WE Stands Up and Speaks Out with UN

Global - Waggener Edstrom Worldwide's (WE) digital expertise and global reach has enticed United Nations (UN) to engage it to support its Millennium Campaign's "Stand Up, Speak Out" day of global poverty awareness on 16 and 17 October.

Globally, WE offices have formed a team to support the campaign. Previously in 2006, more than 23 million people spanning 100 countries galvanised crowds in support of the world's poor. To exemplify their solidarity with the poor and marginalised, millions of speakers will be participating in the "Stand Up, Speak Out" events around the world to raise awareness on poverty issues and emphasising the effort made globally on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on behalf of the poor, hungry and diseased. 

"Our Singapore office leads the Asia team, and our involvement is primarily in digital strategy - researching the digital audience, tailoring the message for the online community and ensuring that we excite bloggers, online commentators and the digital community to gain their support." David Ko,WE's EVP said.

WE will be tightly involved with the oncoming Millennium Campaign, beyond the two event days.  Other global efforts include outdoor festivals, educating of the peers by empowered children, speeches in public places like buses and trains. Social media efforts have also been harnessed to further support the cause. YouTube videos, blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr have all been utilised as a vehicle to communicate to young, web savvy individuals.

The organisers are beseeching communities to start events locally to create awareness, wear the cause bracelet, in the hope that world leaders would work on the said goals on behalf for the poor.

Stand Up, Speak out was launched in Oct 2002 to bring together people facing poverty and inequality together to rouse them to make to statement. It arose from the September 2000 Millennium Summit and involved 189 government leaders in the world supporting the bid to end extreme poverty across the planet by 2015.

Over one billion people live on less than US$1 (S$1.467) a day with nearly half the world's population (2.8 billion) living on less than US$2 (S$2.93) a day. UNESCO's 2007 Global Monitoring Report states universal primary education would cost US$11 billion (S$16.13 billion) a year. Globally according to UNICEF, an estimated 15.2 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, 80% of which live in sub-Saharan Africa.