to make a real difference.
Other stuff
The Road Trip will depart from: Melbourne; Sydney; Canberra; Brisbane; Adelaide; Hobart & Perth.
* BE QUICK - APPLICATIONS CLOSE MARCH 15TH. *
Contact information
For more information, and to apply, head to www.theroadtrip.com.au today.
Find us online:
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/MAKE-POVERTY-HISTORY-Road-Trip-2010/306410560014 || Twitter - http://twitter.com/MPHroadtrip
