What do you consider being the key global problem to be addressed in our lifetime? Why? How?

What kinds of obstacles do you see currently or in the foreseeable future in addressing this issue?

What kinds of resources do you have as RE educator in addressing this challenge?

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People with more than enough have an immediate and personal obligation to help those living in extreme poverty.

- Peter SingerIt is clear that improvements in the lives of the

poor have been unacceptably slow, and some hard-won gains are being eroded by the climate, food and economic crises.

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

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ACT is an alliance of 100 church and church related organizations that work together in humanitarian assistance, development and advocacy.

The alliance works in 130 countries and mobilizes 1.5 billion USD annually for its work for just world.

ACT alliance has over 30 000 people working for it globally.

Members of the ACT Alliance are related to World Council of Churches and Lutheran World Federation.

Finn Church Aid is part of ACT Alliance.

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“We work with and for people of all faiths and none. We give priority to the poorest and most vulnerable people in areas of the world with the greatest need for external assistance. And we work to enable and strengthen existing capacity and resources, putting communities at the center.

We work to uphold ethical and professional standards of transparency and accountability to the communities we serve, to those whose resources we are asked to be stewards of, and to each other. In all of this, we are committed as an alliance to learning, coordinating and collaborating with each other and others to increase the difference we make.”

ACT Alliance

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PVM/NN Finn Church Aid

Finn Church Aid - Reduces, together with less privileged people, their

vulnerability and works towards a more just world.  - Seeks to eradicate poverty together with the less

privileged and poorest people.- Works towards justice with those who are oppressed and

advocates with those whose voices are not heard.

– Largest development NGO in Finland.

“Our aim is that disadvantaged and oppressed people have the capacity, self-confidence and will to take positive action to improve their lives. We emphasize the local ownership and responsibility of any development effort. We apply an integrated sustainable livelihoods approach including food security, livelihood diversification, rights awareness, and local conflict management and reconciliation.”

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PVM/NN Where we work:

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Poverty is lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter because of the inability to afford then.

Poverty is measured as either absolute or relative poverty. Absolute poverty refers to a standard consistent over time and between countries.

World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than 1.25 USD/day and moderate poverty as less than 2 USD/day. 1.1 billion people have consumption levels below 1 USD/day. Almost 3 billion people live on less than 2 USD/day.

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Six million children die of hunger every year - 17,000 every day.

Globalization has changed the way we see wellbeing.

We are interdependent from one another and our wellbeing is constructed in relation to the wellbeing of others.

Global financial crisis, threat of terrorism and what will follow from climate change has concretized that issues that have no borders have to be tackled globally.

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Living is dangerous

Every third death is due to poverty. 18 million people die annually due to poverty. Most of them are women and children.

Poverty increases homelessness. There are over 100 million children living in the streets.

Being a Mom is dangerous. Over half a million women die globally when expecting or giving birth to a child.

Over 250 million people get ill annually from water-born illnesses.Wars and crisis in Africa have cost over 300 billion dollars since

1990ies.Human trafficking is modern slavery. Motivated by poverty,

prostitution is the major form of modern slavery. Markets of human trafficking amount to some 10 billion USD annually.

By 2015 there will be over 1,2 billion young people under 25 seeing jobs. Only some 300 million will find one.

International trade mount some 10 million USD per minute – developing countries share is some 0,4 %, Half of what it was in 1980ies.

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Failure in the world order?

Poverty is the main global problem to be tackled. It is considered more severe problem than climate change, terrorism or wars. 71% of people considered poverty being the most worrying single issue according to a global survey by BBC in 2010.

The prevalence of poverty on this scale must be considered a failure of the world order.

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Percentage population living on less than 1 dollar day 2007-2008

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World hunger map

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Global instability in the 21st century will come not from superpowers but from failed states.

There are some 30-40 failed states. These states are major sources for regional and international instability, crime and suffering. These countries include Somalia, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afganistan and others.

These failed or fragile states are unable to secure the wellbeing and rights of their citizens. The pose a major threat.

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Fragile states have weak or non-existant state institutions, they lack resources and infrastructure for basic services and they cannot secure the security and rights of their citizens

These states need urgent assistance in building governance structures, in securing rule and culture of law and in fostering sustainable livelihoods of their citizens.

Ending war and resolving conflict/s is often one of the first steps towards this direction.

When state structures are failed often authority is sought from traditional structures. Religions and faith-based leadership play a major role.

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Do we help?

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.

They aim to galvanize efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.

Some progress in cutting the rate of extreme poverty, getting children into primary schools, addressing AIDS, malaria and child health, and a good chance to reach the target for access to clean drinking water.

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Do we help?World development aid combined was some 85

billion euros. Development aid alone will not end poverty.

Investment into developing countries and their economies, transmittances and other private support, the resources of foundations and NGOs add up. The private and NGO invest is amount 2.5 times the official ODA.

Aid dependency is a major problem. This has been tackled, but corruption and state fragility make it difficult.

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Poverty is human rights crisis

Money alone will not ease the hunger. Rights and power are needed.

Fighting poverty is about fighting deprivation and exclusion.

“People living in poverty lack material resources but that more than that, they lack control over their own lives. To tackle global poverty, we need to focus on the human rights abuses that drive poverty and keep people poor. Giving people a say in their own future, and demanding that they be treated with dignity and respect for their rights is the way to make progress.” – Irene Kahn

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Potential futures?

Increased mobility due to climate changeFood crisis more severe in urban areasExtreme weather conditionsState fragility paralyzes international communityIdentity and resource warsPolarization between rich and poor increases

security challenges everywhere

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Potential futures?

Tackling climate change unifies world community

Pro-poor growth possible through land reforms and rights advancement

South attracts investment, reforms in trade policies

Down shifting, changes in consumption patterns, increasing demands on radical resource justice

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Can we increase our material wellbeing when others live in hunger? How do we explain this to ourselves? If poverty is considered the main global problem why are we still so far away from addressing the issue adequately?

How do we construct the Western ethics of growth? Or down-shifting?

How do we supporting the younger generations in constructing a world view mature enough to tackle these issues? How can RE help?

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Thank you.

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