The World Can't Wait
In 2005, world leaders were given a huge global mandate to make poverty history. Unprecedented public pressure led them to make some big promises – to increase aid, and cancel many poor countries' debts. But in 2007, they still hadn't taken the action necessary to eradicate poverty, including tackling catastrophic climate change.
On Saturday 2nd June 2007, as G8 leaders gathered in Germany for the G8 Summit, thousands of people descended on central London for The World Can't Wait rally by Westminster and the River Thames. There was an amazing atmosphere and the event was peaceful and good-humoured.
Alongside people from all over the UK, rock stars Midge Ure and Annie Lennox lent their support to the protest. They posed for the press in Parliament Square with a host of semi-naked 'pants to poverty' demonstrators and a giant world.
The message to G8 leaders was that they must take decisive action on poverty and climate change.
Your Voice Against Poverty
In the months leading up to the G8 Summit, campaigners from all the G8 countries had been collecting people's voices, creating a massive petition of G8 citizens calling on their leaders to take the action necessary to end global poverty.
On 2nd June in London, a boat out on the River Thames was hung with banners showing the grand total for the UK of over half a million voices against poverty.
The UK voices were added to those from Germany and other G8 countries, and on 3rd June there was a handover of the global voices against poverty petition to Angela Merkel and Tony Blair.
Tony Blair Response
Read Tony Blair's letter to The World Can't Wait campaign.
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