Make Poverty History
Encyclopedia
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland. The various national Make Poverty History campaigns are part of the international Global Call to Action Against Poverty
campaign and similar campaigns exist in other countries under different names.
The campaign is generally a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together to raise awareness of global poverty and achieve policy change by the government. Though the different campaigns focus on different issues according to the circumstances within their country, they generally focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice.
The Make Poverty History campaign is a Great Britain and Ireland coalition of charities, religion groups, trade unions, campaigning groups and celebrities who mobilise around the Britain's prominence in world politics, as of 2005, to increase awareness and pressure governments into taking actions towards relieving absolute poverty. The symbol of the campaign is a white "awareness bracelet
" made of cotton or silicone. Usually on the band the words would be written in black, with the 'Poverty' word a lighter shade. A 'virtual' white band was also available to be displayed on websites.
Television advertisements ran for many months, urging people to speak to their representatives about stopping poverty. However, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) banned the ads, deciding that the ads were "wholly or mainly political" in nature, since they aimed to "achieve important changes".
The three demands of the campaign were:
None of these aims were new (there were many attempts over the preceding decades to promote them), but the scale of the 2005 campaign dwarfed previous efforts.
On January 31, 2006, the majority of the members of the campaign passed a resolution to disband the organisation, arguing that the British coalition had only agreed to come together formally for a limited lifespan, to correspond with Britain holding the presidency of the EU and G8
. Approximately forty groups argued against the dissolution.
in Gleneagles
, Scotland on July 6, 2005.
The campaign was given a high profile launch on British television on New Year's Day 2005 in a special edition of The Vicar of Dibley
, written by Richard Curtis
, who pledged support for the campaign during 2005. The same issues were highlighted in Curtis' television drama The Girl in the Café
, in an episode broadcast on June 25 on the BBC One
channel in the UK on the HBO channel in the U.S. and on ABC TV in Australia.
.
Whilst the anti-war group CND was a member, the Stop the War Coalition
(StWC) asked to join but was refused. The Make Poverty History's governing body, the coordination team, cited the substantial political party affiliations of the governing body of StWC as the primary reason. They also gave the grounds that the issues of economic justice are separate from those of Iraq war, and STWC participation in Edinburgh on 2 July would confuse the message. In a highly critical article in Red Pepper
magazine, Stuart Hodkinson claimed that this was ironic since Oxfam
a member of the coordination team "is currently leading a worldwide campaign for an international arms treaty on the basis that uncontrolled arms fuels poverty and suffering."
, President and CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation. The campaign is supported by a coalition of charities, trade unions, faith groups, students, academics, literary, artistic and sports leaders such as actor Mary Walsh, musician Tom Cochrane
, Olympian
Anna van der Kamp
, actors Roy Dupuis
and Pascale Montpetit
, and United Nations
special envoy Stephen Lewis
.
Make Poverty History has four main objectives in Canada:
The French-language version of the Make Poverty History is "Abolissons La Pauvreté". While this literally translates to "end poverty", neither the English- nor French-language versions of the Canadian campaign should be confused with End Poverty Now. The former represents the Canadian Make Poverty History campaign; the latter is a stand-alone organization that, while remaining affiliated with the campaign, was created independently by a small grouping of MPH Canada's member base.
with several celebrities in black and white stating the pledge of the American ONE Campaign
, their version of Make Poverty History. The commercial featured 33 celebrities and personalities; names as diverse as religious leaders Pat Robertson
and Frank Griswold; singers including Bono
, P. Diddy, Mos Def
and Jewel
; and various actor
s including Brad Pitt
, Susan Sarandon
, Al Pacino
and Antonio Banderas
. At the end, Tom Hanks
states, "We're not asking for your money. We're asking for your voice."
The general goals of the ONE campaign in the United States are to end extreme poverty, hunger and AIDS.
The founding sponsors of ONE are Bread for the World
, CARE, DATA, International Medical Corps
, International Rescue Committee
, Mercy Corps
, Oxfam America
, Plan USA
, Save the Children
US, World Concern
, and World Vision
. They have strong ties with the NBA
, MTV
's Rock the Vote
, and the United Nations Millennium Campaign.
campaign was started by Norwegian Church Aid
on June 9. Haakon Magnus, Crown Prince of Norway and Kjell Magne Bondevik
are some of the celebrities in Norway that wear a white Make Poverty History band.
The three demands of the Norwegian campaign are:
The shops in Norway that sell Make Poverty history bands are Cubus and Dressman, two Norwegian clothing shops.
n campaign was started by Gospel to the Poor Agency on October 18, 2007 as a public action at their 7th annual anti-poverty rally called Walk4Jesus.
Our Vision
"To fight extreme poverty with passion and professionalism through a comprehensive wealth creation development framework in Nigeria."
Walk4Jesus is the largest youths anti-poverty rally in Nigeria, where more than 7 million campaigners had participated in the StandUp Against Extreme Poverty. Gospel to the Poor Agency put it upon themselves to jump start the Make Poverty History campaign in Nigeria which led to the official registration of the Make Poverty History Initiative in Nigeria as an NGO by April 2008. Now, there are more than 350 organizations, faith groups, churches, youths, civil societies and NGOs that keep coalition with Make Poverty History Nigeria. Make Poverty History Nigeria tends to facilitate the MDGs, runs community based development programmes, skill/business development training, and massive advocacy for human capital development of Africans.
In 2008, Make Poverty History Nigeria commanded the largest crowd in Africa at the StandUp Against Poverty Campaign with a march to the governors office in Lagos, Alausa. Professor Pat Utomi sits as one of the patrons of the initiative. Joseph O. Peters, an international advocacy specialist, diplomat, computer analyst and a creative business development consultant, played a very significant role in the official start of the GCAP StandUp Campaign in Nigeria. Make Poverty History Nigeria also keeps a coalition with all other Make Poverty History and GCAP network globally.
, Oxfam
, Caritas
, The Oaktree Foundation
and Engineers Without Borders
.
In November 2006, Melbourne
hosted the Make Poverty History Concert
to align with the G20 Summit
. Since then, the Make Poverty History campaign has continued to create awareness for the need for increased overseas aid and greater measures of effectiveness, through the yearly Stand Up Against Poverty campaign, as well as major campaigns for the federal elections in 2007 and 2010, including Make Poverty History Roadtrips.
They also continue to incite social mobilisation among people in Australia, often being present at social and music events such as Falls Festival
and Big Day Out
, as well as having a great range of opportunities to organise their own campaigning events.
Some critics, such as Theodore Dalrymple, allege that debt relief and aid are used to fund lavish lifestyles for the ruling class (although efforts are made to exclude these countries from the G8 debt relief). Debt relief advocates respond that if international funds are being used to pay for lavish lifestyles of the ruling elite, that this is in fact odious debt
, which the public of poor nations (rather than the corrupt beneficiaries of the debt money) have no obligation to repay.
Others were critical of the ending of the Make Poverty History coalition; the Left-wing activist Alex Callinicos
wrote that "disbanding of mph has a lot to do with the interests of the big NGOs that dominated it" and that "scrapping mph was an utterly shameful decision. It can only promote the belief that those who currently dominate the world are benevolent figures who will, with a few pushes from below, continue to take 'small steady steps forwards'".
Some (minor) criticism also emerged from the campaign's wrist-bands, and how they had apparently become fashionable amongst people who cared little about the original message (see the MakePovertyFashionable parody). Further criticism derives from the fact that some of these wristbands were proven to have been produced by forced labourers in Chinese sweatshops.
Global Call to Action Against Poverty
The Global Call to Action Against Poverty is a growing worldwide alliance consisting of national coalitions of campaigns to end poverty....
campaign and similar campaigns exist in other countries under different names.
The campaign is generally a coalition of aid and development agencies which work together to raise awareness of global poverty and achieve policy change by the government. Though the different campaigns focus on different issues according to the circumstances within their country, they generally focus on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice.
The British campaign
Gel bracelet
Gel bracelets, or jelly bracelets are an inexpensive type of wristband. They come in a variety of colors, and several can be worn on each arm. They have been popular in waves throughout the Western world and elsewhere since the 1980s...
" made of cotton or silicone. Usually on the band the words would be written in black, with the 'Poverty' word a lighter shade. A 'virtual' white band was also available to be displayed on websites.
Television advertisements ran for many months, urging people to speak to their representatives about stopping poverty. However, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) banned the ads, deciding that the ads were "wholly or mainly political" in nature, since they aimed to "achieve important changes".
The three demands of the campaign were:
- "Trade Justice"Trade justiceTrade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations lobbying for changes to the rules and practices of world trade so that poor people and the environment benefit...
- Drop the debtDebt reliefDebt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particular agricultural debts and freeing of debt slaves...
- More and "better" aidAidIn international relations, aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country....
None of these aims were new (there were many attempts over the preceding decades to promote them), but the scale of the 2005 campaign dwarfed previous efforts.
On January 31, 2006, the majority of the members of the campaign passed a resolution to disband the organisation, arguing that the British coalition had only agreed to come together formally for a limited lifespan, to correspond with Britain holding the presidency of the EU and G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
. Approximately forty groups argued against the dissolution.
Events
Make Poverty History set out a timescale revolving around the 31st G8 summit31st G8 summit
The 31st G8 summit was held from July 6 to July 8, 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, United Kingdom and hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair...
in Gleneagles
Gleneagles Hotel
The Gleneagles Hotel is a luxury hotel near Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.- History :The hotel was built by the former Caledonian Railway Company and opened in 1924, originally with its own railway station...
, Scotland on July 6, 2005.
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
, written by Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, who pledged support for the campaign during 2005. The same issues were highlighted in Curtis' television drama The Girl in the Café
The Girl in the Café
The Girl in the Café is a British made-for-television drama film directed by David Yates, written by Richard Curtis and produced by Hilary Bevan Jones. The film is produced by the independent production company Tightrope Pictures and was originally screened on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 25...
, in an episode broadcast on June 25 on the BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
channel in the UK on the HBO channel in the U.S. and on ABC TV in Australia.
- Britain assumed presidency of the G8G8The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
on January 1, 2005 and hosted the summit with povertyPovertyPoverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
in AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
being, at least nominally, a major topic for discussion.
- The Commission for AfricaCommission for AfricaThe Commission for Africa, also known as the Blair Commission for Africa, was an initiative established by the British government to examine and provide impetus for development in Africa. Initiated in Spring 2004, its objectives include the generation of new ideas for development and to deliver...
, launched by Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
in February 2004, aimed to help create a strong and prosperous Africa. Their report, published in March 2005, was a focal point for the British presidency of the G8.
- In the second half of 2005, Britain held the EU presidency.
- July 1, 2005 was the first internationalInternational----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
"White Band Day", a worldwide day of action.
- July 2 - Over 225,000 protesters demonstrated in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to promote the campaign's demands. On the same day, the Live 8Live 8Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concerts took place before the G8 summit to encourage activism and debate within the G8 member countries, with the aim of increasing political pressure on the leaders.
- July 3 – boats set off to Cherbourg in France to pick up protesters as part of Sail 8Sail 8Sail 8 was an attempt at sailing protesters from Cherbourg in Northern France to Edinburgh in Scotland, as part of the 2005 Make Poverty History campaign...
- July 6 - The final Live 8Live 8Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert, named Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push rocks Edinburgh in the final strike to persuade G8G8The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
Leaders to double aid in AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Demonstrators walked overnight up to 20 miles to reach GleneaglesGleneaglesGleneagles may refer to the following:*Gleneagles, Scotland**The July 2005 G8 Summit held at Gleneagles, Scotland*Gleneagles Agreement*Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder*Gleneagles Hotel, Torquay, the inspiration for Fawlty Towers....
as the A8 had been closed.
- The 20th anniversary of Live AidLive AidLive Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
was on July 13, 2005.
- September 10 was the second internationalInternational----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
"White Band Day".
- The United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
Special Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, September 2005. This summit reviewed the progress since 2000 of the Millennium Development GoalsMillennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
, including halving the proportion of people living in poverty by 2015.
- December 10 was the third internationalInternational----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
"White Band Day".
Member organisations
The British campaign had over 540 member organisations including many faith groups, trade unions and charities. See Member organisations of Make Poverty History (UK)Member organisations of Make Poverty History (UK)
Make Poverty History was an anti-poverty campaign, a coalition of charities, religious groups, trade unions and campaigning groups. Members of its British and Irish group were:*1990 Trust*3E Foundation*Abaana*ACEVO*ACORD*Action Aid...
.
Whilst the anti-war group CND was a member, the Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
(StWC) asked to join but was refused. The Make Poverty History's governing body, the coordination team, cited the substantial political party affiliations of the governing body of StWC as the primary reason. They also gave the grounds that the issues of economic justice are separate from those of Iraq war, and STWC participation in Edinburgh on 2 July would confuse the message. In a highly critical article in Red Pepper
Red Pepper (magazine)
Red Pepper is an independent ‘red, green and radical’ magazine based in the UK. For most of its history it appeared monthly, but relaunched as a bi-monthly during 2007.- Origins :...
magazine, Stuart Hodkinson claimed that this was ironic since Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
a member of the coordination team "is currently leading a worldwide campaign for an international arms treaty on the basis that uncontrolled arms fuels poverty and suffering."
The Canadian campaign
The Canadian Make Poverty History campaign was launched in February 2005 by a coalition coordinated by Gerry BarrGerry Barr
Gerry Barr is the 1996 recipient of the Pearson Medal of Peace for the creation of the Steelworkers Humanity Fund.- External links :*...
, President and CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation. The campaign is supported by a coalition of charities, trade unions, faith groups, students, academics, literary, artistic and sports leaders such as actor Mary Walsh, musician Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane
Tom Cochrane, OC Canadian musician and humanitarian, best known for his hit songs "Life Is a Highway", "Lunatic Fringe", "Human Race" and "I Wish You Well". Cochrane fronted the Canadian rock band Red Rider and has won seven Juno Awards...
, Olympian
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Anna van der Kamp
Anna van der Kamp
Anna van der Kamp is a former rower from Canada, who won the silver medal in the Women's Eights at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently works at the , and is a member of Clean Air Champions.-External links:***...
, actors Roy Dupuis
Roy Dupuis
Roy Dupuis is a Canadian actor best known for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series La Femme Nikita...
and Pascale Montpetit
Pascale Montpetit
Pascale Montpetit is a French Canadian actress, born in 1961. In 1990 she won a Best Actress Genie Award for Darrell Wasyk's H and in 2002 for Mario Azzopardi's Savage Messiah, 2 Gémeaux Awards, a Jutra Award and a Mons International Festival of Love Films award. She is also a well-known stage...
, and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
special envoy Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Henry Lewis, is a Canadian politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of the those years as leader, his father David Lewis was simultaneously the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party...
.
Make Poverty History has four main objectives in Canada:
- More and better foreign aidDevelopment aidDevelopment aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...
- Trade justiceTrade justiceTrade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations lobbying for changes to the rules and practices of world trade so that poor people and the environment benefit...
- Cancellation of all debtsDebt reliefDebt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particular agricultural debts and freeing of debt slaves...
owed by poor countries to developed countries like Canada - Elimination of child poverty in Canada
The French-language version of the Make Poverty History is "Abolissons La Pauvreté". While this literally translates to "end poverty", neither the English- nor French-language versions of the Canadian campaign should be confused with End Poverty Now. The former represents the Canadian Make Poverty History campaign; the latter is a stand-alone organization that, while remaining affiliated with the campaign, was created independently by a small grouping of MPH Canada's member base.
- See related article, Poverty in CanadaPoverty in CanadaPoverty in Canada remains prevalent with some segments of society. The measurement of poverty has been a challenge as there is no official government measure. There is an ongoing debate in Canada about whether a relative measure of poverty, or absolute measure of poverty, is more valid...
The US "ONE" Campaign
In April 2005, a commercial began airing in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with several celebrities in black and white stating the pledge of the American ONE Campaign
ONE Campaign
The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
, their version of Make Poverty History. The commercial featured 33 celebrities and personalities; names as diverse as religious leaders Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
and Frank Griswold; singers including Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, P. Diddy, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
and Jewel
Jewel (singer)
Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...
; and various actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s including Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
, Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
. At the end, Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
states, "We're not asking for your money. We're asking for your voice."
The general goals of the ONE campaign in the United States are to end extreme poverty, hunger and AIDS.
The founding sponsors of ONE are Bread for the World
Bread for the World
Bread for the World is a non-partisan, Christian citizens' movement in the United States to end hunger. The organization describes itself as a collective Christian voice urging nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad...
, CARE, DATA, International Medical Corps
International Medical Corps
International Medical Corps is a global humanitarian nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs...
, International Rescue Committee
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee is a leading nonsectarian, nongovernmental international relief and development organization based in the United States, with operations in over 40 countries...
, Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a global aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict. People working for it move as quickly as possible from bringing in food and supplies to enabling people to rebuild their economy with...
, Oxfam America
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, Plan USA
Plan USA
Plan International USA is an international charity with offices in Warwick, Rhode Island and Washington D.C., United States. It is part of Plan International, a global organization founded more than 70 years ago...
, Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
US, World Concern
World Concern
World Concern is a Christian humanitarian organization that operates relief and development programsin 13 countries, and funds partnership programs in nine other countries. The organization’s mission...
, and World Vision
World Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
. They have strong ties with the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
, and the United Nations Millennium Campaign.
The Norwegian campaign
The NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
campaign was started by Norwegian Church Aid
Norwegian Church Aid
Norwegian Church Aid , "Kirkens Nødhjelp" in Norwegian, is an independent humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo, Norway. The organisation also has offices in 65 countries worldwide and receives funding from the Norwegian Protestant church, their institutions and...
on June 9. Haakon Magnus, Crown Prince of Norway and Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...
are some of the celebrities in Norway that wear a white Make Poverty History band.
The three demands of the Norwegian campaign are:
- "Trade justiceTrade justiceTrade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations lobbying for changes to the rules and practices of world trade so that poor people and the environment benefit...
" - Drop the debtDebt reliefDebt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particular agricultural debts and freeing of debt slaves...
- More and "better" aidAidIn international relations, aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country....
The shops in Norway that sell Make Poverty history bands are Cubus and Dressman, two Norwegian clothing shops.
The Nigerian campaign
The NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n campaign was started by Gospel to the Poor Agency on October 18, 2007 as a public action at their 7th annual anti-poverty rally called Walk4Jesus.
Our Vision
"To fight extreme poverty with passion and professionalism through a comprehensive wealth creation development framework in Nigeria."
Walk4Jesus is the largest youths anti-poverty rally in Nigeria, where more than 7 million campaigners had participated in the StandUp Against Extreme Poverty. Gospel to the Poor Agency put it upon themselves to jump start the Make Poverty History campaign in Nigeria which led to the official registration of the Make Poverty History Initiative in Nigeria as an NGO by April 2008. Now, there are more than 350 organizations, faith groups, churches, youths, civil societies and NGOs that keep coalition with Make Poverty History Nigeria. Make Poverty History Nigeria tends to facilitate the MDGs, runs community based development programmes, skill/business development training, and massive advocacy for human capital development of Africans.
In 2008, Make Poverty History Nigeria commanded the largest crowd in Africa at the StandUp Against Poverty Campaign with a march to the governors office in Lagos, Alausa. Professor Pat Utomi sits as one of the patrons of the initiative. Joseph O. Peters, an international advocacy specialist, diplomat, computer analyst and a creative business development consultant, played a very significant role in the official start of the GCAP StandUp Campaign in Nigeria. Make Poverty History Nigeria also keeps a coalition with all other Make Poverty History and GCAP network globally.
The Australian campaign
The Australian campaign is coordinated by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and is a coalition of more than 60 member organisations, drawn mainly from the Non Government Aid and development sector, including for example:World VisionWorld Vision
World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...
, Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, Caritas
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
, The Oaktree Foundation
The Oaktree Foundation
The Oaktree Foundation is an Australian-based aid and development Publicly Limited Company run by young people aged 16 to 26.Internationally, Oaktree partners with developing communities to support quality educational opportunities for young people...
and Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Without Borders – International is an international association of some national EWB/ISF groups, whose mission is to facilitate collaboration, exchange of information, and assistance among its member groups that have applied to become part of the association...
.
In November 2006, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
hosted the Make Poverty History Concert
Make Poverty History Concert
The Make Poverty History Concert was held on the night of November 17, 2006 produced by Dan Adams, Hugh Evans and John Connor at Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Australia. The concert was timed to coincide with the G20 Summit which was being hosted by then-Australian Treasurer, Peter Costello...
to align with the G20 Summit
2006 G20 summit
The 2006 G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in Melbourne, Australia between November 18 and November 19, 2006...
. Since then, the Make Poverty History campaign has continued to create awareness for the need for increased overseas aid and greater measures of effectiveness, through the yearly Stand Up Against Poverty campaign, as well as major campaigns for the federal elections in 2007 and 2010, including Make Poverty History Roadtrips.
They also continue to incite social mobilisation among people in Australia, often being present at social and music events such as Falls Festival
Falls Festival
The Falls Festival is a New Year's Eve music festival, held annually in Lorne, Victoria and Marion Bay, Tasmania Australia since 1993.It lasts four days, from 29 December to 1 January each year. The headline acts play mostly over two evenings, 30 December and 31 December...
and Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
, as well as having a great range of opportunities to organise their own campaigning events.
Criticism
Odious debt
In international law, odious debt is a legal theory that holds that the national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation, should not be enforceable. Such debts are, thus, considered by this doctrine to be personal debts of the regime that incurred...
, which the public of poor nations (rather than the corrupt beneficiaries of the debt money) have no obligation to repay.
Others were critical of the ending of the Make Poverty History coalition; the Left-wing activist Alex Callinicos
Alex Callinicos
Alexander Theodore Callinicos is a Trotskyist political theorist, a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Workers Party and its International Secretary, and is Director of the Centre for European Studies at King's College London...
wrote that "disbanding of mph has a lot to do with the interests of the big NGOs that dominated it" and that "scrapping mph was an utterly shameful decision. It can only promote the belief that those who currently dominate the world are benevolent figures who will, with a few pushes from below, continue to take 'small steady steps forwards'".
Some (minor) criticism also emerged from the campaign's wrist-bands, and how they had apparently become fashionable amongst people who cared little about the original message (see the MakePovertyFashionable parody). Further criticism derives from the fact that some of these wristbands were proven to have been produced by forced labourers in Chinese sweatshops.
See also
- Dissent!Dissent! (network)Dissent! was the name taken for an international network of local groups, which came together to organise opposition to the G8 summit held in Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland in July 2005...
- G8 AlternativesG8 AlternativesG8 Alternatives was a coalition of activist groups set up to co-ordinate actions around the 31st G8 summit held at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland....
- Make Poverty History EmiratesMake Poverty History EmiratesMake Poverty History-Emirates was an open coalition of UAE based organizations that worked together to eradicate global poverty and assist in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals from 2005 until 2009....
- Make Poverty History Nigeria
- Global Call to Action Against PovertyGlobal Call to Action Against PovertyThe Global Call to Action Against Poverty is a growing worldwide alliance consisting of national coalitions of campaigns to end poverty....
- ONE CampaignONE CampaignThe ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
- Poverty in CanadaPoverty in CanadaPoverty in Canada remains prevalent with some segments of society. The measurement of poverty has been a challenge as there is no official government measure. There is an ongoing debate in Canada about whether a relative measure of poverty, or absolute measure of poverty, is more valid...
External links
- "Make Poverty History: Around The World" Website Links
- Global Call to Action Against Poverty - Official Website of the Global Campaign
- Live 8
- BBC News - About Make Poverty History
- BBC News - 225,000 campaigners march in Edinburgh
- Make Poverty History Nigeria
- The Times - Critique of Make Poverty History
- The 2010 Make Poverty History Roadtrip
- Make Poverty History