JustWorldOrder

All we are hearing form this summit is extremely discouraging, if we do not receieve real solutions to tackling the moral crises: economic collapse, poverty and climate change; then history will judge us harshly as generations are lost….

Kumi Naidoo this morning along with youth activists within the Global Call for Climate Action, presented an e-petition supporting the TCKTCKTCK Campaign to Gordon Brown, calling on G8 leaders to agree firm porposals which will pave the way for a deal at copenhagen.

Gordon Brown was also called upon to reaffirm G8 participation in the Copenhagen summit, with clear porposals which can help STOPGLOBALWARMING

GCAP RESPONSE TO G8 COMMUNIQUE

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) condemned the G8 development communiqué, calling it utterly lacking in constructive solutions and falling to recognize the depths of the global poverty, climate and economic crises. 

GCAP has called on G8 leaders, to hear the cries of people living on the brink, and recognize that while they dine lavishly, over 1 billion people will sleep cold and hungry, mothers are forced to choose which child to feed, and by the end of the G8’s 3-day meeting, 75, 000 children will have died needlessly from preventable causes.

While GCAP welcomes greater transparency in reporting G8 progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, the G8 fails to recognize the need for swift action and systemic change to overcome the multiple crises affecting people across the world.

“What we see from G8 leaders today is a complete failure of moral leadership. The response so far is like rearranging the deckchairs on the sinking Titanic, and from today’s statement it is clear they are now rushing for the lifeboats to save the privileged few – leaving the rest of us to drown. The level of support for bank bailouts in one year is more than total support for poverty eradication in the last 50 years. If the G8 fails to act with urgency and courage, and Put People First, they betray their own citizens and the rest of the world; and it raises yet again the illegitimacy of the G8.” said Kumi Naidoo, GCAP Global Co-Chair.
GCAP is calling on G8 Leaders to redeem themselves over the next two days with action in the following areas:

•    Accountability - Rapid delivery on previous promises including specific details on how the G8 will meet Gleneagles commitments due in 2010.
•    A global package to support men, women and children living in poverty, deal with the triple-threat of food, financial and climate crises.
•    Urgent action to address the funding gap of over $15 billion to reach the goal of universal access to primary education.

To know that a disaster is unfolding which is of your own making, to have the means to solve it – and to then walk away…. is complete moral negligence. Continuing with business as usual is not only inhuman but also economically stupid. Plan A has failed, the response so far has been, lets try Plan A again! We need the G8 to Act, the starving billion cannot eat words!”
Sylvia Borren, GCAP Global Co-Chair

GCAP Calls on the G8 to use the remaining two days to develop real solutions and recognize that growth without equity is no longer sustainable, GCAP will react to ongoing developments in the next 48 hours here at L’Aquila.

It is 3.30 on tuesday and we have just hosted a GCAP Press Conference, it has been extremely succesful and journalists are keen to speak with GCAP organisations including partners of GCAP Italy and international NGO members such as Oxfam, Action Aid and the Global Call for Climate Action.

Kumi is speaking along with other representatives from Africa, as well as GCAP Italy, WWF and the Global Campaign for Education. Oxfam and ONE are also participating in this conference as an initial opportunity to brief journalists on Civil Society’s demands form G8 leaders.

We have now arrived at L’Aquilla after leaving Chieti at 6am, it is baking hot, 40degrees and we will be working in media tents, there are around 200 civil society accredited as media. We all fear that the G8 leaders will not take the actions that are urgently needed.

To bring people together, GCAP is hosting a press conference, we are hoping we can be stronger toghether as civil society actors, coordinate our messages, and ensure the G8 feel accountable in their discussions, to the citizens they represent. As GCAP we are looking for ways to amplify the voices of GCAP activists accross the world, and are finalising a list of spokespeople who can talk to some of the 2000 journalists here who are all looking for stories.

We have arrived in Chieti, organised forms of citizen participation in the G8 including NGOs and other groups are all staying 90Km from the G8 venue in an army training camp village. we are sharing dorm rooms and each day will be travelling 2 hours morning and evening from our accomodation to the G8 venue in L’Aquilla.

After a 4 hours drive to Chieti from Rome, in a car packed with campaign materials, we arrive and begin assembling our materials, preparing brieifng packs to help birng our message to around 2000 journalists attending the G8 as well as delegations. Our poverty hearings report will bring the voices of those living in poverty who have given testimonies as part of GCAP’s global hearings, while our press statements will react around the clock to developments as they happen.

The great part of GCAP is the way it still values traditional activism, in this photo as you see, two of GCAP’s co-Chairs - Kumi Naidoo and Sylvia Borren who will be key GCAP spokespeople at the G8 are also helping organise materials, servant leadership in GCAP is a powerful way of working.

As I sit in the civil G8, I am amazed at the powerful ideas I am hearing from citizen organisations and activists from all over the world, so many of the solutions are here, why do our leaders not listen to the voices of ordinary poeple who understand the challenges in their own communities, and what is needed to overcome the crises embroiling the world.

I have only just set off to travel to the G8 summit in L’Aquilla Italy, my initial fear was traveling to an area recently hit by an Earthquake, with a high likelihood of aftershocks, however this was quickly replaced when a bomb scare led to closure at Edinburgh airport.

After missing baggage, running for flights and arriving in Rome at 4am, I was physically exhausted, but excited to meet with some of our civil society colleagues in Italy who had organised the CIvil G8 that was due to start in 5 hours.