ONE is a global movement which successfully organized ONE Vote 2019 campaign in the recently held European Union Parliament Election. The campaign involving youth ambassadors reached out to the candidates of European Parliament during the election to publicly sign the ONE Vote 2019 pledge.
In Ireland, young campaigners from Dublin have coaxed the European Parliament, even before Ireland’s MEPs took their seats on 2 July.
Cocoyisha, Ross, Caoimhe, Jona and Riya were part of the successful ONE Vote 2019 campaign, which asked candidates in May’s election to pledge to commit to ensuring that the EU will keep its promises to fight extreme poverty and gender inequality.
12 of Ireland’s 13 MEPs signed up, and now the newly elected members of the European Parliament will send a strong anti-poverty and egalitarianism message to Brussels, as they take their seats for the next five years as Ireland’s MEPs.
Speaking about their role in the ONE VOTE 2019 campaign, Riya Gulati, ONE Young Ambassador said: ‘It was an exhilarating experience to meet the MEP candidates, who gleefully showed their interest in fighting against global poverty and gender inequality by signing up our pledge and help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030’.
35 young campaigners took part in Ireland as youth ambassadors for the ONE Campaign, an anti-poverty organization, along with 260 young campaigners across Europe.
The cross-continent campaigners managed to secure pledges to help fight extreme poverty, preventable disease and gender inequality, particularly in the world’s poorest countries from more than 150 elected MEPs.
If they were a unique political grouping in the parliament, they would be the second-largest, only behind the European People’s Party (EPP).
The Irish Youth Ambassadors were some of the most successful in persuading prospective MEPs to sign the pledge, with 92 per cent of Irish MEPs signing the pledge.
Candidates who signed up in Ireland and were successfully elected include Ciarán Cuffe, Clare Daly and Frances Fitzgerald.
Jasmine Wakeel, from ONE’s Ireland campaigns team, said, ‘Our Youth Ambassadors have been incredible, with young Dubliners showing MEPs just how passionate they are about ending extreme poverty’.
‘A clear message has been sent to the new EU Parliament. With just 10 years to go until the world reaches the global deadline to eradicate poverty and partisanship, we can’t afford to slow down. Ireland is known for its generosity and commitment to fighting global challenges, now is the time for the country’s new MEPs to show the same valued leadership in the EU.”
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Ross Boyd, ONE Youth Ambassador says, ‘As being an active Irish & European citizen, I felt obligated to ensure my voice as a young person was heard. This led to me working with organizations such as ONE and this time I am voting, ensuring other people’s voices were passed on to MEP candidates such as Mairead McGuinness and Ciarán Cuffe on ending extreme poverty and ensuring citizens use their vote in the elections, in particular, young people who are less likely to vote than older demographics. It led to every single elected MEP in Ireland signing a pledge to commit to ending extreme poverty in their work in Europe and ensuring young people in my college used their vote in the European Elections and being more aware of their vote as a right rather than a privilege’.
Indeed, Ireland has shown tremendous leadership on the global stage. Through committing to reach the 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income overseas development assistance target by 2030, in order to realize the Global Goals and pledging a 50 per cent increase for the hugely effective Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Ireland has shown exceptional dedication to ending extreme poverty, for good.
Europeans overwhelmingly support EU aid, with around three quarters of Europeans believing that tackling global poverty has a positive influence on the EU and that EU aid contributes to a more peaceful and fairer world. However, people living in extreme poverty (less than $1.90/day) are increasingly becoming concentrated in the least developed countries and most fragile states.
Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced by more than 60 per cent, and with the right investments in people and places that need it most, it could be virtually eliminated by 2030.
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Today’s youth are ready to act to defeat extreme poverty—they demand a world where everyone can lead a life of dignity and opportunity.
This year’s European elections represented a key moment in time for Europe and for the world. First, the parliament played an important role in giving its consent to the EU aid budget, influencing debate and taking the decision on key development issues. Second, and just as crucially, the outcome of the elections also shaped the leadership selection for the next European Commission, which has the power to initiate policies and laws.
In 2018, ONE has started campaigning for more and better aid in the next long-term budget and will continue to do so even after the elections. It is crucial to raise awareness within the future EU leadership on the fight against extreme poverty and the promises made to the worlds’ poorest, particularly on the quality and quantity of development aid.
(Inputs credit: ONE press release)
