Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina speak out against poverty.
Monday 12 November 2007
"If I were head of the United Nations, I would ask the world powers to dedicate a certain amount of money from their annual income - which is quite high and mostly spent on the military - to help people who have poor basic living conditions. Those countries wouldn't even feel the lack of money, and it would mean a lot to people who are poor."
That's what Nermina said during the Stand Up and Speak Out event at her school in Gradacac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nermina's school wasn't the only one to participate in this event. On 17 October 2007, 43.7 million children all over the world stood up and spoke out against poverty, setting a new Guinness record!
The global event was organised jointly by the United Nations Millennium Campaign and the Global Call to Action against Poverty among others. It challenged millions of people to physically stand up against poverty and inequality, showing their support for the Millennium Development Goals and their concern over the growing crisis of global poverty. Save the Children UK organised events in south east Europe through our programmes there.
The country numbers are in…
Throughout the region, a total of 30,140 children, parents and teachers stood up and spoke out.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2,038 children and 132 teachers from five primary schools (in Sarajevo, Poljice, Gradacac, Modrica and Vukosavlje) took part in the event. In Serbia, 518 children from a preschool and a primary school stood up against poverty. Our programme in Kosovo rallied a total of 1,678 children and 58 teachers, all from one school. And in Montenegro - a country with a total population of 684,000, 25,699 children - teachers and parents came together in the largest Stand Up event in south east Europe. Given the size of the country, this is quite an accomplishment!
Leading the Stand Up event at UN Headquarters in New York, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said, "Today tens of millions of people are making their voices heard by standing up and speaking out against poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. They are sending messages that call on their leaders to keep their promises. They are calling for the actions of citizens to be matched by the actions of governments, in developing and developed countries alike, to demonstrate the political will required to end the scourge of poverty once and for all."
- Read more about our work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.