Catholics set Guinness World Record in stand against poverty

Catholic campaigners around the world have been taking part in a record-breaking stunt to draw attention to poverty. More than 23.5 million people participated in 'Stand Up Against Poverty' events. In Glasgow, SCIAF supporters made a stand against poverty in Kelvingrove Art Galleries & Museum, Glasgow on Sunday. Television presenter Kaye Adams, stars of River City, Glasgow Lord Provost, Liz Cameron and leading anti-poverty campaigner Kumi Naidoo participated in the Glasgow event and were joined by Archbishop Maroy from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Archbishop and colleagues from the DRC were visiting SCIAF and welcomed the opportunity to pledge their support in local languages including Swahili and French. They each made a personal pledge to 'Stand Up Against Poverty' and be counted as part of Scotland's contribution to the World Record. In London, campaigners, all dressed in white, gathered in London's Trafalgar Square on Tuesday morning, to hear editor-in-chief of the Guinness World Record Craig Glenday reveal the remarkable 23.5 million figure of people who symbolically 'stood up' against poverty in a 24 hour period and confirm a new Guinness World Record had been set. The latest figure as of 18 October was 23,542,614. Mr Glenday said: "This is the largest event Guinness World Record has been involved in. It's overwhelming for us to know that this many people have pulled together on a single day. We're still getting numbers in from around the world now, so this figure should increase. It shows amazing spirit." CAFOD campaigner Helen Cross, who took part in the Trafalgar Square event said: "It was amazing to know I was standing in solidarity with the poor with so many people throughout the world and being part of a global movement. " In the last 24 hours people from over 80 countries from Japan to Zimbabwe have taken part in the world record breaking attempt for the most number of people to literally 'Stand Up' against poverty. An incredible 18,457 people took part in 'Stand Up' events in the United Arab Emirates, around 1,200 youths gathered in Senegal and more than 1,500 people from more than 30 organisations, schools, churches, mosques as well as soccer players, culture groups, taxi drivers and well-wishes participated in Stand-Up events in Liberia. Meanwhile, activists held rallies in Nairobi and Johannesburg and in Asia, Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2006, Dr Muhammad Yunus revealed the World Record number to anti-poverty campaigners dressed in red and green Shari and Punjab in Dhaka, Bangladesh. United by the international symbol of the white band, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) represents more than 150 million people globally. The action marked the climax to a global month of action, which began on 16 September, with big mobilisations in Indonesia and Singapore at the time of the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Campaigners have been demanding that world leaders tackle poverty, inequality and take the massive steps needed towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, by delivering trade justice, further debt cancellation, a major increase in the quantity and quality of aid and an improvement in public accountability & transparency in developing countries. Source: SCIAF/CAFOD