A new goat provided through World Vision

Tomorrow is December 1st and I need to get going on my Christmas shopping.  This year numerous brochures have appeared in the mail suggesting socially responsible gifts that help people truly in need.  Goats for $100, or two hens and a rooster for $55 for instance.

Agencies who are offering this type of program include World Vision, Plan Canada, and Oxfam.  On each of their web sites you’ll find a large selection of practical and life-changing gifts which they will deliver to many countries around the globe.

Last year my brother-in-law and his wife asked that no one give them gifts but instead donate to one of three charities that they had researched.  This year I’m asking that the family visit these web sites and choose a useful item rather than give me a new something.  The benefits of school supplies, stocking a clinic, fruit trees or restoring a child soldier will create many happy people rather than one – me – receiving a traditional North American gift.  And hey – no one will need to find a parking space at the mall!

• What: “Beyond Copenhagen” Talk by Compass
  
• When: 19:00 to 20:30, Tonight
• Where: Houses of Parliament

Tonight there will be a talk by the Labour pressure group Compass on where next after the climate change talks in Copenhagen. Douglas Alexander & Oxfam’s Campaigns & Policy Director Phil Bloomer will be on the panel, so it should have a strong development focus. To register, email Compass

Speakers: Hon Douglas Alexander MP, International Development Secretary; Phil Bloomer, Oxfam; Robin Oakley, Head of Climate & Energy Campaigns, Greenpeace UK  and chaired by The Daily Telegraph’s Mary Riddell.

Red and white Santa comes to town…

You wonder how you are going to incorporate mayonnaise into the Christmas menu…

The kids get excited…

You pay attention to celebrities for gift ideas…

The girls come along…

Perfume fills the air…

Sofas get a festive soundtrack…

Even the piano seems like a good idea…

It all gets very sentimental…

There’ll be a few arguments (especially when the cousins from across the pond visit)…

… Marks and Spencer knows what it’s all about…

But hang on a minute there are other ways to spend that cash other than on tat, be a wise man this Christmas…

Hi readers!

I just finished a screening of Black Gold at the Carlyle Court Coffee House.

This information can be found on the Black Gold Website:

Coffee is not just a drink. It’s a global commodity. As one of the world’s most traded products-second in value only to oil-the coffee industry employs millions of people around the world through its growing, processing and trading. But while the coffee trade is vital to the politics, survival and economies of many developing nations, the industry’s pricing and futures are decided in conference rooms and on stock exchange floors in some of the world’s wealthiest cities.

Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organization reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.

So what does Fair Trade mean and why should I care if the logo is on my products or not?

• Organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability.
• The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards.
• Fair Trade’s strategic intent is to work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move towards economic self-sufficiency and stability.
• Aims to allow them to become greater stakeholders in their own organizations, as well as play a wider role in international trade.

What can you do?

1. Spread the Word – Tell your friends to purchase Fair Trade Coffee. (I told my mom to only purchase Fair Trade Coffee!)
2. Think before your drink – Ask companies to pay a fair price for the coffee they drink.
3. Change the Trade Rules – Persuade your politicians to make the trade rules fair.
4. Join an organization

• Oxfam America
• Make Trade Fair
• Trade Justice Movement

Something really easy you can do is to switch over to Think Coffee (if you’re in the NYC area). This is from their “About Us” section of their website:

think coffee serves only the finest coffees and hand-packed teas grown in an environmentally friendly manner and purchased by us in a way that is designed to improve the livelihoods of farmers.

think fair trade.

think organic and shade grown.

think espresso.

think wine and cheese.

And from Think’s “think fair trade section“:

Fair Trade. More than 25 million people in 50 countries depend on coffee farming for their livelihoods. The price farmers receive for their beans has a direct impact on their quality of life. In recent years, coffee beans have been trading at such depressed levels on world markets that many farmers are forced to make unfortunate choices. In some cases, farmers must decide between sending their children to school or having them work in the fields to make ends meet. In other cases, farmers stop growing coffee altogether and instead plant coca or other crops for the illegal drug trade.

Fair Trade is designed to address these problems by ensuring that farmers get a guaranteed minimum price for their product. By buying Fair Trade, you can be assured that you’re helping farmers to receive a living wage for their coffee beans and to keep their children in school where they belong.

All of our coffee is Fair Trade, no exceptions

Here is the trailer for the documentary:

I highly recommend that you watch this documentary. This film is what inspired me to get so involved with Food Politics and to become more aware of the products I buy as a consumer. I know it really is hard to remember that someone actually had to grow the food you are buying in that pretty package at the grocery store, but I want you to make a conscious effort to demand for fair trade products through your buying habits.

Thanks for reading, and hit me back if you know any other documentaries that talk about the politics of food.

Alicia Kim
Food for Thought Resident Assistant
alicia.foodforthought@gmail.com

Niet zo’n overrompeling viel het voorbije weekend te noteren op de Geschenkenbeurs in het OC Sint-Katarina in de Casterwijk dan vorig jaar in zaal Steborg in Stevoort. Nochtans deden de vele vrijwilligers van Oxfam Wereldwinkel Hasselt, Stevoort en Alken hun uiterste best om de aanwezige bezoekers te verrassen met een fraaie tafelopstelling in de grote zaal, tafels vol met leuke fairtradehebbedingetjes, -gebruiksvoorwerpen, -wijnen en fruitsappen. Leuke ideetjes ook voor de eindejaarsfeesten.

Kleurwedstrijd

Zaterdag bracht sinterklaas en zwarte piet reeds een bezoek aan de Geschenkenbeurs, terwijl zondagnamiddag de winnende kinderen van de kleurwedstrijd werden opgewacht om hun prijs te komen afhalen. “Meer dan 800 kids van de basisscholen Sint-Katarina, De Hazelaar, Sint-Martinus en de Tuinwijk kregen uitleg over eerlijke handel en werden uitgenodigd voor een kleurwedstrijd. Uiteindelijk hebben er maar 87 kinderen een tekening binnengestuurd, waarvan we er negen over de zes jaren hebben uitgekozen voor een prijs in de vorm van schoolbenodigdheden”, aldus Steven Schepers van WW Hasselt.

En de winnaars zijn….

Geneviève Terranova – 1ste lj BS Sint-Martinus, Amani El Makhoukhi – 2e lj BS Tuinwijk, Lies Urbanek – 3e lj Sint-Martinus, Helena Gielen – 3elj Sint-Martinus, Nouhayla El Makhouki – 4e lj BS Tuinwijk, Yannick Goedhuys – 4e lj BS Tuinwijk, Emma Lambeets – 5e lj BS Sint-Martinus, Charlotte Brialmont – 6e lj BS Catharina en Laura Michiels – 6e lj BS Catharina.

Zoektocht

Aan de ingang van de  Geschenkenbeurs kregen de bezoekers een papieren tasje voor  hun aankopen met een vragenlijst overhandigd. Opzet was om aan de hand van vier simpele vragen het antwoord te zoeken op de verpakking van voedingsproducten. Als schiftingsvraag moest men dan nog aan de nieuwe kassa met scanner het aantal koffieboontjes in de bokaal raden. “Hoeveel bonen erin zitten, kunnen we zelf nog niet zeggen. Daarom moeten ze nog geteld worden”, lacht Steven ons toe.

Waar volgend jaar de Geschenkenbeurs plaatsvindt, wist de organisatie nog niet.

www.oft.be, www.oww.be/hasselt, www.oww.be/stevoort, www.oww.be/alken

Yesterday, I found an old memory card with some pictures on it that I’d taken back in the summer. Nothing special but I liked the image of flowers (see below). Canary Wharf is a place that people often find soulless. There are those that love it and those that hate it. I find myself somewhere in-between those two very emotive positions. Personally, I long to see a charity shop there but think that is probably a long way off.

You can buy a Mont Blanc pen, a Hugo Boss suit but if you are looking for a gravy jug decorated with periwinkles then Canary Wharf is not your place. All those city-types would surely like somwhere to browse through old vinyl, cassettes and second-hand books? One day my dream may be realised and Oxfam can live side-by-side with Moulton Brown. One thing that does make Canary Wharf more than just an endless stream of fancy shops and eatery chains are its gardens. The gardening team at Canary Wharf do an excellent job to ensure there are always beautiful flowers and plants to look at. All year round. No wapping great bonus for these men and women for working outside in all weathers in order to bring sensory pleasure to so many.

Finding the memory card got me thinking about some old undeveloped film catridges I have that date back at least 6 years. I keep meaning to get them developed. They may have faded to grey by now. It’ll be interesting to find out one of these days what I had photographed back then. I’m sure when I see the developed pictures it will be easier for me to work out how long the film catridges have been hanging around in a cupboard. The old days of taking photographs was a very different experience to the non-stop, click-fest that you often see these days. It would be interesting to take an old SLR out along with a digital camera and take a maximum of 24 or 36 pictures with each. Of course, with the SLR camera it would be functioning in the way it has always done but things would be very different for the digital camera.

The forgotten memory card, upon which I found the flower picture, is the smallest memory card I have. That’s probably why I had forgotten all about it. It wasn’t lost, just overlooked. It’s 256MB which is still capable of holding around 69 pictures on the finest quality. Somehow the digital revolution has made less seem, well, even less, than it really should. I think 69 pictures is quite a lot. Just one look at a Facebook picture upload of a drunken night out, a wedding, a new born baby and you can often see way more than 69 pictures, where quite often, just 9 would be ample. I must start that ‘36 Exposures Only’ Facebook Group. It may already exist. I’m off to check

En toch is dit geen zuiver water. Groenlinks is al sinds jaar en dag de broedplaats/toevluchtsoord voor alles wat radicaal links is. Duijvendak was het meest recente voorbeeld. Maar mensen als Sam Pormes, die lekker in de zandbak met terroristen heeft gespeeld, moeten ook niet vergeten worden. Daarbij was het nooit een probleem om deze lui op prominente plekken te plaatsen. Waarom is dan een relatief onschuldig ventje als Danen wel een probleem? Nijhoff maakt mij niet wijs dat dit enkel om de meningsvervolging van Wilders gaat. Ik denk dat er iets anders aan de hand is.

Lees verder op dejaap.nl

Poverty decreases diversity, suppressing creativity and a global awareness
Kiva, Yunus Centre, and Oxfam International:

Top poverty Web sites promote the importance of diversity awareness and immediate action to end poverty

By Mary Yost

Through the efforts of these three organizations, everyday people are encouraged to learn about global poverty and what actions they can take to help make this issue something that is only seen in museums.

Kiva: Loans that Change Lives
www.kiva.org

The following words catch visitor’s eyes when they enter Kiva’s Web site: “Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.”

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending Web site.  The site gives any person the opportunity to lend to unique, hard-working entrepreneurs around the globe.  It is an excellent example of how we all can make a difference in the world.

Kiva’s site designers make it easy for prospective lenders to learn about entrepreneurs and read their stories and business aspirations.

Visitors can search different categories in order to find the entrepreneur they want their money to support.

From lending to an aspiring baker in Ghana to a hopeful homeowner in Nicaragua, visitors are sure to find a story and entrepreneur that inspires them.

Visitors also find a vast amount of knowledge about micro financing.

This Web site should be visited by anyone interested in making a difference in the lives of hardworking entrepreneurs all over the world.  Anyone with a passion for social justice will be intrigued by this Web site and Kiva’s goals.

Yunus Centre
www.muhammadyunus.org

Muhammad Yunus created the Yunus Centre to help him achieve his dream of a world that is free of poverty.  The Web site encourages visitors to get involved in any capacity to help remove poverty from our world.

On this user-friendly Web site social justice thinkers can learn about Muhammad Yunus’ micro-finance ideas, watch videos, learn about the importance of creating socially conscious businesses and discover other ideas that help create a poverty-free world.

The most inspirational part of the Web site is the “Quotes” section.  There visitors are inspired by Yunus’ words.

Concerned global citizens interested in his ideas can learn how a micro-credit program helps create a diverse, equal world that values all people.

Visitors are encouraged to interact with the Web site.  They can submit questions, ideas, suggestions, invitations and much more to Yunus.  The site promotes getting involved in any way possible to help end the suffering of the impoverished.

“I am absolutely sure we can change the world, if we want it seriously enough, if we work for it,” Yunus said.  Help the Yunus Centre create a poverty museum.  Make poverty a mere remembrance of an inequitable past.  Get involved today at www.muhammadyunus.org.

Oxfam International
www.oxfam.org

Oxfam’s main Web site provides visitors with an array of knowledge about social issues in our world.  This information helps visitors increase their global awareness about our brothers and sisters all over the globe.

The site is easy to navigate and gives visitors the opportunity to learn about global issues that interest them.  It encourages visitors to become aware of these issues and to do something to change them.

The site is interactive and informative.  Visitors can read about the issues, or they can become more involved and sign online petitions in order to encourage lawmakers to take a stand on the issues.  Go online now to sign the petition that demands health and education for everyone in the world.

At the bottom of the main page of the site, visitors can select different countries and view Oxfam’s Web site for those countries.  This increases international awareness of many different countries, helping visitors understand diversity.  It also gives visitors the opportunity to become global citizens.

One of the casualties of the Maguindanao killings was Bong Reblando, who had been part of an Oxfam media trip to Saranggani mere days before his violent death. Those of us who joined the trip are still in shock. As a tribute to Bong, we are re-publishing an article written by Rosa May de Guzman which appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday. We join the rest of the nation in mourning for the victims of what is touted as the worst political massacre in Philippine history and call on the Philippine government to bring the perpetrators of this violence to justice.

Slain reporter leaves 7 kids

By Rosa May de Guzman-Maitem
Inquirer Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—One of the journalists killed in Maguindanao on Monday was a father of seven who was recently regularized by a national daily after serving as its correspondent for 25 years.

“Among my colleagues in Mindanao, I’m the first to be regularized [by Manila Bulletin],” Alejandro “Bong” Reblando said. His promotion gave him regular pay and hefty bonuses.

Reblando just got a brand new car which he proudly called his own.

He had covered stories ranging from petty crimes and house fires to Manny Pacquiao’s least known and biggest fights and the war in Central Mindanao.

In his few remaining days as a reporter, he was intense in his coverage.

On Nov. 17, while covering the effects of climate change in the provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato with other journalists, Reblando peppered the Oxfam-Philippines team and Sarangani leaders with questions about illegal logging, floods, landslides and the falling fish catch in coastal villages.

“What could be done?” he asked both Sarangani Gov. Miguel Dominguez and Glenn Maboloc, communications officer of Oxfam-Philippines. Both offered few answers and Reblando seemed a bit satisfied.

Along with Philippine Star correspondent Ramil Bajo and Rosa May de Guzman of this paper, and Romer Sarmiento of Business World, they traveled to a coastal village in Maitum.

There they found that people were unaware of the effects of climate change.

After the coverage, Reblando showed extra sweetness to the group, according to Sarmiento.

“Let’s get coffee before we head for home,” the Business World correspondent quoted Reblando’s last words to the group.

Reblando married young at 19. His bride was then 17.

One of Reblando’s seven children is a nurse working in Dubai.

Until his death, Reblando was finishing Mass Communication under special arrangements with a school in General Santos City.

Reblando, second from left, in an undated file photo courtesy of the Manila Bulletin.

Le mois prochain se tiendra à Copenhague le Sommet de l’ONU sur le climat. Afin d’inciter nos dirigeants à prendre davantage en compte les problématiques liées au réchauffement climatique – à coup sûr l’un des enjeux majeurs de ce début de siècle – je vous propose de vous associer comme je l’ai fait à deux pétitions actuellement en ligne :

1/ la pétition sealthedeal2009.org, relayée par la célèbre Surfrider Foundation, et dont l’intitulé est le suivant :

“Nous, peuples du monde, exhortons les dirigeants politiques à sceller l’accord lors de la quinzième session de la Conférence des Parties à la Convention sur les changements climatiques. Cet accord devra être définitif, équitable, efficace et :
- fixer des objectifs contraignants pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre d’ici 2020 ;
- mettre en place un cadre permettant d’améliorer la résistance aux changements climatiques des pays vulnérables et de protéger les vies et les moyens de subsistance ;
- soutenir les pays en développement dans leurs efforts d’adaptation et garantir la justice climatique pour tous.” Pour signer cette pétition, c’est ici.

2/ la pétition Copenhague-2009.com, l’ultimatum climatique, initiée par les ONG françaises et dont vous pouvez lire le début ci-dessous :

“Monsieur le Président,

Au mois de décembre de cette année se tiendra à Copenhague le Sommet de l’ONU sur le climat. Confrontés au péril climatique, les dirigeants du monde entier devront parvenir à surmonter leurs divergences d’intérêts de court terme pour se rassembler autour d’un projet politique mondial fondé sur un constat scientifique objectif et ainsi donner une suite au protocole de Kyoto qui soit à la hauteur des enjeux que nous allons devoir tous ensemble affronter dans les décennies à venir. Le résultat de cette conférence dessinera l’avenir climatique de l’humanité. Or comme le rappelait il y a un an le secrétaire général des Nations Unies Ban Ki-Moon, “nous sommes au bord d’une catastrophe si nous n’agissons pas” (…). Vous pouvez lire la suite et signer cet appel en cliquant ici.

Notre planète compte sur vous !

Les fêtes approchent et leur cortège de cadeaux plus ou moins appréciés.

Pourquoi ne pas faire preuve de solidarité et d’originalité et de choisir  Oxfam s’emballe.

1. Vous choisissez un cadeau.
2. Vous choisissez la carte qui accompagnera votre cadeau.
3. Vous confirmez votre commande.
4. Vous payez en ligne (transaction sécurisée).
5. Nous vous envoyons votre cadeau et la carte qui l’accompagne par la poste.
6. Vous offrez votre cadeau à celui/celle que vous souhaitez. Vous pouvez éventuellement y ajouter un message personnel.
7. Votre don ira à ceux qui en ont le plus besoin.

Il y a déjà des cadeaux à partir de 5€.

Pour en savoir plus : http://www.oxfamsemballe.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid=39&lang=fr-FR

Push, Oxfam's Climate Change Campaigner, (left) with friend Abbas

Push, Oxfam’s Global Climate Change Campaigner, is walking from his home in Oxford to the Copenhagen for the crunch UN climate change talks happening in two weeks time.

On Sunday I joined Push on one day of his walk, an 11mile stretch from Hertford to Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. Push has always been an inspritation to those around him, and has in my mind one of the best jobs in the world – helping to mobilise people at the grassroots around the world to take action against poverty.

In 2005, he and his team supported local organisations to mobilise millions of farmers and workers in the global South as part of the Make Trade Fair campaign around the World Trade talks, and Oxfam has been hard at work with others to do the same this year ahead of the climate change talks in Copenhagen.

It’s crucial that in these global talks the voices of the world’s poorest people are heard – they are the least responsible for climate change and yet are being hit hardest the worst. Oxfam and others in the Tck Tck Tck campaign are doing great work in mobilising people across the world to speak up for themselves and be heard.

In the UK, I’m proud of what our Labour Government is doing to push for a deal that is ambitious, effective and above all fair – putting forward extra aid to help poor countries adapt to the impact of climate change. I hope Ed Miliband and the UK delegation do all they can to bring the US & the rest of the EU on board to get the deal we need out of Copenhagen.

I’d really recommend following Push’s walk on his blog – goPushgo.com – it’s an inspiring journey. Here is a link to his article in The Guardian.

Other great ways to support a just deal on climate change:

• Take action with Push at Oxfam
• Sign up to Ed’s Pledge – Ed Miliband’s campaign to get a fair climate deal
• Join other Labour people on The Wave – a massive climate demo on the 5th December

A recent YouGov poll (conducted on behalf of Oxfam) looked into popular perceptions of the proposed ‘Tobin-style’ tax on bank transactions. At a recent meeting of G20 Finance Ministers, Gordon Brown suggested that there should be a global tax on bank transactions. One suggestion is for this to be £5 out of every £10,000 traded (0.05%).

Bank-bashing is alive and well: 63% of respondents said that their opinion of the contribution of the financial sector and banks to society has worsened since October 2008 . 43% supported the idea of a Tobin-style tax in principle, rising to 53% if the money raised would be used to help people worst hit by the economic crisis in the UK and around the world.

Using Hollywood to promote philanthropic causes is an old story.   It’s not clear whether the new batch of Brangelina do-gooders and N. Portman-causes are that different from celebrity charities of yesteryears.  Still, this NYT piece dissects the celebrity-charity industrial-complex as it stands today.

An entire industry has sprung up around the recruitment of celebrities to good works. Even an old-line philanthropy like the Red Cross employs a “director of celebrity outreach.” Oxfam has a celebrity wrangler in Los Angeles, Lyndsay Cruz, on the lookout for stars who can raise the charity’s profile with younger people. In addition to established figures like Colin Firth and Helen Mirren, Oxfam is affiliated with Scarlett Johansson, who has visited South Asia (where the organization promotes girls’ education) and is scheduled to go to Mali. Cruz notes that while “trendy young people” are attracted to the star of “Match Point” and “Lost in Translation,” Johansson had “great credibility with an older audience because she’s such a great actress.”

The stars themselves have their own retainers to fend off the celebrity recruiters and to screen and sift charitable opportunities; publicists say their major clients get dozens of requests every week. The more deeply committed figures, like Angelina Jolie, retain firms like the Global Philanthropy Group, which, according to a representative, offers “comprehensive philanthropic management.” This includes establishing and staffing foundations, bringing in subject-area experts or even helping the novice philanthropist figure out what he or she actually wants to do. A similar organization, the Giving Back Fund, works with athletes like the quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the basketball players Jalen Rose and Shane Battier.

Both the stars and the causes, in turn, depend on corporate sponsorship. It is the sponsors who pay for the galas at which the stars raise money for their causes; sponsors normally pay for the stars’ first-class air tickets and hotel suites. Corporations need causes as much as stars do. Like the stars, they understand that they must shape and protect their brand identities; and they understand that those identities will be judged by the broad public, through public acts. As Howard Bragman puts it, “Celebrities, sponsors and a cause: it’s the golden troika of branding.”

The costs are small compared to the good will. Thus Alicia Keys’s Keep a Child Alive, which provides antiretrovirals to victims of AIDS in Africa, has 78 “corporate partners,” including CBS, Continental Airlines, Condé Nast and Chanel, to pick a few from the C’s. And just as stars have philanthropic managers to help them with causes, corporations with a cause can turn to celebrity recruiters to find just the right star. Thus Rita Tateel, who describes her occupation as recruiting and coordinating celebrities for “cause-related marketing and public relations,” recently hooked up Purina, which wanted to support “small animal-rescue organizations,” with Emily Procter, a star of “CSI Miami,” who, Tateel says, “lives and breathes animal rescue.”

My apologies for the long break between posts. We’re entering our busiest period of the year. Anyone who has volunteered with us or worked before in retail or charity may have experienced Christmas trading. It’s a beast! Our biggest weeks occur in December, the big one being the last full week of the calendar year. Christmas cards cannot be topped-up fast enough, queues snake around sections, everyone gets run ragged, but it pays off. Work=profit, and in our case profit=help for people in poverty, so work=….you got it. It’s a rewarding bottom line.

As ever, we are swimming in excellent quality donation. Yesterday a man rolled up in a station wagon sagging with neatly stacked, dead-weight boxes. He said to me: “this is the cream of the crop here”. Seriously, it was. This is one way the system works really well. I suspect, like a lot of donors, he knew the kind of stuff we sold, knew we had the skills and diligence to establish a deserving price, and he packed up what amounted to a large amount of revenue for us, drove it over and gifted it. My only tiny gripe was that there wasn’t a huge amount of fiction in there (greed, greed). So just as well the steady stream of one-and-two bag dontions of fiction and crime keep our bread-and-butter sections going too.

In Oxfam at large, the East Africa Food Crisis is still a crucial campaign, as is the Climate Change drive to Copenhagen. Go here to find out details about  the Glasgow Wave on the 5th December. Get involved if you can. Also,  Helena Chistensen recently travelled to her mother’s native country of Peru to document the consequences of climate change there. You can view her photographs here.

I’ll post again before Santa graces your chimneys.

Impact, outcomes, output, measurement, effectiveness. The new buzz words that ping about the organisation with new initiatives, projects and job descriptions now stuffed full of such choice words. I am enjoying IDEO’s thinking on this, making it real, keeping it simple and helping people not be intimidated by it. Transparency is the new accountability and open sourcing data is now with DFID, Westminster. While charities aren’t subject to Freedom of Information acts, the burden and reassurance of proof is something we need to rise to.
http://www.ideo.com/thinking/voice/aaron-sklar

Nectar & Perch Book Ends

British Union Jack Cushion

Love Eco Tooli Lights

Eco Wellies from Sea Salt

Seagrass Large Laundry Basket

Pintie the Retro Milk Bottle Jug

Oxfam Unwrapped – It’s a Goat Thing

Natural Magic ‘Restore – Inspire’ Organic Candle

O’thentique Eggshell Laquer Bamboo Bowl

Simplyfair – Fairtrade Afternoon Tea Basket

Oxfam-québec est l’un des seuls organismes qui blogue activement. Et encore une fois cet OSBL extrêmement dynamique au niveau de sa stratégie marketing nous donne un bel exemple de communication optimisée par à l’utilisation des outils Web.

La recette parfaite du blogging pour les OSBL consiste entre autres à donner la parole aux personnes impliquées dans le réalisation de la mission. Ce sont ces personnes qui peuvent le mieux présenter avec passion ce que l’OSBL réalise comme oeuvre sociale afin de nous faire apprécier toute leur valeur, tout en nous faisant découvrir les bénéficiaires de leurs actions positives. Cela nous permet de mettre des visages derrière le logo de l’organisme – les visages des héros qui travaillent pour l’OSBL et les visages de ceux qui ont besoin d’aide. C’est à mon avis une approche efficace pour motiver les donateurs potentiels à donner ou les bénévoles à s’enrôler.

Oxfam-Québec a la chance de pouvoir compter sur trois blogueuses très intéressantes que l’organisme présente ainsi :

		Lynn Dolen, Directrice Communications / marketing d’Oxfam-Québec, est au Bénin à l’occasion de la première édition du programme Voyage solidaire d’Oxfam-Québec.En mots et en images, elle vous fera découvrir l’Afrique à travers ses yeux qui la voient pour la première fois. Lisez son blogue !
		Mélissa Cabana, consultante TIC-mobilisation jeunesse pour Oxfam-Québec et étudiante à la maîtrise en communication, est en Amérique latine.Elle s’intéresse à l’usage et l’appropriation d’Internet pour l’engagement et la création de liens entre des jeunes du Nord et du Sud. Suivez son blogue pour en savoir plus sur le travail d’Oxfam-Québec et de ses organisations partenaires en Bolivie et au Pérou.
		Justine Lesage, agente communication – relations médias d’Oxfam-Québec, était en Italie à l’occasion du G8.Lisez son blogue pour en savoir plus sur le travail d’Oxfam et ses interventions auprès des dirigeants du G8.

Hat, Oxfam Vintage

Dress, River Island

Belt, vintage Topshop

Stole, Charity Shop

Brooch, Gift (Thanks Mum!)

Tights, Arnotts Project,

Boots, Schuh with belts, Matalan

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