Events to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in Malta

As in the past years, in 2009, the STOPoverty! Neqirdu l-Faqar! Campaign with its partners, namely the Maltese NGDO platform SKOP, KOPIN, KKG, Graffitti and KDZ, has organised a series of events to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, held on 17 October, and to provide the opportunity to Stand up! and Take Action!

Starting with the launch of ActionAid’s photographic exhibition "HungerFREE women speak out" about women and the right to food and land at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 15, the Stand Up! Take Action! activity was organised in Malta and Gozo between the 16th and 18th of October. The Maltese public was urged to stand up for one minute to remember the poor of the world and to urge governments to keep their promises. The Stand Up! activity is coordinated by the Schools2Communities project - coordinated in Malta by KOPIN. In collaboration with this project, a discussion was held about poverty, the Millennium Development Goals and the Mediterranean region on October 17, following the theatre production Ceda l-Imbatt performed by Theatrencore.

During a press conference on October 16 - the World Food Day, Koperattiva Kummerc Gust (KKG) launched its Right to Food Campaign ‘Kieku l-Ikel Jitekellem’. Two Indian workers participated and passed on a clear message regarding ethical consumption. As part of the campaign and under the slogan "you are what you eat", Moviment Graffitti held its annual activity "Reclaim the World" in Valletta on October 24.

On October 19, a workshop about Art Campaigning Management took place as part of the I SHOP FAIR project of the network of ethical consumers, coordinated in Malta by KKG. Last but not least, a dialogue event on October 24 entitled "Y Standup?" was held to promote participation of young people in discussions on poverty issues locally, nationally, on European and international levels. The young people were invited to discuss their commitment to reducing poverty on all these different levels, while also offering possible routes for policy and for action to church and government authorities.

Information provided by Angie Farrugia, SKOP Malta