Win a pair of Damian Marley tickets! Competition update! We've just been given a pair of Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley tickets to giveaway to you lucky people. It's for his gig at Somerset House on Tuesday 11 July, so this is a competition with a tight deadline. All you need to do is send an e-mail with your phone number and address, and the subject header 'Damian Marley', to generationwhy@oxfam.org.uk. We'll select a winner at random 5.00 pm on Thursday 6 July and get in touch asap after that. posted at 1:16 PM | Permalink 1 comments

Campaign with us at NASS festival Love music and extreme sports? Fancy yourself on a skateboard or BMX? NASS (the National Adventure Sports Show) could be your kind of thing - and this year you can get in for FREE with Oxfam. We're looking for volunteers to help us raise awareness of Oxfam's campaigns at this year's festival, and in return for two four-hour shifts you get to enjoy the boarding, biking and music absolutely free. NASS is held at the Birmingham NEC - with camping just off site - on the weekend of 29-30 July. Find out what we got up to at last year's festival and then send in your application forms asap. Apply now >> posted at 8:38 AM | Permalink 2 comments

Stewarding opportunities at Latitude Festival Snow Patrol, The Zutons, Anthony and the Johnsons, British Sea Power, Gomez, Mogwai, Mercury Rev, Jose Gonzalez... Sounds like the line-up to an amazing festival, eh? You could see all these bands and loads more if you volunteer to be a steward at Latitude Festival, in Suffolk between 12-16 July. More info on our festivals blog >> posted at 10:17 AM | Permalink 2 comments

Get Tony Blair to keep his promises Last year, Tony Blair and other world leaders promised to make poverty history at the G8 summit in Gleneagles. They agreed to increase aid and cancel the debt of some of the world's poorest countries. 12 months on, we need to make sure they keep their word. We need to make sure that many more millions of poor people across the world also get free access to healthcare and education, get the chance to earn a decent living, and can live their lives free from the threat of violence. Take action now: get Tony Blair to keep the promises he and other world leaders made at last year's G8. posted at 9:13 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Video of the Million Faces petition being presented to Kofi Annan Julius Arile Lomerinyang was the millionth person to support the Million Faces petition for tougher arms controls. Yesterday (26 June 2006) he presented the petition to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the United Nations' Small Arms Review Conference. Watch the video >> (Windows Media Player format - 5MB) posted at 2:04 PM | Permalink 0 comments

AK-47: the world's favourite killing machine Kalahsnikov AK-47 assualt rifles are the world's worst regulated weapons, according to a new report. There are a staggering 70 million in the world today, "fuelling conflict and poverty in the world's poorest countries," according to Jermey Hobbs, director of Oxfam International. The report has been released to mark the first day of the UN world conference on small arms and light weapons, which begins in New York today. "At this UN world conference, governments must agree global rules for small arms sales and help put an end to this suffering," added Hobbs. More about the conference on the Control Arms blog >> Spread the word: send the image above as an e-card >> posted at 12:17 PM | Permalink 0 comments

We've reached one million faces! Wanted to share some good news - thanks to people like you adding your face, the Control Arms campaign has reached its target of one million for the Million Faces Petition. The petition has been put together to to show governments that we need effective and urgent action to control the arms trade. The 'millionth face' - a man named Julius Arile Lomerinyang (see pic), who has survived gun violence in Kenya - will present the petition to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday 26 June. Monday also marks the beginning of the UN Small Arms Review Conference in New York, which is the first time in five years that world leaders have come together to discuss the rules on the illegal trade of small arms and weapons. The Review Conference is part of the follow-up process to a programme of action agreed in 2001 - it's a great opportunity for governments to agree standards to regulate the arms trade. Get the latest from New York on the brilliant Control Arms blog >> posted at 10:55 AM | Permalink 0 comments

This week is National Bike Week National Bike Week is the UK's annual celebration of cycling - so dust down your saddle, check for punctures and oil your chain because there are loads of ways you can get involved! You can either organise your own event or participate in one of the 1,717 local events taking place all across the country. If you normally drive to work or school then taking part could be as easy as swapping the car keys for a bike helmet for Bike2Work, in support of Leukaemia Research. Bike Week is supported by Gary Lineker who says "I am delighted to support Leukaemia Research as the national charity partner for Bike2Work. So get back on your bike, cycle to work and give the money you have saved on transport to Leukaemia Research. The great thing about this initiative is that it is so easy to get involved. Leukaemia Research can provide personalised donation envelopes, stickers, sponsor forms and anything else you might need. It is a great way to stay fit, have fun and raise money for charity, all before you and your colleagues get to your desks in the morning." Participants are also able to enter the Bike Week free prize draw and could win a family holiday to Center Parcs. So this week make sure you have fun, get fit and feel free! posted at 1:32 PM | Permalink 0 comments

World Refugee Day World Refugee Day has been celebrated since 2001 and is part of World Refugee Week. This UN initiative uses art and performance to deliver positive educational messages to try and counter fear, ignorance and negative stereotypes of refugees. This year's theme is 'Hope' and has been backed by the High commissioner Antonio Guterres who, in a statement made yesterday in Geneva said: "World Refugee Day is part of that common effort as we gather on 20 June in cities and towns, in refugee camps and in remote settlements to pay tribute to the courageous, unwavering hope of the world's refugees - and to assure them that they are not forgotten." Goodwill ambassador and actress, Angelina Jolie, also urged people to remember those forced out of their homes. "For the millions of displaced persons around the world, please help keep their hope alive and remember World Refugee Day," she said in a message recently recorded in Namibia. Read about one man seeking asylum from conflict in Uganda >> posted at 11:05 AM | Permalink 1 comments

Make Trade Fair at the Birmingham Barfly This Wednesday 21 June our Outreach volunteers will be out and about at the Birmingham Barfly raising awareness for our Make Trade Fair campaign. The event will be the launch night of Birmingham record label Horus Music and doors will open at 7.30pm. Acts will include The Nu Romantix, Midas, and headliners UXL (see flyer above). If you can't make it this week then don't worry - we will be at plenty more events at the Barfly in the coming months, including The Glitterati gig on 10 July and other Horus Music events being held on 20 July, 22 September, 12 October and 9 November - keep your eyes peeled for more information on these events in the future. posted at 2:39 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Today is UN International day of the African child In 1976 in Soweto, South Africa, 10,000 black school children peacefully took to the streets. They were marching to protest against the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language, and not in Afrikaans. Hundreds of these children were shot down and weeks of protest followed, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. On 26th June 1977 the government revoked the teaching in Afrikaans in all black schools. The UN International day of the African child was first initiated in 1991 by the Organisation of African Unity to honour the memory of those children who stood up for their rights, and to draw attention to the lives of African children today. Every year this day focuses on one theme - this year's theme is 'Stop violence against children'. In Africa laws do not protect children the way they should but thanks to this day the governments are beginning to take action and the UN has appointed an independent expert to study violence against children. Find out more about this day >> posted at 8:42 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Festival photos Just to let you know that you can now view photo galleries from the Wychwood and Isle of Wight festivals. Keep your eyes peeled for more festival fun in the future on our festivals blog and our 'How angry are you about poverty' competition. posted at 3:13 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Who should I cheer for at the World Cup? Here's an interesting idea. The World Development Movement has created a special feature for the World Cup allowing you to compare vital development stats on each of the participating countries. So if you'd like to support the team that gives the most aid to poor countries or that spends the most on healthcare here's your chance to find out who you should be cheering. Go to 'Who Should I Cheer For? >> posted at 12:26 PM | Permalink 1 comments

How long can you keep the ball in the air? As top sports brands crank up their advertising for the World Cup (which starts today, in case you hadn't noticed!), behind the scenes many sportswear workers in Asia are struggling. They work long hours under high pressure - it's like having to keep a ball in the air for hours. Play the new keepy-up game from Oxfam Australia and see how long you can keep the ball in the air. When you've finished playing, send a protest message to sports brands, calling on them to treat workers fairly - and then send the game to your friends to get them to beat your score! Play the game >> Find out how sports brands treat workers in Asia >> posted at 10:59 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Mad about music? We need you! Last call for music volunteers! Oxfam is still looking for more volunteer music event organisers / promoters to take part in Oxjam - Oxfam's national live music month which takes place this October. We need more people to make sure that Oxjam is the biggest thing since Glasto and Live8 combined, so if you want to be part of it get in touch now. You'll get great training from Oxfam and tips from music industry specialists on how to put on your own music event. You'll also be part of a huge network of people, and it'll look great on your CV. Find out more and apply now: www.oxfam.org.uk/oxjam posted at 10:43 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Download World Cup songs from Oxfam Music Just a bit of football fun as World Cup fever takes hold of seemingly everybody in the entire universe (and apologies to those non-football fans out there, we feel for you in these trying times). If you're rooting for England this June, you can download their World Cup songs from over the years from Oxfam Music - and the best thing is that 10p in every £1 you spend goes to Oxfam. Listen to the Official England World Cup Song, Embrace's 'World At Your Feet', or get nostalgic for the good ol' days with New Order's 'World In Motion' and Baddiel and Skinner's 'Three Lions' (that's the 'football's coming home' one, in case you didn't know). Alternatively, you could download the Crazy Frog song 'We Are The Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)', if you're in to that kind of thing. More details on our World Cup page >> posted at 3:30 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Volunteers' Week is this week There are currently 22 million volunteers in the UK alone and Volunteers' Week is a national celebration of the work these volunteers do. It plays a huge part in raising the profile of volunteering and encourages others to get involved. There are loads of events taking place up and down the country this week, so if you want to take part then you can easily find out what's on in your local area on the Volunteers' Week website. Oxfam has around 20,000 volunteers all around the world whose time and energy help us get the job done - whether it be through campaigning or stewarding at a festival, giving your time to an Oxfam shop or doing an internship with us - so a big thank you to everyone who has volunteered for us over the years, we salute you! For those of you who want to get involved but don't know how then this is the perfect time to find out about volunteering opportunities. If you really want to do something different you can even consider the top 10 quirkiest volunteering opportunities, such as monitoring your local bat population. Find out more about Volunteers' Week >> posted at 10:50 AM | Permalink 1 comments

Win £99 of music downloads! Wanted to tell you about this fantastic competition - you could win £99 of music downloads from our download site Oxfam Music. The site is picking one winner every month until December 2006 - all you have to do is enter your details to be in with a chance of downloading 100 of your favourite tunes. If you don't know about Oxfam Music, it works like any other music download site (and it's got 100,000s of songs on there) - but the best thing is that 10p in every £1 spent goes straight to Oxfam. Enter the prize draw now >> posted at 9:32 AM | Permalink 0 comments

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