This is the call by leading Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and ordinaries world-wide.
Our own Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who this week celebrated 60th wedding anniversary with wife Gogo Leah, Malala Yousafzai and Haile Gebrselassie, will join other campaigners globally to call for government to fairly fund essential services, honour their aid commitments and crack down on tax dodging.
The demonstrations are part of the third Financing for Development Summit in Addis Ababa from July 13-16 2015 at which heads of state and finance ministers are being called upon to fund the next 15 years of Sustainable Development and long-term action on climate change.
This is part of the action/2015 movement which will see more than 70 cities marching to Governments Finance Departments to tackle tax injustice, fund fairly with a focus on the marginalised and those living in poverty and keep their promises.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said:” In all my years of campaigning I have never seen a year blessed with so much opportunity to make the world safer, healthier and fairer. With the agreement of a new climate treaty and new poverty goals, 2015 can herald a new era.
We must not waste this chance. By uniting across continents, faiths and generations, we can make sure world leaders hear and act on our calls for them to set ambitious goals for the future, goals which will bring about positive change for people everywhere and for the precious planet we inhabit,” says the Arch.
In Pretoria, South Africa, young people from across the country will take part in a demonstration outside the Finance Ministry to highlight economic inequality. In India, thousands of young people will lead mobilisations in 15 states.
In Kenya, Nairobi as many as 5,000 are expected to attend a rally and New York (Big Apple) and London, will also hosts their demonstrations, respectively.
Malala Yousafzai, student, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and co-founder of the Malala Fund said: “Leaders of the 21st century must deliver on their promises to invest in the future and start investing in books, education and hope, rather than in weapons, war and conflicts,” said Malala.
“Only education will unlock the potential of millions of my sisters and brothers. They are brilliant young minds who will become, if given the chance of 12 years of quality primary and secondary education, the next great scientists, engineers or teachers or anything they want.
Getting millions of girls into school seems impossible. But like my story, it is not. What we have seen is that when we choose to act, girls in the darkest corners of the world can be reached with the light of education,” says Malala, who made international headlines after being abducted and told to stop going to school in her country.
