
What is GCAP?
GCAP is a network of over 18,400 civil society organisations (CSOs) organized in 66 National Coalitions and in constituency groups of women, youth and socially-excluded people, among others.
Read more about our work around Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, our current campaign Faces of Inequality and the People’s Assembly .
Our strengths
- Strong political leadership from the Global South.
- A focus on the structural aspects of inequalities.
- Proven ability to mobilise millions of people in support of rights-based advocacy.
- A solid grassroots foundation, consisting of thousands of small & mid-sized civil society organisations.
- A real bottom-up process led by marginalized groups and women’s organisations.
History
A Decade of Campaign Experience
In September 2003, prominent activist on women and children’s issues, Graça Machel, hosted a group of southern civil society activists in Maputo, Mozambique. It was here, that the idea of a Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) was first aired.
Launched in 2005 at the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre with the symbol of the whiteband, GCAP has mobilized hundreds of millions of people and co-organised the world’s largest single issues-based campaign to 'Stand UP' Against Poverty – certified by the Guinness World Records with 173 million people in 2009.
GCAP played a key role the creation of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have organized community and national consultations in 39 countries since 2013. In 2015, we mobilized 32 million people to act against Poverty, Inequality and Climate Change.
GCAP has successfully insisted on the centrality of addressing inequalities and guaranteeing the active participation of people in the Agenda 2030. The standalone goal on inequalities, SDG 10, is one result.
On 25 September 2017, GCAP initiated in cooperation with the UN SDG Action Campaign the Global Day of Action - Act4SDGs to mark the anniversary of the SDGs. In 2018 a million people took part in 1662 actions in 143 countries.
https://youtu.be/aRUgs2WpcqcMission & Strategy
- People – especially from marginalized groups – are aware of their rights and empowered through partnership with local and national CSOs to provide a robust bottom up and citizen-driven process that addresses the structural aspects of inequalities and monitors the SDGs.
- All levels of government as well as the private sector are held accountable to address the structural aspects of inequalities and implement the SDGs.
- Build a strong global network - from national coalitions, constituency groups and initiatives for advocacy and mobilization - at regional and global levels to influence international processes and institutions.
- Gender and Social Exclusion
- Role and Accountability of Private Sector
- Redistribution
- Climate Justice
- Civic Space and Human Rights
- Research and Analysis: Inequality Reports and Faces of Inequalities publications
- Awareness raising and capacity building on inequalities and SDGs
- Mobilisation and campaigning in a bottom up process
- Advocacy and Monitoring
- Civil Society Coordination and Alliance Building