Global Poverty Project
The Global Poverty Project is an international education and advocacy organisation working to catalyse the movement to end extreme poverty. The Project was founded by Hugh Evans and Simon Moss and aims to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action to end extreme poverty.
Vision
The Global Poverty Project's vision is a world without extreme poverty, within a generation. To reach this end the Project utilises the power of education, communications, advocacy, campaigning and the media to try and advance the movement to end extreme poverty.They focus on building a global movement for change: mobilising people to make a difference now, and changing the systems and policies that keep people in poverty.
They do this in two ways:
• Campaigning for government, business and consumer action that will create important systemic change for the world's extreme poor, and
• Building a movement that engages and educates people, and supports them to take simple but effective individual actions for change.
History
Since launching in 2008 the Project has:- Developed – a multimedia presentation that explains the issues that contribute to extreme poverty, and what everyday people can do about them,
- Spoken to more than 100,000 people on three continents about the simple actions they can take to help tackle extreme poverty,
- Helped launch the international advocacy and fundraising campaign – engaging more than 24,000 people with the lack of choice inherent in extreme poverty, and raising more than $5 million for anti-poverty initiatives.
- Grown political support for polio eradication and raised more than $118 million for critical vaccination programs through .
- Launched the platform - a tool to help people take action to fight extreme poverty.
- Held the - a massive advocacy concert held in Central Park, New York to coincide with the 2011 General Assembly. The event brought together 60,000 change makers, and artists like Neil Young with Crazy Horse, the Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, John Legend, Band of Horses and K’NAAN. Run in partnership with top charities, the event helped secure $1.3 billion in commitments for projects helping fight extreme poverty.
Activities
1.4 Billion Reasons
1.4 Billion Reasons presentation is a live multimedia presentation designed to explain why an end to extreme poverty is possible, and the simple actions that every person can take to help bring it about.Designed in consultation with development and economics advisors, the presentation explores:
• What it means to live in extreme poverty,
• Why the world can end extreme poverty,
• The barriers to overcoming extreme poverty,
• Practical actions any person can take to help tackle extreme poverty.
Patterned after Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, the Presentation is delivered by volunteer presenters across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Live Below the Line
Live Below the Line is an awareness and fundraising campaign that challenges people to feed themselves with the equivalent of the extreme poverty line. It aims to give participants personal insights into the lack of opportunity and choice available to people living in extreme poverty, and to open a window onto the challenges faced by those living in extreme poverty.The Global Poverty Project launched the campaign with partner The Oaktree Foundation in Australia in 2010, and have since taken the campaign to the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand – partnering with international development organisations to raise funds for a variety of poverty tackling initiatives.
The campaign has involved more than 24,000 participants, has ‘started more than 400,000 conversations’ and raised more than $5 million for partner organisations working to fight poverty. Hugh Jackman signed on as a Global Advisor to the Global Poverty Project, and is a public face for the Live Below the Line campaign.
End Polio
Since July 2011, the Global Poverty Project has worked with Rotary and its End Polio campaign. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years. The goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary, End Polio and its Partners reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. This campaign focuses on sharing the story of progress towards polio eradication, while aiming to build public support and momentum required to close the funding gap that is limiting global eradication efforts.
Since launch the campaign has gained signatures from more than 25,000 people and secured an additional $118 million in pledges for polio eradication.
In October 2011 the campaign brought 4,000 people together at The End Polio campaign in Perth, where artists, local celebrities, polio survivors and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke about the importance of polio eradication. The next day 4 Governments and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed an additional $118 million to global polio eradication efforts.
Global Citizen
Global Citizen is a movement of engaged global citizens designed to help interested members of the general public find effective and relevant ways to take action on extreme poverty. It is designed as a platform to learn more about the issues that trap people in extreme poverty, to support organizations working to create change on the ground, and to campaign for systemic, lasting change. There is a website, and an application software.It was launched in 2012, alongside the Global Citizen Festival, and was the tool through which interested people had to earn tickets to this event. Global Poverty Project won the 2020 Webby Award for Public Service and Activism in the category Apps, Mobile & Voice.
Global Citizen Festival
In September 2014, as the world's leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly, the 3rd annual Global Citizen Festival brought top artists and 60,000 change makers together on the Great Lawn of Central Park to urge leaders and citizens to do more to help end extreme poverty. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi gave a seven-minute speech on the global citizen festival stage, ending his speech by saying "May the force be with you". Beyoncé also made a surprise appearance during husband Jay Z's performance.The Festival celebrated the progress already made in fighting extreme poverty, secured financial commitments for tackling extreme poverty and disease, totaling US$1.3 billion, and called on thousands of ambassadors to take action for change.
The 2012 event featured Neil Young with Crazy Horse,Tiesto, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses and K'Naan - with a special appearance by John Legend.
On September 26, 2015 the Global Citizen Festival was hosted by Stephen Colbert, Hugh Jackman and popular YouTube personalities Matthew Santoro and AsapScience. It featured performances from Pearl Jam, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay, among others.