Campaigning

I’m Jenny Vaughan This is me. This is a presentation about campaigning.

A while ago I returned from my ICS placement in Malawi, and I wondered, as I’m sure you all are… How can I effect change now I’m back?

I’m going to take you on a little journey all around the world…

Think of a person you met and helped out while you were overseas. It can be anyone.

Think of a person you met and helped out while you were overseas. Got one?

Think of a person you met and helped out while you were overseas. Got one? OK.

Think of a person you met and helped out while you were overseas. Got one? OK. I want to think about the barriers to a full life that person faces.

Think of a person you met and helped out while you were overseas. Got one? OK. I want to think about the barriers to a full life that person faces. And how to overcome them.

Think of a person you met and helped out while you were overseas. Got one? OK. I’m going to go through an exercise with you. I want to think about the barriers to a full life that person faces. And how to overcome them. You have some experience of this already.

Ready?

LET’S GO!

This is my friend Isobel and me.

Isobel is a wife, a mother and a farmer.

This is my friend Isobel’s community during a food and nutrition workshop we ran while on placement. Together, they live in a rural village in Malawi.

This is my friend Isobel. Isobel is a wife, a mother and a farmer. Isobel and her community live in a rural village in Malawi. This workshop is one of many Progressio and partner organisation Arise and Shine International ran to build capacity and improve health and wellbeing in the village.

I worked with Isobel and her friends to come up with a vision of how they’d like their village to look. What they presented back to us was overwhelming.

“By 2018 we want to have: self reliance, food security, good education, enough livestock, good modes of transportation, safe drinking water and be practising family planning and conserving natural resources”

What struck me the most was that this community did not need telling, they did not need prompting. They knew exactly what they needed to lead fuller lives and their vision was rich and clear.

What are the immediate barriers to overcoming poverty that Isobel (and your person) faces? What stops Isobel and her community from living their vision?

Let’s break it down…

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure; a lack of roads and other basic services Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple crop for food Lack of knowledge about more robust farming methods

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure; a lack of roads and other basic services Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods All these things are very local and immediate. YOU (may) have been helping out with them.

So you helped this person out.

GREAT!

So you helped this person out. GREAT! But now you’re at home, you can’t do this any more.

So you helped this person out. GREAT! But now you’re at home, you can’t do this any more. You probably noticed this and want to keep helping.

So you helped this person out. GREAT! But now you’re at home, you can’t do this any more. You probably noticed this and want to keep helping. But how?

We need to keep thinking, but a bit harder. Let’s go back to that list.

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Climate change – it’s getting dryer. That needs to stop! Climate change – there’s not enough money to help Leonard adapt Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Climate change – it’s getting dryer. That needs to stop! Climate change – there’s not enough money to help Leonard adapt Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads Lack of money for agricultural teaching because of poor governance or debt Unfair trade rules mean Leonard can’t sell his crops Need for private sector to work harder to include developing countries Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Climate change – it’s getting dryer. That needs to stop! Climate change – there’s not enough money to help Leonard adapt Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads Lack of money for agricultural teaching because of poor governance or debt Unfair trade rules mean Leonard can’t sell his crops Need for private sector to work harder to include developing countries Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods People in the UK think it’s all a bit too far away Lack of political will internationally to address poverty

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Climate change – it’s getting dryer. That needs to stop! Climate change – there’s not enough money to help Leonard adapt Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads Lack of money for agricultural teaching because of poor governance or debt Unfair trade rules mean Leonard can’t sell his crops Need for private sector to work harder to include developing countries Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods People in the UK think it’s all a bit too far away Lack of political will internationally to address poverty What do you notice about these things?

Environmental Drought-prone crops Poor access to water resources Climate change – it’s getting dryer. That needs to stop! Climate change – there’s not enough money to help Leonard adapt Economic Poor access to local markets Poor access to machinery to make planting, harvesting and refining easier Reliance on expensive (and polluting) fertilizer and pesticide Dodgy infrastructure like roads Lack of money for agricultural teaching because of poor governance or debt Unfair trade rules mean Leonard can’t sell his crops Need for private sector to work harder to include developing countries Socio-cultural Use of thirsty maize as staple Knowledge about more robust farming methods People in the UK think it’s all a bit too far away Lack of political will internationally to address poverty What do you notice about these things? Isobel can’t do anything about them.

She lives in the wrong place and doesn’t have access to the decision making platforms

She lives in the wrong place and doesn’t have access to the decision making platforms – these decisions get made in

- London (Parliament, DFID, stock market, corporations)

She lives in the wrong place – these decisions get made in - London (Parliament, DFID, stock market corporations) - New York (UN)/ Washington (World Bank, IMF, World Trade Organisation)

He lives in the wrong place – these decisions get made in - London (Parliament, DFID, stock market corporations) - New York (UN)/ Washington (World Bank, IMF, World Trade Organisation) - Brussels (EU)

Or Isobel just doesn’t know about them.

Or Isobel doesn’t know about them.

Or Isobel just doesn’t know about them. She has little power to effect change in global power houses.

But guess what?

Someone who lives in the UK (and therefore the EU), and knows about the multilalteral, intergovernmental and surpranational institutions (UN, World Bank, IMF) can have an influence, even if Isobel can’t.

YOU can do what your person and Isobel can’t do… yet.

And with the privilege of living in the UK and having found out about the reality of poverty and the necessity for international development comes the RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT.

I’m spreading the word that people in the UK are much more powerful then they imagine.

And that’s what I wanted to say to you.

Being at home doesn’t mean you have to stop helping the people you met.

It just means your help has to be different.

Being at home doesn’t mean you have to stop helping the people you met. It just means your help has to be different. That’s why people campaign; that’s why I hope you will campaign with Progressio.

That’s my basic message:

Stay involved. The Empower network has been set up so that people like you can keep engaged together with your peers.

That’s my basic message: Stay involved. The Empower network has been set up so that people like you can keep engaged together with your peers. Take action. You’ll get asked – please respond!

That’s my basic message: Stay involved. We’re setting up a way to stay connected at the moment. Engage! Take action. You’ll get asked – please respond! Keep helping people like Isobel overcome poverty.

That’s my basic message: Stay involved. The Empower network has been set up so that people like you can keep engaged together with your peers Take action. You’ll get asked – please respond! Keep helping people like Isobel overcome poverty. WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU.

BUT WHAT CAN I ACTUALLY DO, I HEAR YOU ASK?

Meet political leaders and talk about Sustainable development

Change the law (super cool)

Lobby on key issues

Campaign on Climate change

Influence Development policy

(And other stuff; you get the idea)

Keep making a difference.

Campaign with Progressio.

Thanks.

Jenny

Thanks. Jenny (and Isobel)