Partnership to Fight Poverty

The Australian of the Year, Simon McKeon is to launch a new partnership to inspire young people to take action in the fight against poverty.

The Global Poverty Project and Plan International Australia have joined forces to produce “1.4 Billion Reasons for Youth?, an interactive multimedia presentation to educate Australian young people about child rights and help them to become leaders in the push to make a difference for the 1.4 billion people who live in extreme poverty. The presentation will take place on Saturday 19 March in Melbourne.

Combining Plan’s on the ground experience and the Global Poverty Project’s world-class presentation, the two organisations say they hope to empower young people to take the lead in their local and global communities.

Hugh Evans, founder of the Global Poverty Project and a former Young Australian of the Year, says this presentation will show Australia’s young people that the means to end poverty already exist, but more people need to get on board to make it happen.

Plan’s chief executive, Ian Wishart, described as one of Australia’s most experienced development professionals, says organisations such as Plan are doing great work in developing countries to help communities lift themselves out of poverty, but it can’ be done alone.

He says working with the Global Poverty Project is a great example of how it takes a partnership to make a difference.

Saturday’s event at BMW Edge in Melbourne’s Federation Square will be hosted by Logie-nominee Kate Bell. The launch will feature the full "1.4 Billion Reasons for Youth? presentation and the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with all three speakers.

The presentation is structured around five main themes:

• What it means to live in extreme poverty.
• Why we can end extreme poverty.
• The barriers to overcoming extreme poverty.
• Practical actions every young person can take to help end extreme poverty.
• Actions that other young people have taken.

The presentation outlines the facts of extreme poverty, provides young people with a clear framework through which they can consider the issues, and encourages them to formulate their own ideas and actions to make a difference in their local and the global community.

The event will coincide with the launch of a new Facebook application that will allow young people to record and share ideas and actions that have been inspired by the “1.4 Billion Reasons for Youth” presentation.

The application has been developed by Melbourne-based thinktank media.

For more about the partnership, go to: www.globalpovertyproject.com/youth
For more about the event, go to: www.globalpovertyproject.com/youthlaunch

What: 1.4 Billion Reasons for Youth presentation
Where: BMW Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne
When: Saturday March 19, arrive at 1.30pm for a 2pm start, finishing at 4pm