Dear Friends,

In 2017, we will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Joseph Wresinski‘s call to action and we’ve already started preparing for an extraordinary campaign which we would like to invite you to join in. Since October 17 was recognized as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, by the United Nations in 1992, considerable progress has been made. The “UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights”, adopted in September 2012, affirm that extreme poverty is not merely a matter of a lack of income, it is also a question of human rights.

Following on from the Millennium Development Goals, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, declared: “[…]the world embarks on a bold new path towards a future of dignity for all guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (17 October, 2015).

This year, the theme adopted by the UN is directly aligned with this agenda:

Moving from humiliation and exclusion to participation:

Ending poverty in all its forms.

It echoes the words of Joseph Wresinski who, on 17 October 1987, entrusted us with a great responsibility: to reach out to the poorest as our brothers and sisters and ensure they are our primary partners in everything we do.

In this Letter to Friends Around the World, you will find extracts of the 2006 Report from the UN Secretary General on the impact of the International Day and testimonies from last year’s 17 October events. We hope that this letter will help you promote and celebrate the day wherever you are.

Good luck and all the best for October 17!

Forum on Overcoming Extreme Poverty Team.