Nicholas is an intern in Oxfam's Humanitarian Department and a member of the Oxford Oxfam Group. He takes a break to talk about how education can transform how we understand and act upon poverty.

Profile   Name: Nicholas Martlew   Nationality: British   Interesting Fact: Nicholas was born in Malaysia.

Recently I was out on Oxford’s Cornmarket Street, dressed as a corporate stooge next to a hospital bed. I was trying to persuade people to sign the Novartis petition for people in India and worldwide to have access to life-saving medicines.

Some people asked a few questions then signed up; others thought over the ‘do you want to save people’s lives?’ type line – then decided it wasn't for them.

These people I can cope with. But what about the people who were persuaded just by the Oxfam brand? Or those, who were persuaded by the mere presence of something to sign? And there were some of these – the mind boggles at how many credit cards they have!

I support Oxfam because we all want to bring about global social justice. But to make that change sustainable we need to challenge the deeper attitudes that mean people don’t question what they see, what they buy and what they sign.

For such change to outlast electoral and economic cycles, it must be built on the critical consent of the many.

Critical thinking, seeing ourselves in a global community will come best from our education system. Imagine if today’s youngsters felt a genuine sense of citizenship that went beyond national borders. Imagine if generation after generation didn’t just tolerate green taxes and fair trade but demanded them and lived by the same principles – because they recognised their responsibilities as global citizens.

Development education could transform our relations with the world – for good.

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