Latest from our campaigners in Hong Kong...
 OK. So... how to summarise the last couple of days since we posted last? Surreal is probably the best way to describe it. So much is going on it's a bit overwhelming. Unlike the G8, where everything thing took place in a highly restrictive venue in the middle of nowhere (Gleneagles Golf Club), the WTO is meeting in a highly restrictive venue in the middle of a major city, so loads is going on.
On Sunday, the Youth Exchange conference ended, and Kumi Naidoo, Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), spoke at the closing session. Those of you who saw Nelson Mandela speak in Trafalgar Square in February and the Murrayfield concert in July will know what a great speaker Kumi is. Everyone was really fired up by his words and ready to go for the week ahead.
Tuesday saw the opening of the WTO trade talks and with it a massive march for trade justice. Contrary to what is probably being said in the press, the march was completely peaceful except for a minor incident. At the start of the march we, as youth activists on trade, all spoke and did a little performance in front of about 1,000+ people which was awesome.
 Around 8,000 were on the march from all around the world, including some farmers from northern India. The people their organisation represented were facing a daily struggle for survival because of the effects of trade liberalisation, a struggle faced by almost all of the other farmers' groups represented here from around the globe. We marched alongside them, as well as that dude from the Motorcycle Diaries who I'm told is very attractive. Amusingly, Irene (somewhat pathetically) tried to engage in small talk with him!
 At the end of the march, some farmers from Korea tried to swim to the WTO convention centre. It is easy to right off such acts as futile, but you have to think what must be going through their minds - their complete and utter desperation caused by unfair trade.
An epic day finished with a talk by Joseph Stiglitz, who wrote a great book called "Globalisation and Its Discontents". After joking about Irene, I should add that I was very sad and tried (somewhat pathetically) to get him to sign my copy of his book!
 Wednesday was another manic day, it seemed we were running about non-stop. First of all, we took part in a rather bizarre media stunt... We dressed up as the G8 leaders wondering around Tai Chei experts wearing massive heads - I was our Tony. It makes no sense, but I think that was the point...
It was fun and all but it's just a shame that the only way to get media attention for our issues (and we did get a lot) is by doing something so stupid! Of far greater importance - the Big Noise petition was handed over to Pascal Lamy, Director General of the WTO, which carried a phenomenal 17.8 MILLION signatures from around the globe (including 1 million from Zambia, thanks to Irene and the organisation she runs).
World trade talks latest on Oxfam.org.uk >>
posted at 1:49 PM
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2 comments
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GenerationWhy and Oxfam accept no responsibility for the content of comments in the Blog.
Awesome blogging. Keep positive.
By ,
December 15, 2005 4:00 PM
The EU has just made a committment to reform the CAP by 2013? (Please correct me if I'm wrong folks!) and the WTO has also made committments end subsides by 2013. Co-incidence? I think not. These are important moves but maybe not as quick as we would like. The future is already starting to look brighter. No Bush, and no subsidies. Keep up the good work everyone. We need to keep the pressure up!
By G,
December 18, 2005 2:04 PM
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