wfn.org | ACNS3326 Teen trial on child poverty: A conference for young

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3326      |     ENGLAND	 |     27 FEBRUARY 2003

Teen trial on child poverty: A conference for young people

[Tearfund] Hundreds of young people from across the UK descended on the
Treasury this week to bring their voice to the ever growing global debate
around child poverty. This was a unique opportunity for young people to gain
access to the centre of government and to question Ministers on their
commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals - a set of globally
agreed milestones for development and poverty eradication to achieve by
2015.

Organised by the Grow Up free from poverty coalition, the conference
featured speeches by the Rt Hon Gordon Brown and Rt Hon Sally Keeble, who
have taken a strong lead in the fight against child poverty, as well as
Eveline Herfkens, the UN Secretary General's Executive Co-ordinator for the
Millennium Campaign.

In a world where 1 in 4 children still live in absolute poverty and 113
million children do not go to school, Ministers and speakers afforded the
opportunity to answer some testing questions from the young people about
their commitment to ending global child poverty.

The day also included interactive workshops on the MDGS facilitated by
members of the Grow Up Coalition, such as Tearfund, Save the Children, CAFOD
and Action Aid with practical experience of the issues.

Andy Baldwin, Tearfund Youth Coordinator, who helped to lead a workshop on
the MDG on water and sanitation, says, "Although our young people aren't old
enough to vote they have a right to be heard by the people in power and to
hold them to account, on behalf of their peers who are living in poverty in
the developing world. And the people in power have a duty to listen to their
young constituents and take action."

___________________________________________________________________

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of the Enthronement of the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, the
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