8 things to do for the G8 Phew! After all the build up, the countdown to the G8 is almost over. We're all now packing our bags for the bus journey up to Edinburgh for the rally on Saturday. If you want to get involved, we've found these 8 things you can do for the G8 on the big Daddy Oxfam site... 1. Be there! It's still not too late to get on the coach / train / bike (OK, perhaps it might be too late for a bike) and get up to Edinburgh. 2. Get live text updates about all the big moments and key decisions. Text SUMMIT to 84118 for FREE updates. 3. Make your own banners and placards (see pic) - make sure you go to Edinburgh with a clear message to Make Poverty History! 4. Write to Tony Blair (see him in his cowboy hat in a previous blog) with your own Make Poverty History message. 5. Show your support and get a white band in time for International White Band Day (tomorrow!). 6. Know the issues. Find out what the campaign is all about and why this is such a unique opportunity. 7. If you can't get to Edinburgh and you're not going to Live8, watch Live8 online with AOL. 8. Tell your friends about all of this! As if that wasn't enough, we've thought of some more things you might want to do... * Follow our online G8 diary - we'll be posting daily updates from Edinburgh, with crowd reaction, pics and all the latest news on the big moments. * If you're around Edinburgh, listen to G8 radio on Saturday only 87.7FM. It will be available on the Make Poverty History website too. * Make sure you know what's going on and when with the G8 rally schedule... posted at 9:24 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Win Tom Vek CDs! We loved Tom Vek's performance at Glastonbury (on the Other Stage on Friday) so much, we managed to bag ourselves some copies of his new album 'We Have Sound' to giveaway to you lucky people. All you have to do is answer an easy-peasy question to be in with a chance. Oh, and if you're interested in all the celebs we spoke to at Glasto, look here. posted at 5:19 PM | Permalink 0 comments

H20 4 Live8 + G8! Just a little snippet we've stumbled across - there's a rather cool bottle of water called 'One' which you should all go out and buy as soon as you can. As well as being the official aqua for the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh and for Live8, One helps to fund special water pumps in South Africa. With these rather nifty 'roundabout play pumps', a children's roundabout replaces a traditional hand pump - so kids whizzing around in circles helps to provide villages with clean, readily available water. Pretty cool, eh? So, if you're going to Live8 or the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh, seek out a bottle of this lovely stuff. You'll be making a real difference. More on the One website >> posted at 12:44 PM | Permalink 2 comments

Showdown in Gleneagles! Do what you can to put pressure on these G8 leaders to Make Poverty History. Come to Edinburgh for the rally on 2 July, wear your white band on World White Band Day on 1 July and e-mail Tony Blair your own white band message. posted at 3:32 PM | Permalink 2 comments

Signed guitar and t-shirt on e-Bay! Just in case you didn't know - there's an amazing signed guitar up for grabs on e-Bay this week - and all the proceeds go to Oxfam! Damon Albarn (from Blur and The Gorillaz - pictured), plus Massive Attack, Portishead and Robert Plant (Led Zepellin legend) have all signed the guitar - which itself is worth a whopping £1,500. And if you think that might be a bit out of your price range, there's a signed t-shirt too - both the guitar and the t-shirt were signed at the amazing tsunami benefit gig back in February. The auction will run until this Saturday, to coincide with the Make Poverty History G8 rally. View guitar auction >> View t-shirt auction >> posted at 1:42 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Book your train to Edinburgh NOW! If you want to go to Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History G8 rally on 2 July it's not too late! You can book your transport on a special train from Birmingham (via Wolverhampton and Preston), or from Crewe (via Stockport, Mancehster and Preston) - just phone 0131 226 3246 or visit oxfam.org.uk. The train leaves on the Friday 1 July and returns on the Sunday. And if you're worried about somewhere to stay, there's accommodation too - a special G8 campsite is being prepared by Edinburgh City Council for 15,000 people for the period 1 July to 8 July. It will have all the essential facilities and transport to and from the rally. Booking information on www.edinburgh.gov.uk/CEC/G8accommodation. More about the G8 rally >> posted at 10:37 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Africa Lives... Just a quick blog about the current 'Africa Lives' season on the BBC at the moment - have you had a chance to check it out? We saw Bob Geldof on Monday night and he was on his usual inspiring form - and if you get BBC 4 at home, there's a really interesting documentary about two schools in Uganda running on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's all stuff to really open your eyes about the development of Africa - and timely too, with the G8 summit in Edinburgh representing a chance to help with some of the problems of that vast continent... More on the BBC website >> Find out about Oxfam's work in Africa >> posted at 2:30 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Latin Flow @ Cargo tonight... Should be a good night this - just thought we'd give it a quick mention. As the website says, it's a "unique show, never seen before in the UK. A mix of Afro-Cuban music with Hip Hop beats, as they have been doing in Havana, Miami and New York for years. Lazaro Lopez and his Rumba Hip Hop Jam is an audiovisual fest that will feature Dave Patman and Lazaro himself on the drums and dancing, Kid Africa (AKA Danny Havanero) plus other musicians." Not bad, eh? It's organised by our friends at Bulb Magazine and Amnesty International, so if you're in town, head on down... More >> posted at 4:43 PM | Permalink 1 comments

Summer fun in the sun Aw, ain't it great when the sun shines, eh? Everyone at Gen Why HQ is getting very excited about Glastonbury, except your humble editor, who has to hold the fort here. Harumph! Any road, when the sun shines it gets us thinking about the long, hot summer ahead - filled with great festivals, the G8 rally in Edinburgh, Make Poverty History music events, club nights and much else besides. Keep up-to-date with all the latest events in our what's on section and find out what we're up to at this year's music festivals too. But most of all, stay up-to-date with everything that Oxfam is up to this summer with our fabulous Generation Why newsletter, e-Xtra. Sign up to e-Xtra now >> posted at 2:58 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Glasto competition winners! A massive CHEERS to everyone who entered our Glastonbury / Make Poverty History competition. We had some really inpired entries, and pretty much all of them made us laugh out loud. But there had to be a winner - and that was Ursula McCanny (see pic), who spent two nights putting together a miniature 'Make Poverty History band', complete with guitar, drum-kit, computer-speakers and comedy hair. Have a look at all the entries here - there are some absolute classics. And now we can start getting excitied about Glastonbury. Are you going? If not, don't despair. We'll be writing a daily Glasto blog from these very pages, complete with everything that Oxfam is up to, plus all the weird and wonderful-ness we've come to expect of the Glasto experience. So stay tuned... And have a lovely weekend in the sunshine! More about Glastonbury 2005 here >> posted at 2:53 PM | Permalink 0 comments

REM tour supports Make Trade Fair Hi there - just a quickie today. Thought we should tell you that we've been telling the world about the Make Trade Fair campaign this week - well, all the people who come to see REM play in the UK, any road. REM have given their backing to the campaign - that demands fair trade rules for the world's poorest countries. We'll be at all the dates listed below, so if you're going come and say hello... Manchester-Lancashire County Cricket Club 17/6 Loch Lomond 18/6 Hull 5/7 Nottingham City Ground 6/7 Ipswich FC 8/7 Hyde Park 9/7 Cardiff 10/7 More about REM'S support of Make Trade Fair >> posted at 2:58 PM | Permalink 0 comments

NEW STUFF! NEW STUFF! We've been going Make Poverty History CRAZY round these parts, so this is just a quick-ish blog to tell you about the stuff we've been putting on the site. First up, we've got June Sarpong's answers to the questions you asked all those moons ago - June's right behind the Make Poverty History campaign, so see what she has to say. Then there's a quick review of the Manchester White Band Weekend from a couple of weeks ago, complete with Big Brother's Nadia, and a review of the Bands Against Poverty gig in Chorlton, Manchester. And then there's a whole host of new music events coming up too: there's the Oxford Bands Against Poverty night, this weekend; the 8 til L8 for the G8 gig in Birmingham; and the Club Hedonsitic Glastonbury warm up this Friday. As if that wasn't enough, we've also got details of how YOU can Make Poverty History in 7 steps - step 1 is buying the new Make Povetry History book. Phew! Not bad, eh? Of course, all this Make Poverty History activity is gearing up to the rally on Saturday 2 July, to put pressure on the G8 leaders meeting in Gleneagles the week after. We want as many people as possible to make the trip up to Edinburgh, to get leaders to drop the debt, make trade fair and send more and better aid. There's loads more cool stuff about the G8 summit on the main Oxfam site. Oh, and here's yet another gratuitous photo of an animal with a Make Poverty History whiteband around it. Honestly, the things people to do to their pets... posted at 3:17 PM | Permalink 1 comments

Scintillating titbits? Just thought you might want to know - we're famous! Well, in weblog-land at least. Generation Why's been mentioned on the BBC news website 'WEBLOG WATCH'. It even says we've got 'scintillating titbits'. He he he. Find out what we're going on about >> posted at 11:26 AM | Permalink 1 comments

Shake your stuff this Sunday Songs of Praise, 20th Century Roadshow, Star Portraits with Rolf Harris! Yeah, we know there are loads of good reasons to hang up your sparkling dancing pants and head for the sofa on a Sunday night. But wait, this Sunday there's a very special Music4Life funk soul night at Notting Hill Arts Club. With live bands, an amazing lineup of top DJs and a daytime record fair what's stopping you? Entry's only £6 (or £4 with a record/CD donation) and all proceeds go to Oxfam. posted at 2:13 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Signed guitar coming up soon on Ebay In February there was a huge benefit gig for victims of the Asian tsunami. After the event SoundControl in Bristol donated a top quality 'Avalon' guitar (pictured), worth around £1,500, which was subsequently signed by a whole load of our favourite pop people. Signatures include Portishead, Damon Albarn, Massive Attack, The Coral and Robert Plant. Here's the exciting bit: from Saturday 25th June this guitar will be available on eBay for one week until the G8 rally in Edinburgh. All proceeds will go straight to Oxfam. As Massive Attack's guitarist Angelo Bruschini says: "We're really happy to have done our bit to help Oxfam with their tsunami relief work. Hopefully through events like these, they will be able to spread the word even more widely, and help people to understand that anyone can make a difference by getting involved." And our very own Ben Littlejohn points out that the guitar "is an enticing one-off for any fan or collector, and the winning bidder will be doing their bit to help Oxfam at the same time as adding this truly unique item to their collection." VIEW AUCTION posted at 10:30 AM | Permalink 3 comments

Last chance for Herbal club night tomorrow Just a quick reminder that tomorrow (Thurs 9th June) sees the fourth and final Make Poverty History club night at Herbal in east London. So for more info on how to catch the amazing Shy FX, DJ Hype, Normski, MC Moose, Aaron Ross (1xtra) and Cartel 3i while helping us build our petition for world change click here. posted at 1:42 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Tsunami Photo Exhibition Oxfam is holding a tsunami photo exhibition with some of the UK's top news photographers, including Dan Chung, UK Photographer of the Year, from the Guardian newspaper. The exhibition will mark the 6 month anniversary of the tsunami. The event will be held at the Air Gallery, Dover Street, London (near Green park tube station) from 26th June- 2nd July. There will be no entry charge. Oxfam's photographers will have their photos exhibited alongside those of UK newspaper photographers to demonstrate Oxfam's work on the ground. More details will follow soon. posted at 11:01 AM | Permalink 1 comments

Bobbing along on the ocean wave Geldof calls on sailors to recreate Dunkirk in action against poverty. We all know Bob Geldof is a man who makes things happen but even by his standards 'Sail8' is inspired (and slightly mad). As part of the global call for action against poverty (GCAP) Geldof is calling on anyone with access to a suitable boat to form a huge flotilla across the English Channel on July 3rd ahead of the G8 summit in Edinburgh. Refering to the mass evacuation of Allied troops by 'little boats' during May and June 1940 Geldof asked that people recreate Dunkirk and "take to their boats in their thousands and pick up the people of France for a friendlier invasion. It will be beautiful and amazing." Geldof said 60 coaches had been organised to transport people north and that he has received the support of yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur. While we're not exactly boaty types we can't wait for this one. More about Sail8 >> More about the G8 Summit >> posted at 11:31 AM | Permalink 1 comments

Let's all go to Wychwood! Happy days! It's the first festival of the summer! Gilles Peterson, Alabama 3, Steve Earle, The Earlies - they will all be playing at Cheltenham Racecourse this weekend at Wychwood, the world and roots festival. It starts today and promises to be a relaxed and open-minded type of thing, with great food from around the world, camping, healing gardens, workshops and the like. And, what's more, it will be raising money - 10 per cent of ticket sales will go to Oxfam. We're also providing the stewards, and we'll be there selling wonderful stuff in our festival shop and drumming up support for Make Poverty History. Tickets are around £30 a day (adult) and £20 (under 18). So, if you're down south this weekend (or even if you're not), get down to Wychwood - it looks like it'll be just lovely. More on the Wychwood Festival website >> posted at 8:42 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Great new art, music and fashion magazine Hey again, just thought we'd tell you about this really cool magazine that's been published. It's called TIN magazine, and it's been made by two undergraduates at art college in London (I think!) - and it's just BRILL. Its tagline is 'Raising moral, ethical and ecological awareness through art, music and fashion.' It looks great and it's got loads of music and fashion stuff that fits in exactly with what we're trying to do at Generation Why. It's also got an ultra-stylish fashion shoot using clothes bought from Oxfam shops, and some VERY interesting features about Oxfam, Generation Why and Big Noise Music (not that we're biased or anything!). It's available in London at Oxfam stores, Progreso coffee shops, RD Franks, The ICA and The Fashion and Textile Museum. If you're not based in London, why not pop them an e-mail tinmag@hotmail.co.uk. Why not do something like this yourself? >> posted at 12:51 PM | Permalink 3 comments

Coldplay, U2 and Madonna play at Live 8 You've probably heard by now - it's been all over the news - but this year sees the return of Live Aid (kind of). It's called Live 8 - like Live Aid it's been organised by Bob Geldof and pals - and it coincides with the Make Poverty History G8 rally in Edinburgh on 2 July. This time there will be five concerts held in London, Rome, Paris, Berlin and Philadelphia and, together with the rally, they will see millions of people around the world demanding an end to poverty. The demands will be focused towards the eight most powerful and richest countries in the world who will be attending the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. 6 - 8 July. The line up for the London gig is like a who's who of the biggest stars, including Coldplay, Dido, Keane, Sir Elton John, Madonna, Muse, Razorlight, Scissor Sisters, Sir Paul McCartney, Joss Stone, Stereophonics, Robbie Williams, U2, REM and, err, Mariah Carey. You can only get tickets via a text lottery, from 8.00 am on Monday 6 June. More on the Live 8 website >> posted at 8:27 AM | Permalink 2 comments

The end of the chav? Young people today want to be 'ethical' rather than 'chavvy', according to an Oxfam survey releaed today to mark the beginning of Volunteer Week (1 - 7 June). A whopping 92 per cent of teenagers would consider volunteering for a charity, and over a third had volunteered in the last 12 months. And 89 per cent said they would make sacrifices in the name of charity - 60 per cent stated they would give up 'Watching Big Brother' to accommodate volunteering in their lifestyle. As one volunteer, Kate Earl (24), put it: "Young people aren't all apathetic, hoody-wearing yobs. Volunteering means my spare time is used positively. I've gained the confidence to do other things and have actually got a new job as a result of it." The survey also suggests that volunteering could be the solution to 'yob culture' - 51 per cent of those surveyed said voluntary work should be part of the school curriculum. So, what do you think? Should we do voluntary work when we're at school? And is volunteering the answer to 'yob culture'? Post your comments below... More about the survey >> More about Volunteer Week >> Everything you need to know about volunteering >> posted at 8:36 AM | Permalink 13 comments

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