More than 100 young people from across Europe will converge on Brussels for a special ‘ONE Summit’ to ask newly-elected MEPs to commit to fighting extreme poverty.

121 Youth Ambassadors for anti-poverty group The ONE Campaign will take part in the three day summit, which will culminate in a concentrated day of action at the European Parliament.

Drawn from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK, the Youth Ambassadors will meet MEPs on the final ‘Lobby Day’ and persuade them to sign the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge.

Diane Sheard, UK Director for ONE, said: “The ONE Summit is a great opportunity for our MEPs to stand up and be counted. ONE thing we can all agree is that no one should have to scrape by on less than £1 a day.

“Our Youth Ambassadors have already achieved so much. They are proof that young people do care about politics, Europe and International Development. If MEPs want to be elected again in the future, they must show they understand the beliefs of young people now.

“MEPs should seize this moment to make real progress in ending extreme poverty within our lifetimes.  Continuing European investment in health and agriculture, as well as efforts to tackle corruption and shell companies, benefits both people in the world’s poorest countries and us here at home.” 

The ONE VOTE 2014 pledge is a promise by the MEPs that they will work to end extreme poverty and ensure Europe continues to help the world’s poorest people.

Extreme poverty has been halved in the last 20 years, and could be virtually eliminated by 2030, but only if leaders rise to the challenge.

Thanks to the efforts of Youth Ambassadors ahead of the EU Elections – where they lobbied prospective candidates – 135 MEPs have signed up to the pledge so far.

This means that around a sixth of the European Parliament has already promised to keep the continent’s pro-international development agenda on track in the next five years.

The Lobby Day will kick-off with the Youth Ambassadors taking part in a rally beginning from the European Commission and finishing at the European Parliament – where they will stand as ONE and demand that our representatives take action to end extreme poverty.

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To arrange an interview with a Youth Ambassador or one a Keynote speaker, or more information about ONE, please contact Chris Mitchell on T: 020 7434 6935 or M: 07901 006 799 or email:  [email protected]

Pictures of the Youth Ambassadors in action at the ONE Summit will be available upon request.

Notes to Editors

ONE spokespeople are available for interview upon request.

About ONE

ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organization of nearly 6 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. ONE is not a grant-making organisation and does not solicit funding from the public or receive government funding. ONE is funded almost entirely by foundations, individual philanthropists and corporations. We achieve change through advocacy. Our teams in London, Washington, New York, Johannesburg, Brussels, Berlin and Paris educate and lobby governments to shape policy solutions that save and improve millions of lives. To learn more, go to ONE.org.

About ONE Youth Ambassadors

The ONE Youth Ambassadors project is a new initiative that empowers more than 120 young activists across Europe to carry out the fight against extreme poverty – campaigning locally, nationally and online. This project has been launched simultaneously in France, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands and runs for six months until October 2014. The UK Youth Ambassadors are based around the country. For a full list of names and details please contact Chris Mitchell on the details given above.

ONE VOTE 2014 Pledge text

“Ending extreme poverty is in our hands. Together, we can make sure it is virtually eliminated by 2030. In the next 5 years, we need to build support for the poorest countries, especially through investments in agriculture, healthcare and access to energy, and to make governments and businesses transparent and accountable.

As a representative of the British people, I will make sure we keep our promises in the fight against extreme poverty, and help ensure that our laws make it easier for the world’s poor to lift themselves out of poverty.”