Waggener Edstrom is working with the U.N.'s Millennium Development anti-poverty effort on a day-long "Stand Up, Speak Out" global awareness event Oct. 16-17 steeped in social media. The campaign is using a "meetup" style of political social networking and a blog to encourage participants around the world to set up their own events and to literally stand up for poverty on that day. Sites on Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and videos on YouTube are all being utilized.
Soccer fans in Nigeria will stand and cheer for one minute during a game there.
An anti-poverty group in Japan is encouraging people in public places to participate.
The campaign said 23,542,614 people participated in 11,646 events around the globe last year.
The MD effort centers on a set of eight goals developed in 2002 by U.N. to end extreme poverty.