Global Poverty Project Co-founders To Deliver Red Cross Oration

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15th October 2010, 01:15pm - Views: 1500





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40 Melville Street, Hobart TAS 7000  GPO Box 211, Hobart TAS 7001


ABN 50 169 561 394

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release


Global Poverty Project

co-founders to deliver

Red Cross Oration


Hugh Evans and Simon Moss, the co-founders of the Global Poverty Project, will

deliver a powerful call to action to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people

at this year’s Red Cross Oration, to be hosted by the University of Tasmania.

They will deliver the Global Poverty Project’s multimedia presentation, 1.4 Billion Reasons to End

Extreme Poverty, an inspiring and interactive feature designed to get the audience thinking about

what it means to live in abject poverty and give everyday people the tools and knowledge they need

to make a difference. According to the World Bank, about 20 per cent of the world’s population (1.4

billion) live on less than US$1.25 a day.

“Our vision is a world without extreme poverty within a generation,” said Mr Evans, international CEO

of the Global Poverty Project.

“1.4 Billion Reasons clearly and simply articulates the facts and demonstrates that by making simple

changes, everyone can be part of the solution.”

Building on its international success, the Global Poverty Project is in the process of training 100 young

Australians to deliver 1.4 Billion Reasons around the country as a way of building grassroots support

for action.

The Global Poverty Project, an Australian organisation, was launched just over two years ago at a High

Level meeting of the UN. It has since extended operations to New Zealand, the UK, the Netherlands

and, most recently, the US.

The Executive Director of Red Cross in Tasmania, Ian Burke, said he was thrilled that Mr Evans and Mr

Moss had accepted the invitation to deliver the annual Oration, which this year is timed to coincide

with Anti-Poverty Week (17-23 October).

“Anti-Poverty Week is even more relevant now as we deal with the impact of climate change on some

of the most vulnerable communities, both here and overseas,” Dr Burke said. 

“The World Disasters Report, published last month by the International Federation of Red Cross and

Red Crescent Societies, urges governments to pay more attention to the risk of natural disasters in a

rapidly urbanising world faced with climate change.

“The report says that those most at risk from disasters of various sorts are the estimated one billion

people or more living in the most appalling slum conditions,” Dr Burke said.

“The good news is that there are cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America that have managed to

dramatically reduce disaster risk and adapt and build resilience to disasters, for example with a early

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40 Melville Street, Hobart TAS 7000  GPO Box 211, Hobart TAS 7001

Tel +61 3 6235 6077 Fax +61 3 6231 1250    www.redcross.org.au

ABN 50 169 561 394

flood-warning system in Jakarta and a climate-change plan for Pune, a severely flood-prone city in

India.”


What: The Red Cross Oration 1.4 Billion Reasons to End Extreme Poverty

When: Monday 18 October 2010 at 6pm

Where: Stanley Burbury Theatre, University of Tasmania, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay, Hobart 

Who: Hugh Evans, International CEO, Global Poverty Project

Simon Moss, International General Manager, Global Poverty Project


Facts: Extreme Poverty at a Glance



One in nearly seven people is going hungry, despite the fact that there is more than

enough food to feed the global population


500,000 women die each year from causes related to child birth


27,000 children under the age of five die each day from preventable diseases


5000 children die from diarrhoea-related diseases every day


1.2 billion people in the world do not have a toilet


In brief:

Hugh Evans, international CEO, Global Poverty Project, was named Young Australian of the Year in

2004 and one of the 12 Outstanding Young People of the World by the Junior Chamber International

the following year. Since graduating from high school, he has worked for numerous international aid

projects in Africa and Asia, including co-founding the Oaktree Foundation, a youth-run aid

organisation that partners with developing communities. 


Simon Moss, international general manager, Global Poverty Project, is a campaigner and community

building consultant who has contributed his expertise on development issues at international

conferences such as the G20, the World Economic Forum and the Clinton Global Initiative.



To interview Mr Evans on behalf of the GPP, or to interview Dr Burke on behalf of Red Cross,

please contact Kate Marshall, media adviser, on 0448 326 335






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