Challenge Poverty Week 2019

Challenge Poverty Week has been coordinated by the Poverty Alliance for the last seven years, and it is an opportunity for third sector organisations to highlight what they are doing address poverty, showcase the solutions we can all get behind to solve it and commit to more action in the future. The campaign takes place from the 7th to the 13th October 2019.

Last year nearly 200 events were organised by 130 organisations and elected representatives as part of Challenge Poverty Week. The campaign also received cross-party support, with leaders of all major political parties in Scotland taking part.

The key messages for this year’s Challenge Poverty Week are:

Challenge Poverty in Scotland?  Aye, we can!

•     Too many people in Scotland are trapped in the grip of poverty

•     By boosting incomes and reducing costs we can solve poverty

•     Solving poverty is about ensuring we can all participate in society

Why not take part?

You can get involved in Challenge Poverty Week by organising an activity or creating communications content. You can, for example:

• Organise a themed discussion
• Have an open day at your organisation
• Write a blog, make a video or talk to the media about the solutions to poverty
• Speak to a local politician about what needs to be done

To get more ideas on how to take part, ask us for a copy of our activity toolkit. Email Irene at irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org

We are hoping to get substantial media coverage of the participant’s actions on a local and national level, with a focus on ensuring most of them use the framed messages and content we are disseminating for the Week. These messages are based on research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on public attitudes towards poverty and the most effective ways to build support to solve it by using framed language. We are offering free training to all participants in the Week about the learnings from this research on framing, with a focus on how to use language effectively when engaging with the media. You can learn more and sign up on our website: www.challengepoverty.net

The solutions we are advocating

We believe we can end poverty by boosting people’s incomes and reducing the cost of living. Employers can play their part by ensuring every worker is paid the real Living Wage. Governments at all levels must ensure that social security benefits are adequate to help loosen the grip of poverty and provide an anchor against the rising tide of low pay and high housing costs. Governments should invest in affordable and accessible services including transport, heating and childcare. Community groups and voluntary organisations have a vital role to play providing support, giving advice and mitigating the impact of poverty.

Objectives for this year’s edition

The majority of participants in 2018 were third sector organisations, followed by elected representatives, and a smaller number of very active faith-based organisations and local authorities. The rest were public sector organisations and trade unions.

This year we hope to keep counting on strong support from the voluntary sector, alongside more active local authorities. We are also targeting more faith-based organisations and charities whose work is not directly anti-poverty, which we hope will help our message reach further.

How can we help you?

The Poverty Alliance will give all the support we can to help you participate in the Week. This support will include:

• Provide an activity toolkit to help you get involved. Ask Campaigns Officer Irene for a copy:irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org
• Provide free training on media and how to build support for the solutions to poverty
• Promote your activity through local media, social media and our event calendar
• Give individualised advice. (Email Irene at irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org)
• Provide social media graphics, media templates, lesson plans and petition letters

Together we can challenge poverty

Challenge Poverty Week is a real, practical opportunity to build a stronger movement against poverty and demonstrate our values of justice and compassion. At a time when life is becoming tougher for many people, it is vital that we build support for solving poverty.

To find out more and get involved:

Website: www.challengepoverty.net

Twitter: @CPW_Scotland on Twitter

Email:irene.tortajada@povertyalliance.org

Phone number: 07561881374