Press Release on the meeting of ATD Fourth World youths with the President of the European Parliament and the Secretary-General of the United Nations
October 18th 2010
"It is difficult for us to understand this world but we want to find our place in it. " ATD Fourth World’s European Youth Delegation
As a result of an initiative by the European Parliament’s Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Intergroup, chaired by Mr. Iñigo Méndez de Vigo; the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Jerzy Buzek, has invited a youth delegation from the International Movement ATD Fourth World; accompanied by its Director General, Mr. Eugen Brand, to meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon this October 19th in Strasbourg.
Two days after the observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, initiated by ATD Fourth World and recognized by the United Nations, which gathers thousands of citizens throughout the world, the delegation of young people will hand Mr. Jerzy Buzek and Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, an Appeal where they state: " It is difficult for us to understand this world but we want to find our place in it ."
Taking place within the framework of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, youth delegates will tell the gathered dignitaries: « The hardest thing is knowing that you count for nothing, that your life has no value for anyone, That’s the hardest thing. …We are not feckless, work-shy, delinquent or antisocial. »
Young people in Europe are worried about finding their place in a complicated world where money matters more than people and where one of the biggest problems they are apprehending is that of employment. Whether, they are living in extreme poverty struggling already with family responsibilities or supporting those fighting poverty in their own country or elsewhere in Europe, European young people are full-fledged citizens who want to participate in the democratic process and have their voices count.
This meeting will also provide ATD Fourth World with the opportunity to ask Mr.Ban Ki-Moon to invite stakeholders at all levels to assess the impact of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to date on those most affected by extreme poverty, incorporating the participation of the most excluded at its core. ATD Fourth World is encouraged that States at the United Nations’ MDG Summit this past September pledged to accelerate progress towards achieving the Goals through policies and actions by 2015 and recognized the role of civil society.
To that end, ATD Fourth World asks the Secretary-General to offer his support to the impact assessment it plans to carry out starting in 2011, in countries such as Burkina Faso, Madagascar, the Philippines, Guatemala and Peru.
Because extreme poverty is not only a developing world issue and continues to blight the lives of millions in Europe but also in North America, ATD Fourth World members in these regions will also participate in its proposed impact assessment.
Contact information for the International Movement ATD Fourth World
International headquarters: +33 (1) 30 36 22 11
Delegation to the UN in New York: +1 (212) 228 1339
Delegation to the UN in Geneva: +41 (22) 344 4115
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