Stand Up and Take Action is the name of an annual global mobilization coordinated by the

United Nations Millennium Campaign The United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) was a UN campaign unit that was set up in response to the Millennium Declaration signed by 189 member states. Established in October, 2002, the UNMC aimed to increase support to achieve the Millenniu ...

and the

Global Call to Action against Poverty The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is a network of over 11,000 civil society organisations (CSOs) organized in about 58 National Coalitions and in constituency groups of women, youth and socially-excluded people, among others. I ...

Background

In 2000, leaders of 189 countries assembled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to outline a series of targets to address the most serious challenges in the developing world. The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world's poorest people. World leaders have agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Organizer

The Stand Up is organized by the United Nations Millennium Campaign. The United Nations Millennium Campaign is a UNDP campaign unit in response to the Millennium Declaration signed by 189 member states. Established in October, 2002, it aims to increase support to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and seek a coalition of partners for action. The Millennium Campaign targets intergovernmental, government, civil society organizations and media at both global and regional levels.

Participation

The forms of participation vary. Common ways to make noise for MDG include: * Public gatherings banging spoons on metal plates to illustrate hunger * Church groups and temples arranging the bells to be rung at the same time in cities across the country * Local musicians playing their instruments in innovative locations. United Nations Millennium Campaign encourages the participants to record the events and inform the Campaign about the details to measure the level of support and increase the political impact.

History

2006

On 15–16 October 2006, 23,542,614 people, in over eighty countries around the world set a new

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the largest number of people to "STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY". In

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, 18,195,126 people took the pledge for poverty eradication. The Stand Up record attempt was an initiative of the Millennium Campaign in partnership with the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), set in time for the United Nations International Day for Poverty Eradication on 17 October 2006.

2007

More than 43.7 million people in 127 countries participated in the second Stand Up in 2007.

2008

From October 17–19, more than 116 million people took part in the third Stand Up. The three days of action saw huge concerts in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

. From

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, there were vast campaign marches and mass mobilizations. Other events included a countrywide caravan rally in Togo focusing on specific MDG goals, hundreds of mosques "standing up" in a statement of solidarity and, in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, a ‘Stand Up and Take Action’ Rap Contest for community youth groups in Manila. In

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. there was a football event mass campaign while, in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Bianca Jagger presented video messages from members of the World Future Council. Schools across the world also took part from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

, where 500,000 pupils organized debates. There were cinema screenings, mass signings, marches, and ant-poverty actions across the globe.

2009 "Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty" campaign

173 million people, 2.5% of the world population, around the world took part in the fourth Stand Up.Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, ''Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the organization'', General Assembly Official Records Sixty-fourth Session Supplement No. 1, United Nations, 4 August 2009, p.24 This was a new Guinness World Record. Over 3,000 events were held in more than 120 countries in the fourth year of the “Stand Up, Take Action, End Poverty Now!” campaign over the weekend. At least 100 million people in Asia took part in the campaign, while

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

saw the participation of almost 40 million, the Arab region over 30 million,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

more than 2 million,

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

some 200,000 each, and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

more than 170,000.

2010

Stand Up 2010 took place on September 17 to 19. The theme is “Make a Noise for the MDGs”. A global day of action will take place on September 18. This is designed to ensure that the support of the MDGs is seen and heard around the world prior to the UN MDG Review Summit taking place in

from September 20 to 22.

References

{{reflist

External links

United Nations Millennium CampaignStand Up and Take ActionUnited Nations Development Programme
Millennium Development Goals