Welcome to The Challenge, the first day of the iNet student online conference on global citizenship. Please make the most of this opportunity to talk about today's two fantastic presentations with other young people around the world.

Debra Brydon,
Online Conference Manager

The eradication of poverty: reasons for it and ways to bring it about

Judy, Lina & Daye
Balwyn High School
Australia

Part 1: What causes poverty?

Poverty is a global issue, and one that should be treated carefully. It isn’t just one factor, such as governmental negligence and disinterest that causes it. It ties in with each of the billions of people in the world, and is influenced by the actions and decisions that they take. It is caused by many different problems linking together to create an environment where even the basic necessities are difficult to find or make.

One of the most obvious causes is human greed and selfishness. Recent statistics show that the world’s richest 500 people have a combined income far larger than that of the poorest 416 million people. Perhaps these 500 people all have their reasons for keeping their money, but another report tells that only $5.4 billion each year would be needed to provide all the children in the world with free education. Even if it weren’t education but basic health resources, food and water, $5.4 billion would make a huge difference in helping developing countries to stand up on their own feet.

Another reason for poverty is war and conflict. Most wars and conflicts seem to happen between, or in, poor and developing countries. Government officials also use a lot of money for military uses, such as artillery and soldiers' rations. They also need the best, youngest men to fight, which then reduces the numbers of people available to keep the economy going. It leaves the elderly, the young and the women to cobble together a living for themselves, and eventually leaves them vulnerable to all sorts of disasters, man-made and natural alike. Some countries also borrow money from others so that they can pay the bills for the things they buy, which later governments and leaders have to repay through taxes from the citizens. The interest builds up over time, leaving the country with far more money to pay back than before and a starving population as a result.

Colonisation can also leave a huge scar on the countries that have been colonised. Often the countries that take over force their culture on the one taken over, and when the country gains its independence it often doesn't know what to do with itself because of the startlingly different aspects of culture that it has been forced to accept. This leads to mismanagement of resources and less money for those who really need it. Sometimes the main reason for poverty is simply because of discrimination and deliberate ignorance. This can be towards the women of the country, the unwanted religions, the dark-skinned, or the lower castes. And although we as teenagers in the developed world occasionally donate money and spread awareness about this poverty, the government is holding back. It's time we did something to spur them into action again.

What can help us to eradicate poverty? We, the young generation of the 21st century, live in a world of information. It’s everywhere: from a mere jam jar label to a year 12 Biology textbook. It is freely given and received, bartered for, paid for, bought, sold, used, mistreated and passed on. It can decide whether a man lives or dies, is imprisoned or set free. It can mean disaster for the innocent, but at the same time it can be a reason to celebrate among the guilty.

Recently, with the emergence of televisions, internationally transmitted radios and computers, there has been an overload of information. People in the medieval era used to think that the only world that existed was their world – the region that they had been born in, the region that they had been raised in, the region that they knew they would die in. But now, with the rapid increase of homes connecting to the internet, every day there is more and more information added to the collection, from a small website declaring the birth of a baby to the newest modern health article on Yahoo.

So why is the third millennium thought of as the age of no poverty, of a new start for all? Is it because of the open minds that children are taught to have from their days in school? Is it because of the widening outlook and increased awareness about the situations going on in other, less fortunate countries? Is it because of the internet and the spread of information?

I guess it's all of those reasons, really. Who hasn't been taught about issues in foreign countries? I myself remember learning about the Yarra River and the current drought in Australia when I was back in New Zealand. I recall wondering if Australians really had pet kangaroos and kept crocodiles in their bathtubs. Now that I'm really here, I know they don't, but it's strange how many of those facts you can find out from the ever-resourceful internet.

With the arrival of the internet, the world has grown much closer. Millions of emails and instant messages are sent every day, making news travel faster and more effectively. Newsbreaks are posted onto all the major websites as soon as the reports are sent, giving up-to-the-minute news about things that go on in the world. Finding out about some sort of terrorist attack or new earthquake takes a mere five minutes to be relayed around the world on the wings of technology. In this way, information, experiences and issues found in other countries can be brought over from their borders into ours. Naturally this increases awareness, curiosity and questions between the youth of these countries. This curiosity should be exploited as much as possible to make sure that we know even more about the problems that other young people of the world face. I believe that with awareness comes the drive to do something for people that are so like us and yet are so unlike us at the same time. With all this technology and understanding, we can do something to stop poverty from spreading, reduce it, contain it and keep it locked away.

Part 2: Why?

So why should we strive to create global equality among nations? Don’t some people have to miss out because of the resources that the world lacks? The answer is a definite 'no'. In the words of George McGovern in Issue 3 of the UN Chronicle of 2001: 'The world now produces a quantity of grain that, if distributed evenly, would provide everyone with 3500 calories per day, more than enough for an optimal diet. This does not even count vegetables fruits, fish, meat, poultry, edible oils, nuts, root crops, or dairy products'. And this is only food! Other resources that we have plenty of include unpolluted fresh water, money and self-renewable energy. We have all the ingredients we need to create a better environment for everyone, as long as people try to cooperate and listen to each other.

Taking this into account, there are many reasons why we should eradicate poverty once and for all. First of all, if we, the very first – and perhaps last (more about that later) – generation, ignore the cries for help from all the developing nations of the world, what will it give us? A lighter heart and mind knowing that we had passively killed another half-million people by not taking action? More money, more prestige? More happiness? More land?

Let's put the situation into perspective. Here we are, the privileged few of the world that have all the basic necessities – food, shelter, water – and then more. There are the books and games we own, the various things around our homes that we possess, the computers and facilities that allow us to work in collaboration like this. There they are, the majority of the world that don't even have the things that all the human rights declarations deem necessary for survival, let alone toys, games or computers. In reality, human rights are just another of the privileges that the developed world flaunt in front of the developing world.

So what does that make us, the ones of the developed world? We want more every day – more clothes, more games, more ways to enjoy ourselves – while the poor struggle to pass each day safely and without injury. If we do not take this chance to eliminate poverty once and for all, the gap between the rich and the poor will grow bigger, and in the end we'll only be deemed selfish in the face of our neighbours' adversity.

Another reason why we should work to eradicate poverty in this generation is because we could be the last generation to care enough and be motivated enough to make a change. Of course, there will always be people actively working to make sure the poor survive more easily, but how long will that last? In an era where the cost of a hamburger in a developed country is enough for two days' survival in a developing one, it won't be long until greed blinds us and keeps us from seeing what's really out there.

Of course, we'll have better facilities, better structures and upgraded measures to make sure that the poor get what they have missed out on for such a long time. But will we have the hearts and the compassion to make sure all this carries through? If we forget the needy at such a crucial point in time, no one will care about them. They will become the 'have-nots' of present society; the forgotten ones that will eventually have to die out anyway.

To stop this from even beginning, let's lead on to the next part – how exactly we can reduce the rift between the rich and the poor; how we can give them support and relief; how we can fill in the rift completely. A world without poverty would be the best sight we could ever hope to see in our lifetimes.

Part 3: How?

The first step to eradicating poverty is to open ourselves up to change and to differences. We need to be able to see from all points of view and step into many other pairs of shoes so that we can see what makes a problem a problem and then find decisions and answers for ourselves. Understanding breeds empathy, and only by knowing what we face can we realise the enormity of the issue and take it by the roots. Find out as much as possible about the various issues affecting a country and ask a teacher or parent about what it would take to aid those in the situation. It also helps to think about what you would do if you were in the situation and build on that. At this stage, even simple awareness helps, if it is spread around. Eventually more people will know about the epidemic proportions of poverty. It doesn't matter whether we're fourteen or forty – what matters is how hard we strive to make a wish come true. Ryan of the Ryan's Well Foundation was six when he heard about the problems that developing countries faced with lack of fresh water and decided to raise $70 to build a well. Help and support from friends and family followed, and the Ryan's Well Foundation was born. To date there have been over seventy wells that the Foundation has built in Africa. Of course, the scale on which we work to eradicate poverty and lack of resources doesn't have to be that big at all. The only thing that matters is, whether we try or not. This can include giving money to well-known relief organisations like World Vision and Plan, as well as more teenager-like pursuits such as going to the Make Poverty History concert or buying a donation wristband.

The second step would ultimately be to step out and ask the authorities directly to provide more help towards those who are suffering with poverty. Here we can take the example of Amnesty International and write letters of protest against the use of money for causes other than the alleviation of extreme poverty. We could start with the countries of the G20 that donate the least – Australia, for example, only donates 30c of every $100 of national income each year. If enough people express their concern, perhaps this rate will start rising so that more money can go towards the eradication of poverty. It can be easily publicised through word of mouth, flyers, websites, emails and newspapers. A national awareness day would also be useful, with the major poverty relief organisations campaigning in order to get their point across.

Another step could be to join an organisation and work actively overseas to help alleviate the effects of poverty on other countries, but this option is only available for those with the time and money to do so. An option slightly closer to home is to work in conjunction with the organisation in question and offer to publicise their campaigns. Donating regularly is also a commendable must, but make sure you know how the money is used – some organisations sluice off the money to other things for their own enjoyment.

Part 4: A new start

In conclusion, the process of a young generation working to eradicate poverty is a long and hard one, the end of which cannot be predicted. Young people all around the world will face many challenges and much co-operation and negotiation will be needed before any type of decision is made. With the influence of a million children worldwide asking for relief to be sent to developing countries around the globe, we believe that poverty really can be eradicated. Perhaps in a couple of years we'll see a whole barrage of letters delivered to each of the offices of the G20 government officials at the same point in time, asking for more active help to be provided. Perhaps in twenty years we'll see a new series of influential leaders working collaboratively to remove the last vestiges of widespread poverty and settling on a new, revised human rights agreement – one that is not a petty privilege but one that is a human right itself; the right to be treated as a true person with a heart and mind, and the right to live under the protection of the human rights agreement. These leaders could equally be you or me; it could be a compassionate stranger, or it could be a well-known friend. Whoever they are, I know I'll work wholeheartedly with them to right the upturned balance of money . . . will you?

Global poverty video

Rahim, Haroon and Raja
Robin Hood School
UK

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