 |
|
||||||||
            |
NEWSLETTER MAY 2008
THE ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL ISSUES
ACTION GROUP (ESIAG) April 2008 MAKING POVERTY HISTORY 10 YEARS ON Ten years ago the Jewish Community, through the Make Poverty History Jewish Coalition, supported the campaign to persuade the G8 group of nations to write off the debts against developing countries. 70,000 people formed a human chain in Birmingham outside the G8 summit to demand action. Since then some debts have been cancelled and many lives transformed, but the problem for the most part still remains. Millions of people in countries where the average annual income of the inhabitants is less than a day’s wage in the UK are still living under a massive debt burden requiring the government to make large debt repayments rather than being able to invest in health and education, two of the key factors in taking countries out of poverty. In this tenth anniversary year since the start of the Make Poverty History campaign the G8 Conference is once again in Birmingham and the Jewish Community is again joining the wider world through the Jubilee Debt Campaign in highlighting the need for urgent further action to cancel debt to reduce world poverty. On Sunday, 18 May from 2.30pm at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, members of all Jewish Communities are invited to participate in the programme of events to celebrate what has been achieved so far but also to bring again to the attention of the world what still needs to be done. Further details can be found on the website of the Jubilee Debt Campaign www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk
|
||||||||
