July 8, 2005
By Robert Bergner

On the eve of the G8 meeting, UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, addressed more than 2500 people yesterday evening at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The event, which included presentations by the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, and the Rt Hon Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, was entitled Global Poverty: A Challenge to the G8. More than a thousand people were turned away from the Cathedral due to space limitations and health and safety concerns.

After a rousing call-and-response by Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign, Mr. Annan began by highlighting the unique confluence of anti-poverty efforts that is currently taking place in England. Government, citizens, civil society, business, media, Make Poverty History campaigners and the United Nations are all working towards the common goal of poverty eradication. "That," he said, "is something you do not often see in a lifetime."

Looking out over the crowd which filled every corner of the Cathedral – nave, aisle, transept and choir – Mr. Annan declared that all present had been "brought together, under God, under one roof and under the banner of the white band against poverty." To be at St Paul's under such conditions, he said, was nothing less than "heaven."

Mr. Annan then stated that Chancellor Brown and Prime Minister Tony Blair are "two of the great global leaders of our time" because of their work on debt relief and development issues, and explained the extraordinary potential of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs, he said, differ from other development policies in four principle ways: 1) Wealthy countries have accepted their responsibility to support poorer countries through aid, debt cancellation and fairer trade. 2) The MDGs are "people centred, time-bound and measurable." 3) "The MDGs have unprecedented political support." 4) "The MDGs are achievable."

The UN leader warned that, while the past fifteen years have seen a remarkable reduction in poverty, particularly in Asia, conditions in many of the world's poorest countries are worsening. Approximately one billion people, he said, live below the extreme poverty line.

Concluding with a brief reference to William Wordsworth, Mr. Annan said, "‘we who are strong in love,'" must be remembered by history as "the ones who really did make poverty history."

The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, emphasized the importance of a new perspective on the part of the developed countries. Speaking on the role that faith communities can play in the movement to eradicate poverty, he said that the task confronting the West is no less than a "change in the consciousness of a whole civilization." Wealthy nations, he said, must "reign back our desire for more and more." Bishop Chartres urged students and young people to consider how they might best use their gifts. He encouraged youth, and everyone, to "overcome the inertia of selfishness."

Bishop Chartres stressed the importance of the Make Poverty History Campaign. The campaign, he said, is "one of those spiritual journeys in which we discover that, the more we go beyond our own comfort zones, the more we are enriched by those who may be poor but, in reality, quickly become our teachers."

Chancellor Brown delivered an energetic speech. Mr Brown called the audience at St Paul's – which, he observed, were drawn from "all churches, all faiths all denominations" – "our modern heroes." Mr. Brown underlined the good that has already been made possible by debt-relief and foreign aid. As a result of debt relief, he said that, by next year, every Tanzanian child will attend primary school. Equally, in one recent week, a million Kenyan children presented themselves to enroll in school as a result of aid for free primary education. Mr. Brown quoted several prophets and theologians in his remarks and concluded his advice to the children of Britain with words of Martin Luther King: "All of us can be great, because all of us can serve."

Wahu Kaara of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty received an exceptionally warm response from those in attendance at the historic cathedral. Ms. Kaara spoke passionately to both leaders in Africa and G8 leaders. "Can we have some honesty, please?" she asked rhetorically. Ms. Kaara demanded transparency in government from the African leaders. "We will not," she declared, "tolerate corruption and inefficiency from our leaders anymore." The leaders of G8 countries, she said, must listen to the millions of their own citizens who are demanding action against poverty. "Don't tell us you don't have money," Ms. Kaara challenged. "You found money for the war in Iraq. Now, we want to see your sense of justice, your courage, and your humanity."

Other speakers included Alison Marshall of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD). She called on the G8 leaders to respond appropriately and adequately to the plague of extreme poverty. When news of G8 commitments is announced at the end of the week, she said, citizens must ask, "Is it good enough?"

Also addressing the crowds was Paul Myners, Chairman of Marks & Spencer and The Guardian Media Group. His focused on the role that business must play in poverty relief efforts. Africans, he said, must be allowed "fair access" to Western markets. "We must," he stated, "stop paying ourselves agricultural subsidies," which "mandate continuing poverty in Africa."

The event was sponsored by the St Paul's Cathedral Institute, under the direction of the Revd Canon Edmund Newell. It was one of many Institute programmes which are open to the wider community, including a series of lectures by the Archbishop of Canterbury which is now available as a book.

In his welcome to the evening, the Dean of St Paul's, the Very Revd John Moses, said that "cathedrals have an important contribution to make to the discussion and resolution of issues of today such as hunger and extreme poverty." The Dean expressed his delight that Secretary General Annan had chosen to make his last statement before the G8 summit at St Paul's.

The entire event was crowned by a gigantic banner which wrapped the exterior of the famous dome of Christopher Wren's St Paul's Cathedral. The banner proclaimed: "MAKE POVERTY HISTORY."

Anglican Communion News Service, London
Jim Rosenthal contributed to this article.