Mobilisation guide for White Band Day 2
Five years on from the Millennium Summit world leaders are meeting, from 14 –16 September, to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals at the UN MDG +5 Summit. Thus far, efforts to reach the MDGs have fallen woefully short of what is needed to achieve them. Which is why, just ahead of this Summit on 10 September, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is organizing White Band Day 2 – the second in a series of massive international mobilizations from GCAP.
White Band Day 2: September 10 2005
Mobilisation Guide
White Band Day 2: What We’re Doing and Why
Five years on from the Millennium Summit world leaders are meeting, from 14 –16 September, to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals at the UN MDG +5 Summit. Thus far, efforts to reach the MDGs have fallen woefully short of what is needed to achieve them. Which is why, just ahead of this Summit on 10 September, the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is organizing White Band Day 2 – the second in a series of massive international mobilizations from GCAP. GCAP will send a clear message to governments across the world that politicians must keep their promises to achieve the MDGs. Together, we will show the breadth and depth of support for action now to end poverty.
The GCAP International Facilitation Group met last month in Bangkok and put together a range of messages and actions focusing on the UN Summit. This mobilization guide gives an overview of the agreed actions and messages from this meeting. Of course, national coalitions will undertake their own events and actions, with their own messaging, but if we unite and speak with one voice, we can make a powerful impact and force our leaders to take action before it is too late.
GCAP messages for the UN MDG Summit +5
At an international level we will demand that rich countries and international institutions change trade rules, give more and better aid and debt relief. At a national level, GCAP national coalitions will press for the specific changes that are most urgently needed to progress the MDGs and policies to eradicate poverty in their country.
Below are five messages agreed to at the recent meeting in Bangkok, as well as some of the suggestions on how these policy demands may translate into slogans. These are meant to act as a broad framework to unite GCAP coalitions: it is up to each national coalition to work on the slogans and combinations of messages to suit their own national context, but it is hoped that by speaking together our voice becomes more powerful.
1. Missing MDGs: (Slogan Examples: Gender parity now! An end to patriarchy)
2. Human Centered Security: (Slogan Examples: Peace and Freedom from fear and want, freedom to live in dignity / Sustainable Existence, environmental, social, food, livelihood and economic security)
3. Right to Quality Public Services and Resources: (Slogan Examples: no to privatisation / Free education, health, and water for everyone, end user fees now)
4. Just Democratic Governance:(Slogan Examples: Stop wasting our money – Govern for the people – fight poverty / Right to information / No corruption – North and South / Stop Human Rights Abuses/ Accountable IFIs / accountability to the people)
5. Debt Cancellation, Trade Justice, a major increase in the Quality and Quantity of Aid. (Slogan Examples: Stop breaking your promises / this debt is unjust)
GCAP White Band Day 2: Globally coordinated national actions
The suggested globally coordinated actions for national coalitions from the Bangkok meeting are also only intended to act as a broad guide for groups to incorporate into pre-existing plans for White Band Day 2 and to adapt to suit their local and national context – but please remember that when we unite in joint initiatives we are much more powerful.
Wake-Up to Poverty! Actions
The key actions include a wake-up call for national delegates going to the Summit. We want world leaders to hear the people’s call to take action on poverty. As each country is allowed four delegates to the UN Summit, the intention is to ‘wake them up’ before they depart for New York. So that on September 10, for White Band Day 2, millions of people will be literally waking up their country’s politicians with the rallying cry that they should Wake-Up to Poverty! These actions would be repeated in New York, on the opening day of the Summit, with a stunt including alarm clocks to ‘Wake-up’ the delegates.
There are four broad areas of action that fall into the Wake-Up to Poverty! actions:
1. Wake-Up to Poverty! lobby meetings
Breakfast lobby meeting: try to organise a breakfast Wake-up to Poverty! meeting on 10 September with one of your government’s delegation going to the UN Summit (to find out more about your country’s delegation, please email: [email protected]). Get someone who is directly affected by poverty to tell their story, as well as including representatives from within the coalition.
Hand-over of Wake-Up to Poverty! petitions / testimonies: Collect thousands of testimonies from poor or marginalized people to be handed over to your governments delegation (see below under the Local Action section for examples of wake-up to poverty testimonies that could be collected), or alternatively, get as many people as possible to sign a petition with your national policy demands to hand-over to politicians.
Wake-up press call: if you can’t secure a meeting, then try to organise a press call early in the morning to highlight the refusal of your government to meet with you: use this space to tell the media about the demands of your coalition. One idea could be to have a symbolic empty chair in the press conference that ‘should’ have been filled by your government representative, or a cardboard model of this person could be placed on the chair.
2. Wake-Up to Poverty! rallies, demos and marches
These events could take a number of forms, for example: a march or rally to Parliament Buildings or one of the delegates’ homes early in the morning; or an all-night vigil outside, that ends with a large celebratory wake-up call to your government.
Wake-Up to Poverty! Rallies and marches: if you are holding a rally or march target government buildings, or the houses of one of your government’s Summit delegation.
Wake-up morning call: If you can get access and permission to visit the house of one of the delegates going to the Summit, why not go and do an early morning ‘door knock’ action. Take a delegation of people affected by poverty, invite the media to follow you and knock on their doors.
A Wake-Up to Poverty! jamboree or festival: You may feel that a more celebratory tone suits the mood in your country better. If so, have a massive carnival, jamboree or festival against poverty. Start it early in the morning and get well-known VIPs to give rallying speeches on ending poverty.
All night Wake-Up to Poverty! vigils: An all night candlelit vigil outside government buildings that ends in the morning with a big symbolic Wake-Up to Poverty! action – perhaps with a march or festival, or with all the people attending ringing alarm clocks.
Wave off the delegates: Many groups are already planning to have events where they wave off their country’s delegation at the airport when they leave, so that before they leave for the Summit, civil society has one last chance to make their demands heard.
Rallies outside your UN Buildings: If there is a UN building in your country, why not also have a rally outside the building?
3. Wake-Up to Poverty! media work
Early morning Wake-Up to Poverty! slot on a TV or radio breakfast show: Get an early morning slot on radio/TV, or a morning newspaper to run a Wake-Up to Poverty! article in national or local newspapers.
Make a “I Wake-Up to Poverty” short film or interview: Get a short film or interview made with people in your country who have direct experience of waking-up to poverty everyday and what that means to them each morning. GCAP will be making some short films. International versions of the “I Wake up to Poverty” film will be available from mid-August.
4. Wake-Up to Poverty local actions
Some more ideas for localised actions are:
Collect as many letters and petitions from within your local community, written onto a white band. Collect as many testimonies from people living in poverty of their experiences of Waking-up to Poverty each morning. These “I Wake-Up to Poverty” testimonies can be presented to your government or displayed in an exhibition
Have a Wake-Up to Poverty message incorporated into religious services and calls to prayer
Get as many schools as possible in your area to do a Wake-Up to Poverty assembly.
Invite your local councillor to a Wake-Up to Poverty morning meeting.
Uniting our voice and actions globally at the UN Summit
Coordinated global email and text actions
For White Band day 2, GCAP have a specially dedicated White Band Day 2 Wake-Up to Poverty section on the website. We will be posting information on country plans, materials, testimonies from people, as well as a Wake-Up email action and a global counter of people taking part in White Band Day 2. We will be counting the number of people who take action, email, or send an SMS from around the world – around the White Band Day 2 we will start the global counter online. Together these will form a global Wake-Up to Poverty petition to be handed over at the UN Summit – add your voice to the call by emailing the numbers taking action in your country for White Band Day 2 and taking email action.
GCAP MDG Summit International Events
As well as national level mobilisations taking place on White Band Day 2, a number of GCAP global events – most of which are planned to take place in New York around the Summit. These are all yet to be confirmed, but so far discussions have taken place on holding: People’s Festivals, on the 3 September, there are plans for regional festivals in countries like India and Ghana. On the 10th September, the annual trade union labour march on 5th Ave in New York will have a white band presence. 1GCAp is also looking into the possibility of having a “People’s Summit”, bringing together speakers, people and images from around the world is being planned in New York to mirror the UN World Summit. Kofi Annan has offered to speak at a GCAP event in New York and it was thought he could be included in the people’s summit along with other southern leaders (TBC). GCAP is also looking at having a GCAP ‘space’, in New York, during the UN World Summit.
Telling us about your White Band Day 2 plans
It is really useful for us to know as much as possible about plans around the world. Please use Table 1 below to tell us more about your country’s plans for White Band Day 2.
It is also vital for the GCAP Secretariat to identify gaps and restraints in the realisation of plans for White Band Day 2. Please use Table 2 to inform us about these gaps and in what ways the GCAP secretariat may be able to support your work to make it even more successful, for instance through enhanced communication, increased media support, material production, or you may lack enough materials or have serious financial gaps.
Table 1: Planned White Band Day 2 actions
Telling us about your national White Band Day 2 events
What will be your main national action for white band day 2 (please explain the event, tell us the location of the event)?
How many people to you expect to take part in this event?
What will be the key national messages and policy demands around the event?
Can you tell us the date and time for these events?
Do you have a person who could act as a contact point for media and communication for this event? (if so, please give name, email and contact details)
Wake-up to Poverty actions
Will you be incorporating some of the suggested Wake-Up to Poverty actions into your White Band day 2 plans? If so, in what ways?
Will you be incorporating some of the GCAP messaging that came from the international facilitation group meeting into your White Band Day mobilisation? (If so, how? And which messages will you focus on?)
Other planned actions and local / regional actions
Please us this space to give us more information on other planned actions?
In how many regions or district to you expect this to happen? How many people will the messages reach?
Lobby work
Will you be able to organise a meeting with a member of your governments MDG Summit delegation?
Table 2: Support needed and gaps
What are the main constraints in your planning for White Band Day 2?
Support required
What media support would you require at a national level?
What communication materials would help your coalition – (please remember we are sending a small quantity of posters for White Band Day 2 to all coalitions)? IF YOU WANT MATERIALS PLEASE EMAIL YOUR ADDRESS DETAILS WITH THIS FORM
What other support could GCAP give to help improve your mobilisation?
Would incorporating Wake-Up to Poverty actions into your pre-existing plans involve additional resources or work for your country coalition?
Would a lobby toolkit on ways to lobby your government on the MDGs be useful?
Please email this back to [email protected] - try to send it back by 12 August, if possible.