International
ONE Members
Maroon 5 fans join the fight against extreme poverty
Many European fans of the band Maroon 5 will now be fighting extreme poverty while they ‘move like Jagger’ thanks to the hard work of our fantastic ONE members!
In the last couple of weeks ONE members in Finland, Denmark and Germany have been at Maroon 5 shows asking fans to join our movement of over 2.5 million people in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.
Lead volunteer of the Denmark team Inger Kristensen gives us a glimpse into their evening in Copenhagen:
“It is a great privilege to be part of ONE and we were very happy to finally meet the Maroon 5 audience and proudly present ONE to them.
We managed to create a good atmosphere around the queues of people and tell them all about ONE. Everyone showed a great interest and concern about the fight against poverty and preventable diseases in the world. Since it was the day after World AIDS Day we also talked about how improved access to treatment can help bring about an AIDS Free Generation by 2015.
Lots of people signed up as ONE members before Maroon 5 hit the stage and turned up the volume to “Moves Like Jagger”!
As one young fan said while signing up, “Why don’t all people join ONE?”
There was plenty more success in Helsinki, as Anna-Riina Hakala explains:
“The Finnish fans we met were not very familiar with ONE at first, but we soon changed that! During the night we got over 300 new members, which made us very happy. As this shows, people had a positive reaction when we told them about ONE and they were very keen to learn more about ONE’s fight against extreme poverty. It is safe to say that the Maroon 5 show in Helsinki was a success for ONE – and the band of course!”
Although the last shows in Zurich, Rome, Milan and Vienna were postponed, we’ll continue to spread the word in 2012 when Maroon 5 hit the road again. Fighting extreme poverty is a serious business, but at ONE we like to have fun while we do it!
A big thank you to all of our amazing volunteers, and to Maroon 5 who gave us the opportunity to introduce ONE to their fans!
How your support made a difference at the G20
Last week, I was in Cannes at the G20 summit. As you know, media coverage of the meeting was full of the eurozone and Greece, and you might be forgiven for thinking that’s all they discussed. But behind the headlines, something else really important happened. G20 leaders heard your voice, and the voices of more than 400,000 others who backed our Hungry No More campaign.
What’s more, they committed themselves to a number of the short and long-term agricultural solutions we’ve been pushing for to break the cycle of famine. With over 13 million people still in crisis in the Horn of Africa, I wanted to let you know what the G20 have pledged, how you helped achieve this, and what we need to do next.
In their final declaration, the G20 agreed that there is an urgent need to strengthen emergency and long-term responses to food insecurity and that responsible investment in long-term agricultural solutions in the poorest countries is “essential to promote food security and foster sustainable economic growth,” especially when focused on smallholder farmers.
They also pledged to reduce the dangerous impacts of food price volatility and improve the transparency of agricultural commodity markets. That could make a world of difference. Some of the poorest families have to spend as much as 80% of their household budgets on food, so sudden price rises mean real hardship.
More good news is that President Calderon of Mexico – the next Chair of the G20 – announced in Cannes that food security will be one of the G20’s major priorities in 2012. The G20 has made a good start on a framework to fight poverty through agriculture, and now is the time for countries to step up and turn it into reality.
As a ONE member, you are one of our strongest advocates, and we owe you a big thank you. This campaign was just 30 days long, and here’s a snapshot of what you helped achieve globally:
- 409,000 people signed our petition urging G20 leaders to act, and more than 700,000 viewed our ‘F-word’ TV ad on YouTube
- In just one week in the UK, nearly 500 members searched for their Member of Parliament using our new toolkit, leading to a burst of tweets, personalised emails and meetings with MPs. A few members also represented ONE at Downing Street, and handed in our petition
- ONE members in France joined our Paris team to project our campaign videos and a list of petition signers’ names onto the face of the historic Hôtel de Ville
- In Germany, members’ tweets provoked a response from a Government spokesperson assuring that they considered agriculture, food prices and food security important at the G20
- ONE members in the US handed in our petition on Capitol Hill, taking our message right to the heart of the US government.
But this isn’t the end of our Hungry No More campaign. Although we saw progress, the G20 still have a long way to go to make sure these promises are more than just warm words. We didn’t hear enough urgency or commitment to implementation, and the focus could too easily move away from this crucial issue.
Our job is to stop that from happening, and keep up the pressure. So when the smaller G8 meet in Chicago next year, and when the G20 gather again in Mexico, we will need your support to push for concrete results that make world leaders accountable to their commitments.
We’ll be in touch to let you know how you can help, but for now I simply wanted to say: thank you.
Together as ONE, we are making a difference.
PS. If you haven’t seen our Tigray: Then and Now documentary, then please do take a look and share. This is what your support is helping work towards.
SOARing in the UK
Last weekend was a real first for ONE here in the UK as we launched our first student activist programme, SOAR.
Students & ONE for Africa Rising will see 100 students championing ONE’s campaigns at their universities, getting other students involved, getting noticed, sharing the success stories of aid & development and talking to their MPs about how they can help end extreme poverty.
This is going to be quite something.
After being introduced to ONE and our issues, London students took part in a range of workshops led by ONE staff including: using social media to promote campaigns, tips on how to lobby their MP, backing up campaigns with policy and how to get their content noticed in the media.
Our African themed social at Shaka Zulu in Camden was a great chance for SOAR members to get to know us and each other better, and exciting plans started to come together for the months ahead. We’ve already seen SOAR Twitter accounts and blogs popping up just a day later!
We’ll be supporting our students throughout the 6 months of their campaigns, and hope that you will too as part of the wider ONE community here on the ONE blog.
Those who SOAR the highest will also be given the chance to be centre stage of our campaigns, and even contribute to ONE’s campaign planning.
All of us at ONE really enjoyed the weekend, finally putting faces to names, and starting a new chapter in ONE’s story here in the UK.
Thank you to all of you who joined us, and we’re really looking forward to seeing your campaigns leading the way in the months ahead.
Our second weekend training and social event will be held in Leeds 26-27 November and you still have until this Friday 4 November to apply if you’d like to join us: http://one.org/students
Progress – Thanks to you
Thanks to the action you took on fighting famine in the Horn of Africa, world leaders are responding to public pressure and coming forward to help stop the starving.
220,000 supporters who signed our petition calling on governments to provide full, immediate funding to the food crisis. Since our campaign launch two months ago, an additional $700 million has been committed for the crisis, and a further $970m promised, including increases from Australia, Germany, the European Union, African countries and others.
This past Saturday, our CEO addressed the UN Emergency Summit and submitted the petition you signed. “While drought may be act of nature, famine is not. More than 200,000 of our members have added their voices to a global petition calling for world leaders to act now,” he declared.
(ONE CEO Michael Elliott addresses the United Nations meeting)
But we cannot lose momentum. ONE will continue to campaign on this vital issue. We’ll increase our pressure on leaders of wealthy countries when they meet at the G-20 Summit, demanding that they keep their promises to ensure people across Africa are hungry no more. Watch out for this new phase of the campaign being launched next week with some high profile supporters.
We’re holding 100 places for students
I’m excited to announce the launch of ONE’s first student activist programme here in the UK. ‘SOAR’ (Students & ONE for Africa Rising) is an amazing opportunity for 100 students to be trained in campaigning and advocacy skills, and to run your own campaigns on campus for ONE.
Whether you’re interested in a future career in international development, feel passionate about fighting extreme poverty, or just want to help make a difference, this could be right for you.
We are looking for 100 committed students to take part. If you think you could be one, register your interest in participating in our new student programme, or helping out on ONE’s stall at your Freshers’ Fayre.
SOAR will be launched at a free weekend training and social event on 29th October in London, followed by another session in Leeds. ONE staff and key speakers will lead exclusive sessions ranging from holding meetings with MPs and getting your campaigns into local media to public speaking tips and how best to promote campaigns online.
This programme is a great chance to gain experience in creating and leading campaigns, and be a part of the solution. We hope you’ll join us.
Click here to register your interest in ONE’s new student programme, or to help us promote our programme at your Fresher’s Fayre, and we’ll be in touch shortly
Horn of Africa conference call
On 10 August ONE held an exclusive conference call with Kristalina Georgieva, who is responsible for driving the European Commission’s response to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, and Maulid Aden Warfa, Emergency Specialist for UNICEF Central and Southern Somalia.
The call was an important opportunity to hear first hand stories from the affected areas in the region but also a chance to hear directly from the decision makers in the European Commission.
ONE members from across Europe joined the call and we had an amazing response with a queue full of questions for both speakers.
Click here to listen to the conference call
Julia Modern, a ONE member from the United Kingdom said afterwards:
This is a fantastic conference call and I really got the sense of the challenge that is out there. I really support everything that Europe can do for the immediate aid to those affected but also to build up the resilience of communities in the long term.
Please leave your comments below on what you thought of the call and if you have any messages you have for the EU commission.
Why I volunteered for ONE
The U2 360° Tour may be over but the memories are still fresh for the amazing ONE members who helped out around the world. One such volunteer from the show in Moncton, Canada wrote about his experience.
Ah eloquence. How I wish it didn’t squeeze out from between my fingers so easily. How easily the emotions can run out and release like a stream into the ocean of the brain. How difficult it is to recreate the spirituality of a moment. Impossible nearly. Impossible to tell you what it feels like to stand on a stage in front of 80,000 people while your favorite band plays an emotional song behind you, while the drums pound the ground and in turn the steel web of the floor, and in turn the soles of your feet, and in turn the very soul of your soul. You giggle and the tears stream down your face at once. This, I hope everyone experiences.
I hope everyone experiences not necessarily standing on the stage but the emotional and spiritual sort of release that simultaneously makes you feel as human as it makes you feel bigger than life as it makes you feel as though you are quite certainly the smallest and most insignificant particle of dust in a giant universe. Unfortunately, with or without U2 or music of any kind or art or a standing on top of a mountain or a family’s love or anything else that sets one’s soul ablaze, there are 40,000 people that die every day, most having never known that sort of moment. Tuberculosis, Malaria, HIV, Cholera, hosts of others: horrible, preventable afflictions that needlessly take the lives of the extremely poor and not the relatively wealthy, stealing opportunities to experience both the kind of awesome power and the quiet mundane that those of us in the developed world get to experience.
A few days ago, I was asked to write about why I volunteered for ONE at the final show of the U2360° tour in Moncton, New Brunswick. I sat stumped for days while I claimed business. I searched for eloquence. I searched for a way to reconcile my selfishness of putting an equal priority on signing up new members to a cause that I believe to be of the utmost importance with walking on the stage in front of my peers, fellow constituents, foreign nationals, elders, strangers, and idols. For anyone who has seen a U2360° show, the volunteers for ONE and Amnesty International leave their mark: During Walk On, they walk out onto the stage; during the first leg of the tour to wear the mask of Aung San Suu Kyi, the since released Burmese political prisoner guilty of nothing but winning an election. While the goal is obviously to sign up new members for ONE, this is no tiny carrot to dangle in front of a U2 fan.
Our day started at 1pm in the pouring rain. We met the other 28 volunteers at the front gate and walked past the dripping wet masses into the concert grounds. We slogged through the rain and puddles and mud down to the ONE tent, located just to the outside of the grandstands. We were giving our marching orders and gear, with the soundtrack of Arcade Fire’s soundcheck ringing in our ears. Having volunteered at a couple of 360° shows before, I knew a few tricks about how and where to sign up new members. After trudging back out to the line for a few signatures, we went inside prior to their arrival to the pitch. Once inside, we went to the inner circle, empty of people other than security guards and the band Carney, who were soundchecking at the time. We huddled beneath one of the massive legs of the stage, trying futilely to escape the driving rain. Not missing an opportunity, we signed up all of the security guards who had the same (bad) idea.
For the next 5 hours, we met very little resistance to our cause: It’s amazing how agreeable everyone is once the rain has cleared off and they’ve gotten a nice spot to stand about 8 feet away from the stage. We could have sold them vacuum cleaners. One guy from Ontario proclaimed “This is the greatest day of my life!” and then requested that I give him a hug. I obliged. Then signed him up. I found a friend and signed him up, and his wife, and his friend, and his friend’s wife. I met a group from the UK, a group from Iceland, another from Brazil. Plenty from the United States from California to Maine, and the most from Canada. The Canadians lived up to their reputation for being the kindest people in the world. Those who hadn’t heard of ONE didn’t hesitate after having heard ten seconds of my thirty second pitch. The few who were reluctant eventually bent. One way or another I would find resonance, global cause or personal.
I was lucky my iPad held up to the downpour. My girlfriend, who is a saint, wasn’t so lucky. There are restrictions to using technology to sign people up rather than the good old pen and paper. She retreated to home base without me, and without anything to do decided to flip badges and start signing up new people for Amnesty international (saint!), who still subscribed to the method of the scribe. After a very successful run there, explaining the missions of both Amnesty and ONE (since she still had the shirt on), she finally took a break and ate. I spotted her sitting in the bleachers alone and tried to wave (despite looking like a donkey, no doubt) while I worked through Carney’s set. For 5 straight hours I signed people up. It flew by while I was making new friends, discussing how far they’d traveled, how excited they were, how soaked they were, and how little they minded. I didn’t eat or drink or use the restroom. And I loved every minute of it. In the end, both her and I did indeed get tapped to participate in the show, as you may have guessed.
So why did I volunteer for ONE? I did it because I was needed. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I did it because there was no choice. I did it to be a voice for those who have none. I did it because I got to meet hundreds of fantastic people, including the new members, the locals, my fellow volunteers, and U2′s personnel. I did it because I got to go on stage with U2! I did it because I got to share an amazing, unforgettable, indescribable moment with 80,000 people, my beautiful woman, and 4 very, very good Irishmen. So is there any real need to reconcile this? Selfish or unselfish or a mix of both? Immaterial. Nothing to do but leave it behind.
Join ONE on the phone – Wednesday 10th August
Join ONE for a exciting and exclusive opportunity for ONE members in Europe to hear from experts about the crisis and put your question directly to the person in charge of the European Commission’s response.
The Horn of Africa is suffering its worst drought in 60 years, affecting the lives of over 12 million people. The situation grows worse as famine continues to spread across the region. Despite the urgency, many governments are responding too slowly to meet the vast needs of those affected. Some European governments have responded generously to this crisis with aid, but there is still a $1 billion funding gap in assistance needed to help those suffering in the Horn.
This Wednesday, ONE is hosting a telephone conference with Kristalina Georgieva, who is responsible for driving the European Commission’s response to this humanitarian crisis, and Maulid Aden Warfa, Emergency Specialist for UNICEF Central and Southern Somalia, who will provide the latest update from the famine zone. ONE members have the chance to pose questions to both of them.
Register now to join the call:
http://www.one.org/c/international/actnow/4010/
European leaders should do even more to prevent further loss of life, and help put long term solutions in place to end the cycle of hunger. Use your voice to make sure Europe leads the world in ending this crisis.
Join us this Wednesday, 10th August, at 20:00 CEST, 19:00 BST, 21:00 EEST and urge European leaders to act. You can register and submit your questions ahead of time here:
http://www.one.org/c/international/actnow/4010/
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
If you asked me a year ago today what I would be doing in 2011, my response would have been ramping up ONE engagement and membership in the Great Lakes States in the US. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I’d be travelling to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and literally crisscrossing North America on behalf of ONE with the U2 360° Tour. 2010 – 2011 will definitely be a year that I’ll never forget.
I have always known that ONE members are special. ONE is an advocacy organization, so members use the power of their voices for people who do not have one. ONE doesn’t fundraise…ONE doesn’t have a membership fee…ONE doesn’t directly deal with dollars, euros or pounds. We connect the dots. We’re a bridge. Our strength is in our numbers….people from around the world coming together as ONE. And the numbers that were gained along the way on the U2 360° tour proves that ONE is an extremely strong organization and getting stronger each day!
In total, just shy of 315,000 people around the world have become ONE members and are currently fighting against extreme poverty as a direct result of the efforts made by almost 3,000 ONE volunteers at the 110 U2 360° shows across the globe.
ONE volunteers that I have met along the way have been an incredible group of people. I have met people from around the world….People from different socio-economic, political and religious backgrounds. But in the true spirit of ONE, everyone came together to fight for those living in extreme poverty and dying of treatable and preventable diseases.
Every single day since I started on this tour, I have been constantly impressed and inspired by the ONE volunteers that I have worked with. Their passion, their commitment, their positive energy, kept me going…even when I was working off of two hours sleep! ONE members give me hope that we’re actually making progress on the ground, and for that, I thank you.
The community that was built on this tour is a solid one and ONE that is committed to making a real difference in this world. I played a very small role and I thank everyone that was involved in the efforts. I have faith that the ONE volunteers and the new ONE members will continue to come together as ONE and make sure that their voices continue to be heard. Far too many people are silenced so we need to make sure that we continue to make lots of noise.
Thank you to the incredible group of ONE volunteers I’ve worked with. Please continue to keep in touch and let me know how you’re doing. Thank you to the new ONE members who signed up at the U2 360° tours. You’re an inspiration.
Thank you to the unbelievable group of individuals that actually make the show happen day in and day out….My family on the road! I met some of the most talented people ever and I thank them for being my family and friends the past 10 months.
Like the band says, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” Well I’m proud to say that ONE won’t let that happen.
Still on cloud nine
Last Saturday the U2 360° Tour finished on a high in Moncton, Canada. As always, I was joined at the show by an amazing group of ONE volunteers who took time out of their busy lives to help sign up new members to the fight against extreme poverty. One such volunteer was Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy who kindly described her experience.
ONE Members Elise D’Arcy, Channing Love, Monika Stelzl, Mark D’Arcy and Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy
On July 30, I was lucky enough to be asked to volunteer with the ONE campaign at U2′s last show of the U2 360° Tour! My family and I have been big supporters of the ONE Campaign since the beginning, and I have had a ONE and Product (RED) awareness day once a week at my office from the beginning (my staff and I wear ONE or Product (RED) t-shirts at my dental office and educate our patients about what they stand for).
Volunteering with ONE was a dream come true for me, and I was lucky enough to be able to recruit 8 more volunteers: my husband Mark, daughter Elise and a few friends (Monika, Matt, Krista, Emma and Aidan). Even though it poured during the first few hours and a many iPads stopped working because of all the water, 25 ONE volunteers had a great day of awareness raising, and managed to sign up 2,563 new ONE members! Volunteers who lost their iPads and could not accumulate sign-ups continued to distribute leaflets and wristbands, so that even more people learned about the campaign! We hope that some of these people signed up on their own after the show!
It was important for me to share this day of volunteering with family, old friends and new ones. Most of us are big U2 fans, and this activity augmented our U2 experience: we were able to give back and help with such an important cause started by Bono, when we all feel that U2 gives so much to people.
I was able to score a lot of new sign-ups and I was one of the lucky ones who was selected to go on stage with an Amnesty International lantern during the song Walk On. What a way to end an amazing tour!
I hope to be able to volunteer again at future music events, not just U2 ones!
Still on cloud nine,
Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy
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About the Blog
The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
TAGS: Maroon 5, ONE, ONE Members