Tumayo Tayo Pilipinas Campaign
The Tumayo Tayo Pilipinas Campaign, otherwise known as United Nations’ Stand Up Campaign, was conducted last October 15, 2006 to set the first-ever Guinness World Record for the largest number of people to STAND UP…against poverty!
SCOPE
The Tumayo Tayo Pilipinas Campaign is a fulfillment of the United Nations’ main program, STAND UP Against Poverty Campaign. The Tumayo Tayo Pilipinas campaign aims to raise awareness on the state of poverty in the country in the context of meeting the Millennium Developments Goals by 2015. The campaign also celebrated the significant local gains made for the achievement of the MDGs and called on duty-bearers to hurdle the complex challenges facing the country ahead.
The STAND UP is an exciting and innovative challenge in which it attempts to set an official Guinness World Record for the most number of people ever to STAND UP Against Poverty on 15 October. A minimum of ten thousand people must physically “STAND UP” Against poverty.
STAND UP is a mobilization initiative designed to coincide with global mobilizations around the International Day of Poverty Eradication and the White Band Day of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty on 17 October.
STAND UP will raise awareness of the MDGs and publicly demonstrate the growing global support for the achievement of these Goals.
STAND UP is an opportunity for organizations to be a part of an exciting and innovative global event in support of poverty eradication and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
IN-DEPTH DETAILS
In September 2000, 191 UN-member countries, rich and poor alike, reaffirmed their commitment to peace and security, good governance and attention to the most vulnerable with the adoption of the Millennium Declaration. Containing commitments to achieve the eight MDGs, the declaration reflects the vision of entire nations working together with international and country-based organizations to wipe out poverty and the worst forms of human deprivation and lay the foundations for sustainable human development by 2015.
Tumayo Tayo Pilipinas featured a lead flag-raising ceremony integrating the Tumayo Tayo pledge, read in Filipino by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was organized by government officials led by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Anti-Poverty Commission, Office of the PA on Culture, Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development and the League of Municipalities, among others. Similar Tumayo Tayo moments were integrated in flag-raising ceremonies held at the Senate, Congress and Supreme Court, demonstrating the full participation of the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government.
On center stage was the MDG Festival held in
The UN’s various partners for the campaign staged their own events. In
In
The Millennium Development Goals
At the 2000 UN Millennium Summit, world leaders from rich and poor countries alike committed themselves--at the highest political level--to a set of eight time-bound targets that, when achieved, will end extreme poverty worldwide by 2015. Goals 1 through 7 commit them to raise the poor out of poverty and hunger, get every child into school, empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, and ensure environmental sustainability. Goal 8 explicitly recognizes that eradicating poverty worldwide can be achieved only through a global partnership for development. For poor countries to achieve the first seven goals, it is absolutely critical that wealthier countries deliver on their end of the bargain--more and more effective aid, more sustainable debt relief and fairer trade rules--well in advance of 2015...
Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.
Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education
Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.
Goal 4. Reduce child mortality
Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five.
Goal 5. Improve maternal health
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources.
Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory. Includes a commitment to good governance, development and poverty reduction—nationally and internationally
Address the least developed countries’ special needs. This includes tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction
Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing States
Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems through national and international measures to make debt sustainable in the long term
In cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth
In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries
In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies—especially information and communications technologies.
Sources: http://unphilippines.wordpress.com/2006/10/18/rp-exceeds-target-24-million-filipinos-stood-up-against-poverty/ and www.un.org.ph
EVALUATION
The Tumayo Tayo Pilipinas Campaign has been the epitome for global change especially in the course of the looming worldwide poverty. It has become a spark of hope in this period of too much undertaking in different countries that are under the scourge of poverty, to be particular in this crises-sickened
The campaign has indeed never failed to uphold its very essence of existence and initiative: To call on to everyone to fight and stand against poverty.
But, the question is: Is standing up enough to diminish or, in this case, down trend the so-called global deprivation a.k.a. poverty?
Well, we can only let the unanswered query linger. But the intangible has yet to surface: Is the
Another query might as well topple every bit of wisdom a poor Filipino has: Is the Philippine government willing to relinquish itself of corruption, greed, and personal ulterior motives just to elude national poverty and welcome not only economic but national progress that would be felt in every starving family, homeless street children, cloth-less dreamers, and thirsting strivers?
Well, well, well, nothing gets the better out of time. Since it is only time that will decide whether or not the flare that encouraged millions to stand up, would still be the same flair as it were a year later or two or until 2015 hits. With the bombarding social and political dilemma haunting the government, we might doubt that our country still has hope against poverty. Since poverty has always been part of Philippine history.
The more-than-a-million stand uppers during the October 15-16 celebration would have not stood up, if it weren’t for a pinch or a bit of hope for change. And we, the reporters, are also one of those hopefuls who are still stargazing for change, as in character change and not the change most power-hungry politicos are now railroading for.
CONCLUSION
Standing up has two meanings: It being literal and physical in form as in standing flat up on a surface; the other, being a connotation of a resolute, firm, and adamant course of action.
We would prefer standing up for the connotation.
In the context of this celebration of standing up against poverty, indeed, the world are all up high in braving the winds of deprivation as it is manifested by the millions and millions of participants who stood up for a cause: Wrestle with poverty. While it is quite impossible to do wrestling while standing up, perhaps the United Nations only suggest that standing over the worldwide enemy, which is poverty, is a success after standing up with an optimistic and adamant goal.
However, in the prism of realization, inequality has always been the root of poverty. If only the world is willing to have an equally divided and united nations, only than can we say that we have stood up and stood over poverty. If we wanted to commence the business of equilibrium, education is perhaps a better place to start.
One would yearn that present institutions of higher learning should shed off much of their tendency to teach utilitarian values and emphasize things intellectually, morally, and spiritually.
For whatever may be our line of endeavor, we have need of the light of a guiding star to direct our footsteps, to lead us closer to our goal, to bring us to the safe anchorage of our faith. Without such light to illuminate our pathway, it is doubtful whether we can come by triumphant.
In order that we may not be led astray, it is important that we dedicate ourselves to ideal. And what may this ideal be?
STAND UP to bring Poverty Down!
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