Launch of Make Poverty History
The campaign first featured on TV in the Vicar of Dibley Christmas special. Following that, Dawn French and 600 female vicars marched to Downing Street. And everyone began to wonder what the white band that kept appearing on people’s wrists was.
Make Poverty History rally
Over 20,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square to hear Nelson Mandela pledge his support to the campaign: “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation."
REM tour
After lead singer Michael Stipe got drenched in milk thanks to Oxfam, REM tour the UK accompanied by our campaigners, gathering support and collecting sign ups for Make Trade Fair.
Crisis in Asia benefit gig
A fantastic night that raised over £100,000 to help thousands affected by the tsunami. Massive Attack, Portishead, Damon Albarn and The Coral played this gig dubbed by one audience member as “a once-in-a-life-time thing".
Friction at Cargo club night
Nitin Swahney and Bobby Friction headlined this event, the first of many ‘conscious clubbing’ nights in 2005.
Make Poverty History @ Herbal, Shoreditch
World renowned State of Bengal, Alex Marks and Eddie Temple Morris gave sets in a night to raise awareness for the Make Poverty History campaign, setting the standard for the following month’s extravaganza of music events.
Music Month 2005
Proving that music really does make a difference, 150 Oxfam shops up and down the country hosted live music events. Manchester Emporium hosted an acoustic night, Sheffield University’s campus shop put on a ‘blockbuster’ night in their union and all shops had limited edition signed Beatles posters.
General Election
With rising fears of apathy amongst young people we asked you what you thought. Did the war make a difference to your vote? Did you feel your vote was powerless?
World Fair Trade Day
Fair trade fashion shows, giveaways and a ‘fair enough’ sale were just some of the great events put on for World Fair Trade Day.
Manchester White Band Day
A human chain across the centre of Manchester’s gay village, Canal Street, was formed with white banners and balloons to celebrate White Band Day, organised by Oxfam and the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF), and featuring the lovely Big Brother winner Nadia.
Glastonbury Festival
Oxfam had an army of stewards and campaigners fighting the mud at Glastonbury. Highlight of the weekend had to be that Make Poverty History moment on Saturday afternoon.
Music4Life funk soul special
The Pipettes, Lucky Soul and DJ Andy Smith featured at Music4Life at Notting Hill Arts Club. All the proceeds from this unique club night went to Oxfam.
Glastonbury photo competition
We had a pair of Glasto tickets to give away and asked readers to send in a photo of something or someone in a white band – with an incredibly creative response.
G8
We were in Edinburgh with over 200,000 of you, to put pressure on world leaders meeting in Gleneagles. Read our intrepid campaigner Louise Sowden’s G8 diary on THE big campaigning event of the year, and have a look at our great photo story.
Live 8
You had your say on this year’s most talked about music event, and where it fitted in with the big campaign issues of 2005.
NASS
Our little green VW camper made its debut at this extreme sports festival where we raised awareness of the Make Trade Fair campaign.
World Youth Congress
Five of Oxfam’s youth board went to the World Youth Congress in Scotland and learnt about what more we can do for young people abroad and in the UK. Delegates took part in a wide variety of projects, from drumming and music to policy writing.
Lovebox
We were off again, collecting loads of signatures for the Make Trade Fair Big Noise petition at London’s dance weekender. And we picked up a puncture on the way, too.
Rakhi Day
A specially designed Make Poverty History white band was created with a Hindi inscription of ‘sisters and brothers unite" for this year’s Rakhi festival, celebrating the special bond between brother and sister.
Carling Weekend
Our team of 40 campaigners collected over 18,000 signatures for our Big Noise petition at Leeds. We also went backstage and got the backing of loads of artists. Have a look at the Carling Weekend photo story to see who pledged their support.
V Festival
Back in our little green van again and off to the V Festival. 15,000 people showed their support for Make Trade Fair including celebs such as Nick from Rooster and Serge from Kasabian.
Wristy business
With so many people wearing so many different coloured bands, we had a little investigation into the charity phenomenon of the year.
Launch of Stop Climate Chaos
Oxfam joins the Stop Climate Chaos coalition to create an “an irresistible public mandate for political action to stop human-induced climate change".
Bestival
With the world’s biggest fancy dress party and over 5,000 sign ups for the Big Noise petition, this Isle of Wight festival ended the festival season brilliantly. We’ve also put together a round up of all this year’s festivals.
Hiphop4Life
A Music4Life event that featured an incredible line up of Hip Hop DJs including Mr Thing and DJ Spin Doctor.
Control Arms Day
With the arms trade spiralling out of control, Control Arms is calling for a Global Arms Trade Treaty. On Control Arms day we asked you to add your face to the Million Faces petition.
Generation Why survey
100s of you filled in our user survey – thank you for such a positive response. One reader said: “You are unique…you should publicise the site further."
‘Your say’ is launched
The first of our new section ‘your say’ featured on Generation Why with our young writers’ views on the Make Poverty History campaign.
‘Your say’ now features regular articles from young people about issues that concern them. And, if you are interested in writing or have something to write about then, give us a shout.
Shared Planet
The biggest student event of the year included speakers and workshops on poverty, human rights and the environment. Read your reviews of this inspiring event here.
Feeder Tour
With Feeder and Goldie Lookin’ Chain in full support of Oxfam, Adam Askew took a team of campaigners to all their UK tour dates.
The WTO summit
The World Trade Organisation came together in Hong Kong to discuss crucial aspects of international trade. It began with the presentation of the Big Noise petition, complete with 17.8 million signatures for trade justice. Two of our campaigners sent us updates on the progress of the vital talks on 15 Dec and 19 Dec.
Coldplay European tour
Oxfam campaigner Chris Rose toured Europe with the band and wrote for our Generation Why Coldplay tour blog, keeping us up to date with sign ups for the Make Trade Fair campaign.
White Band Day 3
The spotlight pointed at trade justice and many of you took parts in events up and down the country, including a panto from our Welsh office.
