Looking back at Make Poverty History

I was standing in Trafalgar Square, freezing cold and incredibly excited. Nelson Mandela was coming out of retirement to launch the Make Poverty History campaign. His namesake, Admiral Nelson, was draped in a Make Poverty History flag and the square was packed with campaigners from across the UK, including many of us from Oxfam, waiting for him to appear.

Make Poverty History was a campaign to take advantage of the UK government’s presidency of the G8 in Scotland to call on richer nations to do something for trade justice, to drop the debt and for more and better aid.

It was combined with petitions, white wrist bands, and support from Comic Relief. Screenwriter Richard Curtis wrote both a film, The Girl in the Café, and a special episode of his TV sitcom The Vicar of Dibley around the theme of the campaign.

The scale of Make Poverty History was impressive: in the UK alone it brought together over 500 charities, trade unions and faith groups.

Looking frail but confident (and cosy in a warm fur hat and coat), Mandela started his speech by saying "I can never thank the people of Britain enough for their support through those days of the struggle against apartheid. Many stood in solidarity with us, just a few yards from this spot".

I felt he was speaking to us personally. Many of us in the crowd had gone on anti-apartheid marches which ended just outside the South African High Commission opposite. In addition, Oxfam along with others had campaigned against apartheid, including divesting from Barclays, which had led to clashes with the Charity Commission and politicians.

Mandela then made the link with Make Poverty History.

A speech that motivated a movement

His speech was a masterclass. He called on world leaders to find the best in themselves.

And he ended with something that I will never forget, which spoke and called on the deepest part of our shared humanity: “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course, the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up and Make Poverty History in 2005.”

One of the most striking things, looking back from these more pessimistic times, was the confidence that things could change. And that confidence and huge enthusiasm was at least partly justified: later in 2005 we did see debt cancellation for the poorest countries, and extra funding for malaria and HIV.

Looking back now, it feels like a different, more innocent time for both Oxfam – especially our view of our own power to change things as citizens in the Global North – and for progressives who believed that progress would last.

Since then, Oxfam has had to fundamentally re-examine its role and the harm it causes. Even at the time, Oxfam faced criticism from some who thought it had got too close to the then Labour government as it pushed the Make Poverty History campaign.

Politics seems to be shifting away from supporting progressive, internationalist values, aid and development:

• donor countries are cutting their aid commitments
• we are seeing the roll back against feminism and the crushing of civil society
• the rise of populism
• the decline of global institutions and international law.

It is all pretty depressing, although that is not to deny the progress against absolute poverty that the world has made.

Learning from the past

Do these times call for us to come together again with a high-profile successor to the Make Poverty History campaign – linking with the Global Call to Action against Poverty that continues its work? They certainly call for the optimism, solidarity, and a belief in a better world that drove that movement.

But perhaps we are now far more conscious than we were then that the fight for progressive change and its values has to be continuous, otherwise things can go backwards.

Supporting community leadership

Any new campaign will need to avoid the pitfalls of the past, particularly by acting in solidarity with the leadership of grassroots movements and their communities.

What is clear is that the world needs renewed energy to tackle the problems of poverty, debt and aid that doesn’t work effectively for communities – problems which have not gone away.

A message to inspire change

Every generation carries on the fight by walking with all those that preceded it. For seasoned and new activists alike, Mandela’s words can still inspire and seem as relevant as ever.