Students
VIDEO: Powder paint fight for global hunger
Young activists in the UK have been getting messy to raise awareness about the biggest ever national campaign to end global hunger.
Ten points if you recognised the Rudyard Kipling poem If which has been re-worked for this film, and ten bonus rock-geek points if you knew that alternative metal band Enter Shikari provided the soundtrack and voiceover.
Enough Food for Everyone IF is a movement of over 100 organisations, including ONE, who have come together in 2013 to influence a series of big opportunities in the UK that could kick start the end of global hunger – including the G8 Summit which is being held in Northern Ireland in June.
The message is simple: there is enough food in the world for everyone, but not everyone has enough food to eat. The solutions to end global hunger are there, but we need to come together and make world leaders act if it’s ever going to become a reality.
If you’re 16-25 there are three exciting campaign missions to get involved in, including a creative challenge that led this group of activists to hold the paint fight. Find out more and download the campaign toolkit.
And if you are over 25 and feeling really annoyed that someone has decided you’re too old to throw paint and like alternative metal, you can either join in anyway (we won’t tell), or see what else you can do to support the campaign.
Meet Mark, our inspirational ONE Member of the Month
Meet our January ONE Member of the Month, Mark Shaw! Mark is a student at University College London, and in this guest blog he tells us what he’s been up to.
2013 has been really busy so far. I’ve been sorting out a conference on Global Health at UCL to increase support for ONE and other global health societies at my university, spread the campaigns on campus.
Mark and fellow student Rowan looking out for David Cameron at the Eurostar terminal in London.
The conference was a huge success, with 120 tickets sold and ten fantastic speakers, plus plenty of people leaving inspired. Topics included women’s health, non-communicable diseases, health worker migration, HIV AIDs and conflict, which had a special focus on the conflict in Syria. ONE were incredibly supportive and helped put us in touch with some of our speakers.
As a result of the conference, we have formed a group of ONEers at UCL who hope to keep events coming throughout the year, including debates, lobbying opportunities and campaigning.
I also went to the launch of the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign to tackle global hunger held at Somerset House. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet other ONE members from across the country.
Just last week I joined some bleary-eyed ONE campaigners at 7am at the Eurostar terminal in London, hoping to catch David Cameron on his way to Brussels for the EU budget meeting and do some last minute lobbying. We didn’t manage to spot him but did hand out lots of campaign leaflets to travellers and chat to people about saving the EU aid budget from cuts.
Massive thanks to Mark for all his tireless campaigning this month! If you want to get more involved with ONE events and campaigns in your area, get in touch at ukcampaigns@one.org
UK ONE shot student conference
The following is a guest blog from Siobhan Palmer who attended our Student ONE shot conference in December.
On Saturday 1 December I attended ONE shot – it was a really valuable and enjoyable experience. When you spend your time signing petitions, writing to your MP, and campaigning or fundraising on your own or with only a few other people, it’s very easy to look at the news and feel as though you aren’t making any difference. ONE shot provided a great remedy to this, as I got to meet loads of other like-minded students and learned a lot more about the wider picture; what ONE does with its funding, exactly how it campaigns, and what a huge difference that makes.
Before I attended the conference I didn’t feel confident about the contributions I was making in the fight against extreme poverty. But I quickly realised that what I already do, such as sharing petitions, writing letters and getting involved in the local community, is really important. Without people raising their voices on ground level, changes at the top would never happen. It’s what people power is all about.
Being interested in campaign methods and ways of communicating messages to a wide audience, I signed up to workshops on lobbying and using the media. Both were really helpful and interesting. Having a blog, or a twitter account, can prove to be a really powerful tool. It was great to watch all our #ONEshot tweets mounting up in real time on the big screen. I thought about how within minutes of the NHS reform risk assessment being leaked on twitter earlier this year, I (along with millions of other people), had a copy of a government document saved on my desktop. One person did that. The internet is incredibly democratising, and especially useful for campaigning. I came away feeling motivated and inspired.
The next few years of increasing austerity are going to be really important in establishing what our priorities are as a country, and how we want the UK to be seen in the wider world. Personally I would much rather people connected my country with the fight against extreme poverty, than the financial centre; home of credit and bankers. That’s why it’s important that we make sure David Cameron keeps his promise to spend 0.7% of national income on aid in 2013. I’m going to keep tweeting, writing, and if necessary, shouting next year to help make this reality.
World AIDS Day at the University of Calgary
Guest blog post from University of Calgary campus leader Ryan Lukic:
University of Calgary ONE members came out and showed their support for the Beginning of the End of AIDS on Friday, November 30th.
More than 100 plus took a stand and joined ONE as they signed to push world leaders to keep up the fight on HIV/AIDS.
ONE members From left to right: Ryan Lukic, Ariel Pevzner, Guido Van Marle, Rob Poole, Emanuel Mostofi, Morgan Braun
At our World AIDS Day event, we had the pleasure to hear from Rob Poole from AIDS Calgary and Dr. Guido Van Marle of the University of Calgary. Rob has over 18 years of experience working across Canada with the HIV/AIDS community and was able to talk about AIDS as both an international and local issue that affects different people, and to different degrees, based on where they live. Meanwhile, Dr. Van Marle, who is the Director of the Biomedical Sciences program on campus and a researcher in HIV resistance, commented on the difficulties in Africa with testing and treatment. He illuminated the issue of simply throwing money at a problem but not addressing the surrounding concerns of infrastructure and political follow through on these improvements.
Both speakers encouraged a lively and important discussion on how we continue to move toward an AIDS free generation. The message was clear: the science of HIV/AIDS can only take us so far. We need to continue to focus on how we can prevent new cases, continue to develop community based action plans both abroad and right here at home to remove the stigma surrounding the disease and ensure that governments stay committed and don’t just provide lip-service on the issue.
We also talked about how important programs like PEPFAR and the efforts of (RED) and the Global Fund have been to reducing the number of new HIV cases and increasing the number of those on treatment. More importantly, we all agreed that programs that save lives and treat HIV/AIDS patients, work on prevention and community involvement are ones we do not want to see cut from budgets in the upcoming year. We all agreed that this is our time to stand up for these programs and ensure that our leaders know we are in this to end it!
“Our human compassion binds us; the ONE to the other”
The following is the second of our guest blog posts from ONE Student Activists: Shahban Aziz joined us in London after winning a competition to recruit signers for our Lifesaver petition.
Nelson Mandela famously said “our human compassion binds us; the ONE to the other”. This is why I joined ONE. This is why 143,021 people signed the petition to help protect lifesaving European Aid. This is why I was invited to Downing Street. To join hands for ONE common goal and to effect change with ONE voice.
With 27 EU leaders meeting this week for EU budget negotiations, the ‘Lifesaver of the Century’ petition reminds these influential figures of the positive effect of international aid. The petition urges EU leaders to protect the level of international aid proposed in 2011 to ensure tens of millions of the world’s poorest benefit from education, healthcare and improved access to clean water.
My compassion for humanity fueled my desire to push forth the ONE petition onto the global forum. Registering interest from all corners of the world, I succeeded in getting the most signatures for the petition and was invited to personally deliver the petition to 10 Downing Street, alongside fellow Student Leader Billy Hill.
In the howling wind and pouring rain of a typical British morning, standing on the hallowed grounds of Downing Street, I felt humbled to represent the 143,021 ONE members who had united for this noble cause. We had special permission to hand in a white shirt which symbolised our plea to David Cameron to ‘keep his shirt clean’ and not to make any compromises.
Our next stop was at the Treasury, where we had a special delivery for George Osborne, presenting a giant A1 board with pictures and signatures of ONE members calling for action – it certainly was the first time they had received such a present. The day did not end there as we pushed the petition to all corners of government submitting the petition and another board to the Department for International Development (DFID), which was happily received.
It is an honour and a privilege to make every signature count, representing the views of ONE members and my heartfelt thanks goes out to all those who signed the petition.
As I walked of out the DFID building, I reflected on why I did this; I remembered the words of another hero of mine, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who encapsulates the situation when he says “because every human being is precious”.
143,021 members call to protect the EU life-saving foreign aid budget.
The following is a guest blog from ONE Student activist Billy Hill who was one of the winners in a competition to spread the word about our Lifesaver petition
It’s not every day that you get to knock on the infamous black door of Number 10 Downing Street, but then again it’s not every day that you hear the sound of 143,021 voices demanding that the EU protects its life-saving foreign aid budget.
Of course, I’m talking about ONE’s Lifesaver petition which is campaigning to make sure that the European Union does not cut crucial foreign aid. As one of many ONE Campaign student leaders supporting the campaign, I took to Twitter, and into the flats of the University of Birmingham’s passionate students, to gather as much support as I possibly could. A few retweets of support later, varying from the cast of the Only Way is Essex, to the former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, and the Sky News anchor Alex Crawford, I had the honour, along with fellow student leader, Shahban Aziz, to bring the life saver petition to the British government.
Now, I’m not one for stereotypes, but the London isn’t particularly known for its blaring sunshine. In fact, on the delivery day, you could have mistaken central London as being the backdrop for “Saving Private Ryan” with torrential rain, flashes of lightning, and gale-force winds standing between in our way. Three broken umbrellas and a few drenched ONE t-shirts later, we arrived at 3.00pm sharp to deliver the petition, as well as a lifesaver shirt for Mr Cameron himself.
From there, we traveled to the Treasury, where staff kindly accepted a letter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbourne, and a rather large placard with the faces of those who had signed the petition. Similarly, we popped into the Department of International Development, where the petition was passed onto Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening, which proved to be an incredible result.
The 21st November 2012 was certainly a success story. It was an honour to deliver such a worth-while petition, on behalf of the thousands of people who care so passionately about saving lives. European aid costs us £12 per year and has already put, between 2005 and 2009, more than 9 million children in primary education, helped vaccinate more than 5 million against measles, and connected more than 31 million people to clean water. The EU is not wasting money, the aid budget is an incredible sign of progress and Europeans are making sure that lives will continue be saved.
UK student conference: ONE shot, 1st December
If you had one shot, one opportunity, to make a difference… would you take it?
Next year the UK is in a unique position to strike a blow against extreme poverty. We need to be ready to take the opportunity.
ONE is inviting all UK university students to our national conference, ONE shot, to find out what’s happening, why it matters and what you can do about it.
ONE shot
10am-6pm
Saturday 1st December
London
Register your place for free online before 26th Nov
ONE will be joined by guests including Comic Relief, former Government advisors, Blue State Digital (Obama for President Campaign) and our partner (RED).
In one day you will:
- Learn about the achievements and challenges in the fight against poverty
- Hear from experts in campaigning, media, politics, digital activism
- Join debates and campaign actions
- Be creative in a variety of workshops
You might only get one shot. Don’t miss it.
Limited spaces available. Register your place for free online before 26th Nov.
643,486 people knocking on Number 10’s door
Guest blog from ONE member Emma Cobbold.
We woke to a beautiful (but boiling hot) day in London on Friday 10th August, the perfect weather for ONE to join Save the Children, Concern, Oxfam, Action Aid and Unicef to hand in our petition to 10 Downing Street. It called upon world leaders to act now and next year on malnutrition and hunger; signed by 643,486 people from across the world it is a clear, strong and simple message, which will hopefully inspire those concerned to act. With more than 18 million people in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa facing food shortages alone it was an urgent message.
We were joined on the day by Frank Kapeta, Save the Children’s young ambassador from Tanzania, who had landed that very morning at London Heathrow to knock on the famous door of Number 10 urging for action. I was personally very nervous and excited to be given the opportunity to walk behind the gates, down the street which through out history has been the hub of British Politics. With the world watching the Olympic games and the UK holding the G8 summit next year, David Cameron has the unique opportunity to lead. This Sunday he will be joined by Brazil’s Vice President Michel Temer to host the Global Hunger Event to encourage the world to take the necessary steps needed to reduce malnutrition, hunger and the subsequent stunting. The petition was a stepping-stone towards this, showing that the citizens of the world want their voice to be heard and recognise the desperate situation which has evolved across many countries in Africa.
As we waited to be allowed through it dawned on me the scale of what the six of us were about to do. We were representing over 600,000 people, taking each towards the door of the Prime Minister. Despite a few minor security hiccups over an international rather than national press pass of our photographer we were eventually let through, the famous 10 in sight. More photos were taken, with the necessary ‘slow mo’ walk towards the door captured, it was down to Frank to knock. Once handed in to the guard the six of us were elated, I could hardly stop smiling (cue the photographer once more). However the excitement didn’t stop there, much to our delight it was announced that the Prime Minister was about to leave Number 10 on his way to watch an Olympic event. As a politics student seeing the man who has the final say over all political decisions was special to say the least. As we waited patiently his advisor told us he wanted to say hello. Shocked would be the word to describe our faces. In a little line we stood, as he shook our hands and gave us details about the upcoming stunt being held following the Hunger summit on Sunday. He also ensured us that he would do everything he could to make Sunday a success in setting real foundations for the fight against malnutrition and hunger. As he drove off I took in the surroundings for one final time, content in the knowledge that the petition handed in was the first step in the build up, and I cannot wait to see the results of the summit on Sunday.
UK Students get ready for action
Our group of new ONE Student Leaders are ready to lead the fight against poverty after a weekend full of inspirational speakers, campaign workshops and even a trip to Parliament.
Student Leaders in the UK will use their energy and creativity to run inspiring campaigns at university to influence the decisions that affect the world’s poorest people.
At the weekend students came together from over 15 universities to learn more about ONE’s campaigns, prepare to take action over the next year and of course have fun!
We looked at how students can support our Thrive campaign and pressure world leaders to take action to lift 50 million people out of poverty and ensure 15 million fewer children are chronically malnourished. Creative ideas for eye-catching activities including apple-bobbing competitions and wearing giant sweet-potato suits!
We got active immediately on ONE’s campaign for transparency in natural resources by sending tweets to the UK Minister Norman Lamb urging the UK to lead on creating strong EU laws to help African citizens fight corruption and ensure their natural wealth is meeting the needs of the poorest. Joseph Williams from the Publish What You Pay coalition explained the importance of the UK’s role in the upcoming European negotiations and how crucial it is to get the detail right.
Two key aims for the Student Leaders are to build a bigger student movement and get their voices heard by politicians in the UK. So we split into smaller groups to learn and share ideas on how to build a student group and lobby local MPs.
Both our Co-founder and Executive Director Jamie Drummond and our European Director Adrian Lovett were keen to meet and talk to our top activists and they each gave their message about what ONE is all about and how we can make a difference together.
A real highlight on the second day came with our incredible panel to discuss ‘the beginning of the end of AIDs’. Dr Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah, from the Tema Clinic in Ghana, told us how she has seen with her own eyes that this bold ambition could be a reality by 2015 – we really can begin to see the end of this terrible disease. We were fortunate to also hear from activist Winnie Sseruma about the challenges of living with HIV and the importance of spreading the facts about HIV/AIDS to break down stigma.
But it didn’t stop there, because at ONE we don’t just talk about what we need to do – we go and do it. So we sped to Parliament for a lobbying event with a range of MPs and Peers with a special interest in development, including Andrew Mitchell MP, the Secretary of State for International Development, and Ivan Lewis MP, shadow spokesperson for the Labour Party. Our students put into practice what they had learned and put some tough questions to the panel and the Secretary of State in particular. We must have made an impression as the students were invited back for follow up meetings!
There was also plenty of time to get to know each other with a special ONE Pub Quiz and dinner.
This is just the beginning as ONE Students continues to grow in the UK. But we know we have a group of very talented and committed activists ready to make their impact in the fight against poverty.
If you’re a student in the UK you can sign up to ONE Students here.
ONE Student campaigning at Leeds University
Guest blog by Rachel Oliver, ONE Leeds member
Over the last 6 months we have created a ONE Leeds student society at Leeds University. We – a small but dedicated and vibrant group of about ten students – met every Monday to discuss campaigns and event ideas that we could make happen on our campus.
To launch our society, and in support of ONE’s campaign urging the government to keep its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNP on international aid, we held an “Aid Debate”. We had a ‘Question Time’ style debate with four of us acting as panellists: playing the role of a Government Minister, a journalist, and two opposing economists. About thirty people came along to participate in the debate, drink some of our LemonAID, and learn about ONE. We used this event to demonstrate to the University Union that we were serious about creating a society.
With new recruits on board we held a letter-writing session for ONE’s Trillion Dollar Scandal campaign, where we wrote to two key European Members of Parliament (Arlene McCarthy and Klaus-Heiner Lehne) urging them to ensure that tough new laws are passed requiring all oil, gas and mining companies to publish their payments to stop the secrecy surrounding trillions of dollars paid to governments across Africa. We also did our best to circulate the online petition and some of us also went around the students union asking people to sign it.
In line with this transparency focus, one of our members came up with a great campaign idea for campus, based on the fact that certain African Heads of State are living in luxury while their citizens suffer. We made posters with pictures of their extravagant lifestyles – yachts, mansions, sports cars – next to the question “Whose life is this?” We put these up around campus and then at the end of the week we had a stall in the students union. We decorated the stall with the posters, ONE T-shirts, and painted baked beans cans black to represent oil cans (very convincing!).
We wanted people to be intrigued to know whose life it was and come over to learn more. We got hundreds of people signed up to the ONE petition whilst also promoting our society. We handed out ONE Student leaflets and advertised our meet & greet event, which followed the stall, to attract new members for next year.
A group of us also went into first year lectures to promote our society and the opportunities for training with ONE, while encouraging people to come along to our final meeting and get involved on the committee for next year. This proved a really effective way of recruiting members as several people came along and we have managed to ensure there is a core group of people who will carry on the society in 2012/13. To finish off the year, the Union told us we had successfully filled all of their (quite demanding) criteria to become a fully-fledged society!
It has been wonderful to be involved in a truly student-led group, whilst also receiving support from the ONE office for ideas and resources. I hope campuses all over the UK can set up successful ONE Student groups too.
If you’re a UK university student you can become a ONE Student Leader for next year by completing our leader form and returning by Wednesday 6th June.
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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: Enough Food for Everyone IF, Food, G8, Hunger Crisis, ONE, Students, UK