Participants read the Stand Up pledge

The UN Information Centre (UNIC) Accra in conjunction with the Ashiaman Private Schools Advisory Committee organized a similar event at the Ashiaman Number One Government School Park, about 35 kilometres east of Accra.

A total of 2,000 school children were mobilised to some principal streets of the town carrying placards some of which read "Government Keep your Promise", "MDGs must be Achieved", "End Poverty Now" and "Let's say No to Poverty."

The Ashiaman event was graced by the presence of the Ashiaman Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Addy Nunoo who in a statement assured the people of the pragmatic steps the government was taking to bring in line the goals the country was lagging behind.

Besides the school children the participants included Members of Parliament, NGOs, members of the Ashiaman Private Schools Advisory Committee and the general public.  Among the schools were Church of Christ School, Future Leaders Academy, Divine Providence Academy, United International School, Martin Luther King School and Evangelical Presbyterian Basic School. UNIC Accra Library Assistant Evelyn Sarpong led the participants to read the Stand Up Pledge and the signing of the Signature Banner.

Stand Up

The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Pretoria Library in collaboration with Itsoseng Youth Forum (IYF) organized the “Stand Up, Take Action” campaign at Itsoseng Combined High School and Madiba Utlwa Primary school in Hebron in the North West Province of South Africa, near Pretoria.

The first campaign was done in Madiba Utlwa primary school with staff members and 761 learners participating. The UNIC librarian first read the objectives of the campaign and later the pledge was also read to students. The learners responded to the pledge by blowing of the “vuvuzelas” and whistles.

The second campaign was held at Itsoseng Combined High school were 558 students participated together with their staff members. The response was thunderous with students singing, blowing “vivuzelas” and whistles. At both schools, the UNIC librarian distributed some pamphlets on MDG’s and posters specifically prepared for the event to publicize MDGs to learners and their educators.

Both school showed great interest by spending extra time in song and dance to demonstrate and amplify their support and commitment to achieve the MDG’s by 2015 and they expressed willingness to participate in future campaigns that will be planned by the UN to address the MDGs and poverty eradication.

Estudiantes miembros del Club Amigos de la ONU participaron activamente en el Perú en la campaña Levántate contra la pobreza, haz ruido por los ODM

El Centro de Información de las Naciones Unidas para el Perú participó en la Campaña Levántate contra la Pobreza a través de la red de clubes Amigos de la ONU que funciona en diversas partes del Perú.

Las instituciones participantes fueron:

Institución Educativa Santa Rosa del Sauce:

El viernes 17 alrededor de 300 personas, entre estudiantes, profesores y padres de familia de esa institución, se levantaron contra la pobreza. En dicha actividad leyeron una declaración contra la pobreza y prepararon afiches que luego fueron expuestos en los patios del colegio

Scouts de Piura:

Los Scouts de Piura hicieron charlas motivadoras la semana previa a la actividad. El viernes 17 los jóvenes estuvieron en el patio y a una sola voz se “levantaron contra la pobreza”. Luego leyeron una proclama y así se unieron a miles de personas que estaban realizando la actividad a nivel mundial

Institución Educativa Jorge Cieza Lachos:

El 19 de setiembre los alumnos, profesores y directivos participaron en la campaña Levántate contra la Pobreza “Haz ruido por los ODM”. Los estudiantes hicieron mucho ruido para llamar la atención de la comunidad a fin de que se sumen a la lucha por los ODM.

Universidad Señor de Sipán:

El 17 de setiembre realizaron un conversatorio “Todos contra la Pobreza” en el cual participaron alrededor de 500 personas, entre alumnos y miembros de diversas iglesias de Lambayeque

Institución Educativa Sebastián Barranca de Camaná – Arequipa

Esta institución realizó una charla el 22 de setiembre con todas las alumnas y profesores del colegio. Llegaron a la conclusión de que la única manera de salir de la pobreza era “estudiando”.

Communications Officer gives a video presentation of a photo exhibition dedicated to the HIV/AIDS issues

On 22 September, the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Moscow with the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Russia, jointly organized a special event dedicated to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit. In his opening remarks, Frode Mauring, UN Resident Coordinator, welcomed the audience at a moment “wh-en member states are reviewing the progress of achieving the MDGs at a High-level Plenary Meeting at the MDG Summit in New-York”.

He continued, stressing the uneven implementation of MDGs among different regions and countries, with growing disparities and rever-sed gains due to multiple effects of food, oil and financial crises. Important successes have been achieved, he said, but some targets require additional efforts. The Summit should lead to concrete strat-egies for action against obstacles and gaps in order to accelerate progress to achieve the Goals, the RC pointed out.

Turning to Russia’s case, Mr. Mauring noted the task of fully inclu-ding MDGs into national development strategies and also stated the importance of synergies between the Goals which need to be addressed as a whole. Focusing on Russia as compared to its neighbours in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, he produced several charts illustrating the effects of the crisis on its economic growth, and major trends in the social sphere, health and income distribution.

Following him, Dmitry Maksimychev, Deputy-Director of the MFA Department of International Organizations, said that no country could boast of attaining MDGs, and Russia was no exception. He expressed gratitude to UN, in general, and to UNDP, in particular, for assisting his country in the evaluation of challenges and the identification of the right policies. Emphasizing the Goal # 8, he commented on Russia’s changing role in the developmental context and its emergence as a donor.

After his speech, UNIC National Information officer drew the audience’s attention to the slogan “We Can End Poverty” and focused on two events supporting the Summit, the launch of the Secretary-General's Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health and the third UN Private Sector Forum. Then, Anna Chernyakhovskaya, Communications Officer of the UNAIDS Office, prese-nted a photo exhibition dedicated to the HIV/AIDS issues. She said that the communities of people with HIV, established in recent years, are a striking example of mobilization of civil society in Russia, and praised their efforts to bring the issue to the attention of the government.