A travelling presentation that aims to inspire audiences to take action and improve the lives of the 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty has been launched by Global Poverty Project.
The presentation, 1.4 billion reasons, is supported by AusAID, the UN Millennium Campaign and a range of non-government organisations. The launch tour will take the presentation to 45 Australian locations in 42 days. There are also plans to take the project to the world, through live presentations overseas, the development of a feature film and leveraging existing campaigns and initiatives.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, and the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, have both recorded video messages in support of the project.
1.4 billion reasons was inspired by Al Gore's climate change presentation An Inconvenient Truth and reflects the passion and conviction of its presenters, Hugh Evans and Simon Moss. Hugh is an internationally renowned development advocate and Simon is a campaigning and community education expert.
The presentation explains how your everyday actions – in what you learn, say, buy, give and do – can be connected to the ending of extreme poverty. It aims to have audiences walking away with a few key messages:
- Extreme poverty and the issues around it are important, urgent and related to me.
- Our generation can end extreme poverty, and I can play a part in making this happen.
- To overcome these challenges, it's got to be a global movement, bringing together people from around the world.
- It's not going to be quick or easy, but I am committed to playing my part so we can achieve our global goals.
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