TODAY at 7.40am, up to 1000 young Australians will gather on the front lawns of Parliament House to launch the Movement to End Poverty, a campaign that will run up until the Federal Election.
Young Australians representing every State and Territory in Australia will stand in a giant map of the nation, showing the cities and towns they come from.
Viv Benjamin, 24 year-old CEO of the Oaktree Foundation, said that the young Australians attending were Ambassadors against global poverty.
"They have travelled throughout the nation as part of Oaktree's Roadtrip to End Poverty, raising awareness about global poverty and the things Australia can do to help," she said.
Make Poverty History youth spokesperson Jody Lightfoot said that the campaign aims to collect 500,000 signatures by the Federal Election.
"We are asking our nation's leaders to ensure we give a fair share to help the poorest people overcome poverty," he said, "just 50 cents in every $100 of gross national income by 2016 and 70 cents in every $100 by 2020. This is an achievable goal."
John Beckett, National Coordinator of Micah Challenge, said that well-directed and effective aid is one of the keys to seeing an end to extreme poverty in our lifetime.
"Since 1990 the world has almost halved the number of children dying from preventable causes," he said. "If countries such as ours step up and do our fair share, we can eradicate extreme poverty in our lifetime."
Members of the public can view the campaign website and sign the petition at www.movementtoendpoverty.org.au. A cherry picker is available at the event for aerial images and representatives will be available for interview. Representatives from the Government, Coalition and Greens will also address the crowd.