I attended the keynote address at SXSW wearing my ONE shirt. With a quick window of opportunity I rushed to approach Bob Geldof and thank him, after he called me out of the crowd as “a fellow ONEr!” Geldof had just delivered a powerful speech about the power Rock- and- Roll has to deliver relevant and important messages to its audience. He challenged us to: Address the world with that confidence that is strictly the province of this country. Don’t turn inward. Don’t be scared of the future. Look at it cold-eyed and try to create a new world, with your values. Wow!

The next morning I had the opportunity to speak with Geldof more about extreme poverty and ONE’s incredible momentum across Texas- especially Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin. He gave me many suggestions and encouragement when speaking to our elected officials. We must continue to encourage them to make smart investments in international affairs.

Honestly friends, I really could go on and on about how speaking to Bob Geldof has left me inspired, encouraged, and motivated, but I will simply say this- we cannot let up on the urgency on the movement to see an end to extreme poverty in our lifetime. Let’s be more creative, innovative, and aggressive in our service, because now is the time! Our smart investments are less than 1% of our total budget, and the return is millions of lives saved. It’s that simple. Military leaders, Secretary of Defense Gates, Secretary of State Clinton, Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, and ONE members from all walks of life across the great state of Texas have all said it: these smart, small investments work! Let’s continue the our proud American legacy of investing in programs that fight preventable disease, hunger and extreme poverty.

Bob Geldof, thank you for speaking with me and sharing your words of inspiration.

-Paulina Sosa, ONE CDL Austin

I seriously can’t believe Thanksgiving is only one week away. I’m usually pretty bad about taking time to reflect and be thankful, but that changed just 13 minutes ago.

13 minutes ago, I hit play on a stop-you-in-your tracks kind of video. It’s longtime ONE supporter Bob Geldof talking before a crowd of folks at the end of the UN Millennium Development Goal Summit in New York City early this September.

I know that doesn’t necessarily sound that exciting, but trust me on this one. It’s a must watch. It’s funny, powerful, hit-you-in-the-gut good. I’ve never seen anyone talk so powerfully about our journey in the fight against poverty — or leave me so inspired to want to do even more.

So, take a look for yourself. It’s a little long, but it’s guaranteed to give you goosebumps. And I’d love to hear what you think after you’ve taken a look. Leave a comment right below!

Check out part 1 here, and part 2 here

Bob talks about why he and Bono guest edited the paper, the importance of the forthcoming G8/G20 summits, and why we need your help to put pressure on the politicians to agree action on maternal and child health, an essential issue in the fight against poverty.

You can see the special edition of The Globe and Mail here.

Having Bono and Bob edit the Globe has been a great opportunity for ONE heading into the G8 and G20 meetings in June. The leadership and staff at the Globe, from editor-in-chief John Stackhouse and foreign editor Stephen Northfield to the other editors, reporters, photographers and graphic designers were incredible partners and we’re so grateful that they were willing to take the risk to do something they had never done before.

The Globe and Mail has asked celebrated Kenyan blogger Ory Okolloh to guest edit the globeandmail.com today and over the next month and she will be featuring a great deal of Africa content exclusively through the website including this video of a question submitted by reader Sarah Kibaalya of Toronto in which she asks Bono and Bob if Africans need others to speak on their behalf. Their answers might surprise you. Check it out:

Also check out this live webchat between Bob Geldof and Ory Okolloh which just wrapped up.

We’ll be spotlighting more content throughout the day, so be sure to check back on the ONE Blog for more updates!

As the video points out, tomorrow will mark the first time the Globe and Mail has ever been guest-edited, and also the first time Bono and Bob Geldof have ever guest-edited a North American newspaper. Check back soon for more great extras.

ONE is working closely with Bob and Bono on this project, as we have in the past when they edited other leading publications around the world, including Asahi Shimbun in Japan, The Independent in the UK, Bild in Germany, and La Stampa in Italy.

The special edition will feature content and commentary from African political leaders, business owners and grassroots activists; it will also include contributions from other well-known international political leaders and advocates.

“I’m a huge fan of great journalism – I can’t wait to show up for work at The Globe. Our aim in this special edition is to crack down on a few stereotypes and showcase the opportunities surrounding the African continent, not just the problems,” said Bono in The Globe and Mail press release issued last night announcing the project.

“The world will be coming to and looking at Canada this June. The older and the emerging economies will be once again be struggling to learn the new 21st century dance of cooperation and possibly even compromise, and this time under Canada’s leadership. The Globe and Mail, one of the world’s great papers of record, has, in a mad rush of blood to the head, agreed to let two Irish pop-singers edit their august journal for one special day, one special edition. It will be dedicated to that huge, emerging resource continent of Africa and the global necessity of coming to terms with its opportunities and obstacles. I’ve gone from being an old editor of the Vancouver Georgia Straight to the new editor of The Globe and Mail and it’s only taken 36 years! Now that’s a career trajectory,” said Geldof in the same release.

The Globe and Mail is inviting readers to send in their video questions for Bono and Geldof. Video questions should be sent via www.globeandmail.com/africaone by May 6th. Select questions will be chosen, and answered by the guest-editors online during the month of May.

So send your questions in!

We’ll have more on this exciting development when the special edition is published on Monday.

High-flying business types are meant to be impressive, but Tidjane Thiam, 47, is exceptional. When in 2008 he took the top job at Prudential, the British insurer that is buying AIG’s Asian unit, people talked about his rise in surprised tones. But it is no surprise that Tidjane has got to where he is — he is a brilliant, elegant, media-adept family man. I have had the honor and pleasure of working closely with him on the Commission for Africa in 2004 and ’05 and currently on the Africa Progress Panel. His insight and analysis are always impressive, his opinions invaluable.

Full piece here.

Watch what he had to say:

For more information on the conference visit www.dfid.gov.uk/conference2010

Remember to keep checking the ONE Blog where we’ll be posting frequent updates from the climate summit in Copenhagen.