FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GCAP LAUNCHES ‘PRESS THE 8’ CAMPAIGN IN ITALY, URGING G8 LEADERS TO HONOUR THEIR COMMITMENTS

2009-05-06

The world’s largest anti-poverty alliance, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), has devised a powerful new multi-media campaign aimed at exerting pressure on G8 nations to both accelerate efforts to address poverty and avoid using the recession as an excuse to renege on aid commitments.  With nearly a billion people hungry and global warming climbing to dangerous heights, GCAP’s ‘Press the 8’ public campaign was launched today in Rome by City Mayor Gianni Alemanno.

“This year, GCAP is asking the G8 to not abandon commitments made to poor countries on account of the global economic recession. We the public are putting pressure on the G8 countries to give this crisis the same kind of priority as they have to bailing-out banks and car companies. The economic crisis, climate change and the food price crisis threaten to reverse the progress made on reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals, We can’t let that happen, especially when we know that the poor are not responsible for the recession,” said Dennis Howlett, Coordinator of the Canadian Make Poverty History campaign and member of the GCAP Global Council.

The campaign is an exciting interactive tool www.whiteband.org/action/presstheg8 that encourages citizens worldwide to send a clear message to the G8 leaders on poverty issues.  The online part of the campaign allows anyone to ‘put pressure’ on the leader of their choice by simply squeezing down on the artistic impression of the leader’s head using the click of their computer mouse. An automated counter will record the number of ‘squeezes’ made for each leader. A similar campaign will be rolled out as part of an advertising campaign and through mobilizations before and during the G8 Summit on July 8-10. Created as a large installation of the eight leaders with a lever to push on each head, the interaction will have the same effect as the online version.

On Monday, Mayor Alemanno welcomed the campaign launch while stressing the importance of a global forum that will ensure ‘governments hear the voices of the civil society – in the shape of associations representing public opinion – before taking action.’

Seconding Alemanno, the Italian government representative for the G8 or the Sherpa Giampero Massolo stressed the need to protect shared property and the fundamental rights of all people.

“G8 leaders must map out a new model for development based on a new economic and financial structure, with a greater awareness of environmental damage and climate control,” said Massolo.

GCAP has published its common policy demands document outlining the issues that must be addressed by the G8. Firstly, global goods such as water, health and education are basic human rights and the G8’s commitments around these concerns must be met. Secondly, food prices rose to 85 per cent last year and the investments in agriculture development are still inadequate. For those reasons the G8 countries have to promote a small-scale agro-ecological farming model able to guarantee the protection of biodiversity and food security. In addition they must support decisive and effective policies that include the full participation of farmers’ organization and civil society organisations. Thirdly, G8 countries have to show leadership and support the new Copenhagen treaty on the emission reduction and encourage the transition from fossil fuel use to low-carbon alternatives.

G8 commitments made at Gleneagles in 2005 on poverty and the environment and reiterated in April at the G20 Summit in London, are far off target. Recent statistics from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation indicate that the number of people without access to sufficient food is now nearly 1 billion, up from 150 million two years ago and aid levels have been cut by many developed countries since the financial crisis hit in force.

For more information or to interview a GCAP campaigner, please contact:
Irene Ndiritu, Cel + 27 84 542 8441, irene.ndiritu[at]whiteband.org

www.whiteband.org

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