United Nations Taps Waggener Edstrom Worldwide for Global Poverty Action Day

United Nations Taps Waggener Edstrom Worldwide for Global Poverty Action Day

October 11, 2007

RECORD-SETTING ACTIVISM EVENT DRAWS MILLIONS OF
PARTICIPANTS


    SEATTLE, Oct. 11 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Waggener
Edstrom Worldwide (WE) has been chosen by the United
Nations Millennium Campaign to support its Stand Up, Speak
Out day of global poverty awareness on Oct. 16 and 17,
2007. The Millennium Campaign selected WE because of the
company's digital expertise and global reach.
 
    ( Logos:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071011/AQTH017SUSOLOGO

            
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071011/AQTH017LOGO )

    Last year, more than 23 million people across 100
countries around the world stood up in support of the
world's poor. This year, millions more are planning to
stand up to show their solidarity with the poor and
marginalized. Stand Up, Speak Out events around the world
will raise awareness of poverty issues and emphasize the
global effort to address the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) on behalf of those suffering from poverty, hunger
and disease. 


    Grab a Friend and Get Involved
    -- Find or start an event in your area: 
       http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/en/events.
    -- Wear your white bracelet:
http://www.noexcuse2015.org.
    -- Literally stand up against poverty:
http://www.standagainstpoverty.org.
    -- Break the Guinness world record:
http://www.one.org/press/202.html.
    -- Encourage our leaders to enforce the MDGs on behalf
of the poor: 
       http://www.endpoverty2015.org/goals.


    The Global Movement
    -- Football fans are scheduled to stand up and cheer
for one minute 
       during a game in Nigeria.
    -- Non-profits in downtown Chicago will hold an outdoor
festival to 
       raise awareness of the need.
    -- Eighth graders in Sri Lanka are planning an event to
educate their 
       peers about the issues. 
    -- In Japan, people are encouraged to stand up in
public places, 
       including buses and trains.


    Join the Conversation
    -- Watch Stand Up, Speak Out videos on YouTube.
    -- Visit the blog:
http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/blog.
    -- Read about MDG progress: 
       http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/mdg2007.pdf.
    -- Stand Up and Speak Out on Facebook, MySpace, Windows
Live Spaces and 
       Flickr.
    -- Hear what Shakira, Michael Douglas and Lenny Kravitz
think: 
      
http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/media/video/voices.
    -- Get event materials:
http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/en/materials.


    The Facts
    -- More than 1 billion people live on less than $1 a
day, with nearly 
       half the world's population (2.8 billion) living on
less than $2 a 
       day. (UN Human Development Report, 2003) 
    -- UNESCO's 2007 Global Monitoring Report states that
universal primary 
       education would cost $11 billion a year -- half what
Americans spend 
       on ice cream annually. 
    -- Globally, an estimated 15.2 million children have
lost one or both 
       parents to AIDS; 80 percent of these children live
in sub-Saharan 
       Africa. (UNICEF, 2005)

    About Stand Up, Speak Out
 
    Stand Up, Speak Out is the growing movement of people
no longer prepared to stay seated or silent in the face of
poverty and inequality. The Campaign was launched in
October 2002, two years after 189 government leaders from
almost every country in the world agreed at the September
2000 Millennium Summit to a set of eight time-bound targets
that, when achieved, will end extreme poverty across the
planet. Working at both the national and international
levels, the ambition of the Campaign is to inspire a global
movement to achieve the Goals and eradicate extreme poverty
by 2015. More information can be found at
http://www.standagainstpoverty.org. 

    About Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

    Waggener Edstrom Worldwide is a multiservice global
public relations agency. Founded in 1983 and independently
owned, the agency was named PRWeek's Large Agency of the
Year for 2004, and was named Best Agency to Work For in
2004 and Best Large Agency to Work For in 2006 by the
Holmes Report. The agency has over 700 employees, 15
offices around the world and six global practices --
Technology, Healthcare, Public Affairs, Corporate
Communications, Consumer Marketing and Digital Strategies.
More information can be found at
http://www.WaggenerEdstrom.com . 

    Waggener Edstrom, Innovation Communications(SM) and the
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide logo are either registered
trademarks of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide Inc. in the United
States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies
and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their
respective owners.


    For more information, please contact:

     Jenny Krentzman
     global marketing communications manager
     Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Amil Husain
     global youth coordinator, UN
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]