Diana Taylor to Welcome Queen of Jordan, Archbishop Tutu to New York Oxfam Anti-Poverty Event

On Sept. 25th, ahead of an emergency UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals next week in New York, dignitaries, activists and celebrities including Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu , Annie Lennox, John Legend, Rahul Bose, Anqelique Kidjo, Scarlett Johansson, Missy Higgins, Emmanuel Jal, Wyclef Jean and Mischa Barton will come together to stand outside of the U.N. for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and challenge their leaders to keep their promise to halve poverty by 2015.

To drive the message home, Kidjo and will.i.am will perform a new song written by will.iam called ‘In My Name’ live outside the UN buildings in New York on that date.

They will be joined by Queen Rania of Jordan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Ela Bhatt, Greek Sid, Mary Robinson, Kristin Davis, Rahul Bose and activists from Africa, Asia and Latin America who will be amongst the first to sign their names to the “In my name” pledge wall.

The group will be greeted by Diana Taylor as the representative of the City of New York.

Front man of the Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am has written “In my Name” incorporating lyrics that call on world citizens to exercise their power and demand their governments keep their promises to the world’s poor.

The song, which is to be released on 25 September, can be downloaded free of charge and will mark the launch of a global campaign action called “In My Name.”

“We can be the generation that ends poverty,” said will.i.am. “Politicians promised in 2000 to halve poverty in 15 years. They made this pledge in my name, now they must act to achieve it.”

To whet the appetite of the global public, will.i.am also worked with more than 30 other celebrities and activists to create an inspiring short film titled ‘Be the Generation’ which explains how we can end poverty in our lifetime if leaders are held accountable to their promises. (See 7 minute film on www.inmyname.com ).

“The time for action has never been more urgent - rising food prices have plunged 100 million more people into poverty, and the economic slowdown risks eroding political support for development,” said Queen Rania, who has advocated achieving the MDGs.

“We’re halfway there, and thanks to people’s efforts and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, there has been real progress. There are more children in school. More people are getting essential medicines. But 30,000 children still die every day because of poverty,” said Kristin Davis, actor and Oxfam ambassador.

Angelique Kidjo, whose voice is featured on the track, said: ”If I put my name to something it means I am committed to its outcome. I want to see this sort of response from leaders and others with power to effect change. People living in poverty have waited too long and want to see tangible changes in their lives immediately.”

To drive the message home, Kidjo and will.iam will perform ‘In My Name’ live outside the UN buildings in New York on 25 September. They will be joined by Queen Rania of Jordan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon, Ela Bhatt, Mary Robinson, Kristin Davis, Will Forte, Kristen Johnston, Tony Roberts, Rachel Dratch, Rahul Bose and activists from Africa, Asia and Latin America who will be amongst the first to sign their names to the “in my name” pledge wall.

“While some progress has been made, many governments have fallen disgracefully behind schedule. Rich countries are back-tracking on their aid promises and poor countries are not investing enough in education and health care which is undermining people’s fundamental rights. We can still meet the 2015 deadline, but this is a marathon not a sprint and what we need is immediate and sustained action by nations, both rich and poor together,” said Kumi Naidoo, Co-Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.

‘In My Name’ is organized by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) with support from Oxfam International, Save the Children and Comic Relief.

Comic Relief is a British charity organisation that was founded in the United Kingdom in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis in response to famine in Ethiopia. It was launched live on Noel Edmonds's Late, Late Breakfast Show on BBC1, on Christmas Day 1985 from a refugee camp in Sudan. The idea for Comic Relief came from the noted charity worker Jane Tewson, who became head of a British NGO Charity Projects and was inspired by the success of the first four Secret Policeman's Ball comedy benefit shows for Amnesty International (1976-1981). Initially funds were raised from live events and the best known is a comedy revue at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London which was finally broadcast on television on the 25 April 1986.

One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the 'Golden Pound Principle' where every single donated pound is spent on charitable projects. All operating costs, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors or interest which is earned while money raised is waiting to be spent (granted) to charitable projects.

Currently, its two main supporters are the BBC and Sainsbury's. The BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza on Red Nose Day and Sainsbury's sells merchandise on behalf of the charity.

Red Nose Day is the main way in which Comic Relief raises money. It is held in the spring every stephen parker year and is often treated as a semi-holiday, with, for example, schools having non-uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place. As the name suggests, the day involves the wearing of plastic/foam red noses which are available, in exchange for a donation, from many shops.

The first "Red Nose Day" was on 5 February 1988, and raised £15 million. The TV show was hosted by Lenny Henry, Griff Rhys Jones, Sarah Colbert, Jessica Ferguson and Jonathan Ross. More than £300 million has so far been distributed to projects by Comic Relief.

Red Nose Day was also copied in other countries. One of note was New Zealand, which actually introduced a brief fad in 1990 of selling over-sized red-noses for car grilles for charity.