118 918 - directory enquiries with a feel-good factor We don’t know about you but we often find ourselves calling directory enquiries - whether it be when we’re waiting in the freezing cold for a bus and decide to call it quits and call a taxi, or when we’re dying for some kind of take-away the next day at home. So we were pretty chuffed to hear that there’s a new number we can ring where 9p from every call goes to Oxfam - that adds up to quite lot of pennies if we all do it. The number to call is 118 918 and it costs no more than the numbers you usually use for this kind of thing. Add the number to your mobile now. The next time you make that call, you’ll be supporting Oxfam without even trying – simple. And don’t forget to spread the word to all of your friends >> posted at 4:07 PM | Permalink 3 comments

High hopes for meeting between Ethiopia and Starbucks Another Monday morning and some more potential good news about the Starbucks campaign. Today The Times newspaper revealed that Jim McDonald, Starbucks Chief Executive, is preparing to visit Ethiopia tommorrow for talks with Meles Zenawi, its Prime Minister. It’s unclear what the visit is in aid of, but we have high hopes that Starbucks may at least be considering responding to public demand. Over 70,000 people have asked the coffee giant to reconsider Ethiopia's attempt to trademark its coffee brands so maybe, just maybe, the company is listening. The Times article also featured some interesting comments from Douglas Holt, the L’Oréal Professor of Marketing at Oxford University. He said that Starbucks is "playing Russian roulette" with its brand, and accused the company of hypocrisy and abuse of power. Professor Holt believes that Starbucks is in danger of damaging its reputation among its customers as its actions towards Ethiopia contradict its supposedly ethical image. We’ll let you know about any further developments and in the meantime you can read The Times article online. And of course, if you haven't already, please take the Starbucks Action and spread the word via MySpace. Fingers crossed everyone! posted at 2:04 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Student writing competition Fancy yourself as a budding journalist or writer? Well here’s a chance to show off your skills in People and Planet’s student writing competition. The student group have joined forces with openDemocracy.net to give all student writers a chance to be published on the openDemocracy website. They are asking entrants to write a 1,000 - 2,000 word essay addressing the questions: What does being an engaged global citizen mean? How can engaged global citizens help develop their ideas, amplify their voices and take action? How should engaged global citizens reach out to national governments, and to each other, to help address today´s global issues? This all sounds quite a lot like our Your Say content so current writers should definitiely consider entering, and if this appeals to you, and you haven’t already, then maybe you should submit some writing to Generation Why too. The closing date for competition entries is 31 January 2007 so get your pen to paper and start writing now. Good luck everyone. posted at 12:04 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Embrace competition - we have a winner! After much deliberation in the Oxfam office we have finally decided on a winner for the Embrace competition. There are two prizes and the first one goes to the very lucky Lee Gardner who pleaded: “I think I should win as I want to get the song Put Your Hands Up For Detroit out of my head.” We had hundreds of entries and finally decided on this one for its amusement factor. The second winner is a tad different as there was an overwhelming amount of people who pledged to put their prize on eBay and donate the proceeds to Oxfam. As so many people said this we decided to take the matter into our own hands and put the prize on eBay ourselves. In this sense all of the people who said they’d do this have actually won – smiles for everyone! Look out for updates and we’ll let you know when the prize goes up for auction – maybe you’ll be the lucky bidder. Thanks to all those who entered – we have had much fun trawling through piles of Embrace puns. Here are some of the runner-ups: “I think I should win this prize because I am soaked through, having just walked my son to school, my daughter's screaming at me because she's suddenly decided she doesn't like Marmite anymore, my husband's away for a few days, and I'm skint. I think I need an Embrace to cheer me up!” (Annmarie Carter) “I think I should win the Embrace goodies because ... I've managed to get over half my year to sign up for Generation Why so they are in the know about all the important issues (an impressive feat in a very apathetic school) and also its my 18th birthday on the 25th of November and I am a huge Embrace fan!!” (Felicity Grove) “All you Good, Good People at Oxfam do some fantastic work, and I Want the World to know that Hey, What You Trying to Say is really good, and think that we should Celebrate This New Day, as together, Out of Nothing, Someday, we can make A Glorious Day.” (LewieP) posted at 5:17 PM | Permalink 1 comments

Watch this video on YouTube Thought you'd like this - there's a vid up on YouTube (featuring our very own suited-campaigner-boy Chris Rose) about our campaign to give poor people around the world access to affordable medicines. It's a comedy video (an Oscar surely awaits our Chris) but with a real message - that pharmaceutical companies are blocking developing countries from making and importing affordable versions of patented drugs. So watch the video, favourite it and then send it to your mates. Watch the video on YouTube >> posted at 2:28 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Control those consumer impulses! Here’s a challenge for shopaholics, or indeed anyone with Christmas shopping to do - this Saturday 25th November is the annual Buy Nothing Day so let's all try to do exactly that! The idea is to spend a day spending less money and more time with friends and family. It comes at a time when our consciousnesses (if that's even a word?) are thick with the environmental and ethical consequences of consumerism. Only 20 per cent of the world’s population (those in the developed world) consume over 80 per cent of the earth’s natural resources. So let's make a point and control our consumer impulses for a day. Something that has to be mentioned here is that America holds its Buy Nothing Day on a Friday but ours is always a traditionally busy shopping Saturday – the word "cheat" definitely springs to mind! For more info visit the Buy Nothing Day website >> posted at 1:49 PM | Permalink 1 comments

70,000 people take Oxfam's online action Good news on an otherwise dreary Monday morning - in just 25 days over 70,000 people have taken Oxfam’s online action against Starbucks! “It’s amazing to see how many people have been moved to take action,” said Seth Petchers, Oxfam International’s Make Trade Fair campaign coffee lead. “Engaging the public on this issue has been critical. People are not only showing their support of Ethiopian coffee farmers, they are also supporting Ethiopia’s ground breaking approach of using intellectual property rights to alleviate poverty.” Legal experts have also shown support for Ethiopia’s approach, expressing that the trademark and licensing project is an innovative, viable solution that would give Ethiopia greater control over its coffee names. It’s also great for us to see how a seemingly small action can add up into such a massive impact – well done to all those who have shown support. For more information about this campaign visit the main Oxfam website. And if you haven't already, then please join the 70,000 and take action against Starbucks now. posted at 1:20 PM | Permalink 2 comments

Why charity doesn't always start at home Just thought you might like to read this nice little article from Sarah Goodwin, one of our Your Say writers. She's talking about why she prefers to focus her volunteering and campaigning on international charities, rather than UK-focused ones. We just wondered what you think? Should charity start at home, or abroad? Leave your comments at the bottom of this blog, or the bottom of Sarah's article... posted at 4:13 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Tell pharmaceutical giants to stop abusing the rules We took a trip to London yesterday to highlight how thousands of people across the world are still being denied access to life-saving medicines. Our very own Chris donned a slick suit and posed as a businessman holding an oversized packet of profit pills, high above the heads of a group of poor people. It symbolises how pharmaceutical companies prioritise profits over health. Despite five years having passed since the WTO signed an agreement (they called it the 'Doha Declaration') promising to make life-saving medicines available and affordable to all, the situation for sick people in poor countries is getting worse not better. It’s all a little complicated but the main crux of the problem is that rich governments and pharmaceutical companies aren’t honouring their promises. They are not allowing developing countries the right to produce, export and import affordable copies of patented drugs - meaning that many people are dying needlessly. The facts are pretty shocking - 74 per cent of AIDS medicines are still under monopoly, 77 per cent of Africans still have no access to AIDS treatment, and 30 per cent of the world’s population still do not have regular access to essential medicines. We think it’s time something was done about this. We want all pharmaceutical companies to stop abusing the rules. Novartis is one of the pharmaceutical offenders - tell its CEO what you think. Take action now E-mail the CEO of Novartis >> posted at 4:53 PM | Permalink 0 comments

Are you the young campaigner of the year? If you're aged 18-24 and have been an active campaigner this year, you could apply for an award from The Sheila McKechnie Foundation. There are nine different categories of awards, with one (co-sponsored by Oxfam) focused on young campaigners. It will award people working towards global justice, challenging the root causes of world poverty, international conflict, environmental destruction or human rights abuses. The awards scheme offers a whole package to new campaigners, and equips them with the skills they need to make a greater impact. More on the Sheila McKechnie Foundation website >> posted at 10:29 AM | Permalink 0 comments

Xmas gifts with a difference from Oxfam Unwrapped Forget stripy socks, shower gel gift packs, chocolate selection boxes, cheap Boots perfume, out-of-date annuals, inappropriate woolly jumpers, books you'll never read, gift vouchers for shops you'll never shop in, singing Elvis toys, CDs from relatives who think Cliff Richard is "current" - in fact, forget everything that is naff about Christmas and tell people to get something from Oxfam Unwrapped this year. You probably know how it works - instead of the usual Xmas tat, you get your nearest and dearest a gift related to Oxfam's work and make a real difference to the world. And this year you can get some seriously good stuff - from the cute and the cuddly (think alpacas, goats and donkeys), to the healthy and homely (think toilets, safe water and condom kits), and loads more besides. So check out the gifts you can get your mates and family - there are some great presents priced between £5 and £20 (for those of us on a tight budget!). Or why not club together with your friends (or organise a special fundraising event) and get one of the bigger gifts - like essential medicines for a whole village... So forget the inappropriate-giftwrapped-stripy-shower-gel-selection-box this Christmas, and get something amazing from Oxfam Unwrapped instead. posted at 2:10 PM | Permalink 0 comments

10,000s rally to Stop Climate Chaos Just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who went to the climate change rally in Trafalgar Square on Saturday - reports said that there were over 15,000 out on the streets, putting pressure on political leaders to act immediately to Stop Climate Chaos. We were there with our little green Oxfam flags, marvelling at all the people in fancy dress (polar bears, bananas and, our personal favourite, badgers) and enjoying the singers (Razorlight and KT Turnstall) and speakers. It was a gorgeous, crisp, sunny London day, and it was great to see everyone coming together at such an important time (one guy even kayaked to the rally from Oxford!)... More about the rally on the Oxfam website >> More pics on our Flickr page >> posted at 10:20 AM | Permalink 1 comments

Top bands come together for The Cake Sale Here's a CD you should get your grubby mitts on ASAP.... Singers and artists from top bands like Snow Patrol, The Thrills, Bell X1, The Divine Comedy and The Cardigans - as well as solo artists like Damien Rice - have come together with Oxfam Ireland to make a 9-song CD album on Oxfam Records. The band and album are called The Cake Sale, and all profits from album sales will go to support Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. The project was the brainchild of Brian Crosby from Bell X1 (who we went on tour with earlier this year). You can listen to songs from The Cake Sale on their MySpace page or on their official website. Their website also has a load of tasty fairtrade cake recipes, so you can bake delicious winter treats - and help Make Trade Fair at the same time. The album is released in Ireland today - and you can order a copy online from Road Records. posted at 10:28 AM | Permalink 2 comments

Posh says hello to Grandad Oxfam Earlier this week, we at GY HQ weren't sure that Victoria Beckham going on another shopping trip was really worthy of front-page news. But when we found out she went to an Oxfam shop, and that her visit wasn't all about shopping, we changed our minds... The designer-fashion junkie visited the Oxfam shop in Notting Hill to tell 87 year-old Joe Mitty that he had won a lifetime achievement award for next week's Pride of Britain Awards. Oh, and she bought a vintage dress for £20, too. Joe is Oxfam's longest-serving employee and is known as the 'grandfather of Britain's charity shops'. He started the first Oxfam shop 60 years ago (and has since seen it grow into a £82.3 million-a-year business run by a whopping 21,000 volunteers). Joe will appear at the star-studded ceremony next week, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kylie, Prince Charles and Tony Blair. So, although it may seem a little OTT to have Victoria on the front page again, the story behind it was definitely deserving. Well done Joe! (and Posh...) More about Posh's Oxfam visit on the BBC website >> posted at 5:28 PM | Permalink 1 comments

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