We moved office recently, at the day job, and we’re in this hub for charities near Waterloo. Our neighbours on the third floor are the Global Poverty Project, and on wednesday they hosted a presentation explaining what they’re about.I thought I’d give them a shout.
The Global Poverty Project is a catalyst for action rather than another poverty campaign. It is supported by other charities and does no fundraising of its own, but focuses on raising awareness and understanding of extreme poverty, and encouraging practical personal actions. The main tool for this is a presentation, 1.4 Billion Reasons, which I saw on Wednesday.
1.4 Billion Reasons can be run in a school, a church or a business, and is being presented to Parliament later this month. It combines facts about poverty with personal stories, and hits a nice balance between information and human interest. It explores the definitions of poverty and the barriers to action, the reasons why we ought to act and the things we can do in response. It’s a little like the poverty equivalent of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, which was his touring presentation long before it became a movie.
Those well versed in poverty and development issues might find 1.4 Billion Reasons a little lightweight, but it would be a great introduction for those who don’t normally give it a moment’s thought. Having launched at the UN in 2008 and showed across Australia and New Zealand, presentations are now being booked around the UK. Could you host one?
Here’s the website, and here’s a trailer for the presentation: