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 About Anti-Poverty WeekAnti-Poverty Week was established in Australia as an expansion of the UN's annual International Anti-Poverty Day on October 17. The main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to:
Everyone who is interested in helping to reduce poverty and hardship here or overseas is encouraged to organise their own activities during the Week or join in some being organised by other people. The activities can be large or small, and events at the local level are especially welcome. Facilitating GroupThe National Facilitating Group for Anti-Poverty Week includes representatives from more than twenty major national organisations and social welfare services which are actively involved in efforts to reduce poverty and hardship in Australia and overseas. There is also a Facilitating Group in each State and Territory. The National Chair is Julian Disney (Social Justice Project). The State and Territory Co-Chairs for 2008 are listed below (See also: Contact Details)
A Summary of Anti-Poverty Week 2008Activities During the WeekMore than 350 activities were registered on our website for Anti-Poverty Week 2008 which was about 40% higher than in the previous year. This continued an unbroken sequence of major growth in each year since the Week began in 2002 with just four activities. Undoubtedly there were many other activities during the Week in 2008 of which we are unaware. At least 500 organisations convened or sponsored an activity during Anti-Poverty Week 2008. They included welfare agencies, community centres, overseas aid organisations, religious groups, schools, TAFEs, universities, businesses, unions, hospitals, youth groups, housing organisations, media outlets, sporting groups, local councils and government departments. People from hundreds of other organisations attended at least one event. The Week was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, at Hanover Welfare Services in Melbourne. She also launched a booklet entitled "Social Inclusion at School" which was prepared especially by the Week's organisers and will be distributed to all schools in Australia. Activities during the Week in 2008 included one or more of the following:
Participants and VenuesThe number of activities is now too large to make reliable estimates of the total number of participants. However, it seems that hundreds of people spoke at activities and many more than ten thousand people participated in them. Participants included people from a very wide range of fields, including social welfare, religion, politics, health, education, housing, business, sport, the arts, economics, law and the media. Activities were held in each State and Territory. About 40% took place in or near the centre of a capital city, 30% in an outer suburb and 30% in a regional city or country town. Venues for activities included:
Media ReferencesWe know of more than 300 media references to activities undertaken as part of the Week. About half of them were in radio or television outlets (of which about 50% were in commercial outlets and 15% were on television). The other half of the references were newspaper articles, of which about 30% were more than 500 words in length. About 35% of electronic references and 60% of print references were in media outlets based in regional centres. CoordinationThe Week was loosely coordinated through a National Facilitating Group with an honorary National Chair and a part-time National Coordinator and Project Coordinator, (both based in Sydney). The National Patron was Rev. Tim Costello and several States also had Patrons. The State and Territory Co-Chairs were the heads or senior managers of:
ResourcesThis year the effectiveness of the Week was greatly strengthened by the generous support of our two Principal National Sponsors:
Valuable assistance was also provided by our Key National Sponsors:
Total expenditure at the national level was approximately $55,000, about half of which was remuneration for the part-time National Coordinator and Project Coordinator. The remainder was expended mainly on printing, the website, media monitoring, travel, postage and office expenses. Crucial in-kind support was provided by UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide, which handled the Week's finances at the national level. A number of the State Co-Chairs obtained assistance from donors for activities within their States as well as providing in-kind support from their own organisations. Most individual activities during the Week were funded by the respective organisers or by donations obtained directly by them. Cities and towns in which activities were held during the Week included:
About Our SponsorsPrincipal National Sponsors
Community Sector BankingCommunity Sector Banking is a form of collective action by not-for-profit organisations to enhance the capacity of the Community Sector to better achieve its objectives. In addition to providing a tailored banking service, CSB facilitates the development of broader and more effective community, government and business partnerships in order to support the broader objectives of its stakeholders. 
Jobs Australia: Working for a fair and equitable AustraliaJobs Australia is a national network of non-profit organisations assisting unemployed people to get and keep jobs. The network helps members to make the most effective use of their resources and promotes the needs of unemployed people for the services and support that will help them to participate fully in society. Jobs Australia is the largest network of employment and related service providers in Australia and is funded and owned by its members. Key National Sponsors
Other National Sponsors
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