Dear G20

Yesterday, we wrote about this weekend’s G20 Summit in Washington, DC that will give an opportunity for world leaders to discuss the current financial crisis. Bob Geldof, organizer of Live Aid and Live 8, and a founding inspiration of the ONE Campaign, published an op-ed in the Financial Times asking the G20 to remember the world’s poorest as they forge ahead with decisions and proposals that will affect all of us.

Excerpts below, full piece here

For those in Africa who live in the world’s hardest circumstances, this crisis can seem academic. Yet there is a threat that they will be overwhelmed by a new wave of poverty, just when there had been the beginnings of real sustained economic change. While Africa is sheltered from the immediate impact of the crisis because of its relative isolation from the global financial system, it will be buffeted by the after-shocks: falling demand for exports, slowing capital flows, reduced remittances, sluggish growth and the threat of development aid drying up.

The food and fuel crisis knocked the poor off their knees; the financial crisis threatens to kick them when they are down. This must not be allowed to happen. Instead the crisis offers a moment of opportunity. When financial vested interests are weak and laisser faire fundamentalism on the ropes, there is a chance to finally live up to the oft-broken commitment to the poor while also regulating the more irresponsible sides of capitalism.

Just as the crisis has been international because of globalisation, any new reforms will also need to be international. As Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, has remarked, a modernised multilateralism must put global development on a par with international finance. The next round of globalisation must be one where economic opportunities and responsibilities are more widely shared.

-Chris Scott

“Act Now”

A few weeks ago Dallas recording artists Tru Sounz and D Flo learned about The ONE Campaign and immediately wanted to get involved and join us in the fight to end global poverty. Of course, being the creative musicians that they are, they were naturally motivated to write a song to show their support.

They joined the SMU ONE Campus Challenge and approached me with the song concept that was “inspired by the millions of people suffering from poverty.” I thought this was an incredible idea to raise more awareness because music is such a great way to reach large audiences, and this would help SMU earn a few points in the ONE Campus Challenge, too!

After a lot of hard work “Act Now” was finished, posted on their website, and it’s gaining popularity. Their fans were so positive and responsive to the message in the song – they emailed in saying that they signed the declaration and even bought ONE t-shirts and wristbands. A few days later, Seattle Seahawks player Trent Shelton called Tru Sounz and said that he heard the song and wanted to be a part of it as well! Trent flew to Dallas on his day off this week and recorded the remix to show his support.

I am thrilled that “Act Now” has had such a positive response and I know that it will continue to spread ONE awareness as they have posted it on their website and have committed to performing it at their upcoming shows.

I am so grateful to have them as members of the SMU OCC and can’t wait to see where the song takes us from here! I know it is already making a difference! Thanks guys, amazing job!

Check out their website, to listen to the song and look out for upcoming shows!

-Andrea Netti

Investing In Women- A New Fact Sheet

Last week, when Bono spoke at the California Women’s Conference, he passed along some of the startling stats (listed below) about women in Africa.

• Nearly two-thirds of adults with HIV in Africa are women young women (age 15 to 24) in South Africa accounted for around 90% of new HIV infections in 2007.
• In Africa, the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth is 1 in 20 (compared to 1 in 2,800 in the US).
• Although up to 80% of farmers in the developing world are women, they own less than 15% of land worldwide.

You can find more facts about women in Africa, as well as inspiring facts (like the one below) about the benefits of investing in women in the developing world, in this new fact sheet.

“Investing in women is considered smart economic policy because it can often yield higher economic returns than investing in men. Providing an extra one year of education beyond the average boosts earnings by 10-20%, compared to 5-15% for males. Increasing the share of women with a secondary education by one percentage point boosts annual per capita income by 0.3% on average. A study in Kenya found that agricultural yields could be raised by as much as 20% simply by reallocating existing agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer, education) more equally between men and women.”

-Virginia Simmons

At the CA Women’s Conference

As you know, Bono spoke at the California Women’s Conference this past Wednesday. One volunteer Amy Quinn was in the audience, and had this to share:

I was one of the lucky 14,000 women to have attended the Women’s Conference in Long Beach last Wednesday. I left the conference with a renewed sense of purpose, which quite frankly, I desperately needed when I arrived at the conference that morning.

In particular, I was moved by Bono’s recollection of his experiences back in the mid 80’s - on his visit to Ethiopia during the horrible famine that occurred there. This is also when my “world vision or Weltanschauung” changed, and I, at the ripe old age of 14 - became a hunger/poverty activist. As Bono said - the flames of that continent sting your eyes - they sear your conscience… He said, “In my travels I have met kids the mirror image own and looked into their faces as they let go of life. And it makes me even angrier that their eyes are always free of accusation. It humbles me beyond belief that they don’t hold it against a world that couldn’t spare the twenty cent immunization that would have them back in the bosom of their family. Even their mothers and fathers…their grief is pure. There’s no blame, just acquiescence…”

As the mother of a six year old little boy - it was easy for me to substitute my son’s eyes for this image.

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VIDEO: Bono Speaks at CA Women’s Conference

As we previously reported, Bono spoke at the 2008 California Women’s Conference last night. We’ve compiled the full footage of his speech, split into 5 parts, below. Enjoy!

PS- In his speech, Bono refers to a petition organized by the ONE Campaign to hold both presidential candidates accountable in the fight to end extreme poverty. Please sign here.

Full speech, Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

-Chris Scott

Bono to Speak Soon

Bono is scheduled to speak at the 2008 Women’s Conference in a few moments. You can watch live in the webcast player below. (Webplayer is after the “read more” jump.)

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Bono to Speak at Women’s Conference

Bono will be speaking tonight at the WE Empower Women’s Conference in California at approximately 6 pm PST (9pm EST). Maria Shriver is hosting the event which features speakers such as Condoleeza Rice, Madeline Albright, Jennifer Lopez, and more. You can watch a live webcast of the event here.

WE Empower’s website describes the conference thusly:

Under the leadership of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver, The Women’s Conference has grown from a small government initiative for working professionals into a far-reaching organization, a life-changing experience, and an international network of women from all walks of life, backgrounds and perspectives.

The Women’s Conference event is the largest and most dynamic gathering of women in the nation. Recognized for its unparalleled capacity to empower and inspire women to become architects of change, the annual conference unites more than sixty internationally-acclaimed leaders and visionaries with 14,000 women in one arena, plus thousands more virtually, to share enriching stories of transformation and success, words of encouragement and life lessons.

-Chris Scott

Bob Geldof on the White House Lawn

Right after Bob Geldof spoke at the White House Summit on International Development yesterday, he spoke with CNN International on the White House lawn. ONE’s Tom Gavin was there and captured it on tape for our ONE Blog readers. Some of Bob’s most striking comments:

“I think there’s a great understanding that we can’t let the economic crisis turn into a human crisis. You know the food and fuel crisis already knocked the poor back and what we can’t let happen is the financial crisis smothers them…

The impact upon us by cutting aid to the poor will be enormous. This isn’t the time to do it. So you know I hate getting activisty emotional rhetoric, but it is betrayal to the weakest people. The problem with this for me is that the political commitment of the powerful to the weak is the most sacred promise you can make. It’s the powerful to the weak, the rich to the poor. When you break it you kill them. It’s really simple stuff this. “

The full video clip below, and transcript after the jump.

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Bob Geldof’s Remarks at the White House Today

Bob Geldof just finished speaking at the White House Summit on
International Development. As always, he spoke bluntly and honestly about the motivations for investing in development and the potential returns for doing so.

Bob said that America is unique in that it represents an idea, one that it must live up to it through its relationship with the world’s poor. In regard to potential calls to cut foreign assistance during this turbulent economic time, he noted that the U.S. currently only gives 0.2% of its gross national income to development, meaning that the remaining 99.8% can be used to improve the lives of people here in the U.S. Given the small percentage going to development, he asked about that 99.8%: “Isn’t that enough?”

Bob also spoke about the importance of the U.S. fulfilling the commitments it made to Africa at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. He said the if the U.S. keeps its promises to the world’s poorest people, then Europe cannot hide behind us and will be forced to do the same. Bob criticized Italy for slashing its foreign assistance even as it puts Africa on the agenda for this year’s G8 summit, which it will host in July.

Today’s speakers all helped highlight the difference between rhetoric
and results. The full impact of this difference is being felt now, as
lives and livelihoods hang in the balance. Bob gave this idea melody and
meaning.

-Josh Lozman

Bono on CNN This Morning

ONE co-founder Bono spoke with CNN’s John Roberts on “American Morning” this morning about recent successes and future plans in our fight against global poverty. You can watch the whole interview below, and read the full transcript on CNN.com.

An excerpt:

“BONO: We got good news this week. I know normally I’m on your program with bad news — the whingeing rock star — but it’s great. There’s a disease, malaria — it’s 3,000 African kids die every day of mosquito bites. Sounds mad, but it’s true. And people have committed and it looks like the funds are on the table so that that disease will be no more by 2015. That makes people like me punch the air and everyone who wears a ONE T-shirt and all our white band campaigners on college campuses all over the country — it was a great day for them yesterday so we’re celebrating that. I know it’s extraordinary, that while you’re having this meltdown on the markets, that people could even concentrate on this stuff, but I’m really grateful that they did. We had both [presidential] candidates make very powerful statements about the necessity for nonmilitary tools, for instance, in foreign policy. This is an America that both candidates want to show to the rest of the world — the greatness of America.”