So, I've decided to try and make a return to the blogosphere after a few years on hiatus.

Head on over to http://lifeandfreedom.wordpress.com to check it out!

Besty :)

More important than ever
When the number of people living on less than US$1 a day still numbers above 1 billion in 2009, something needs to be done about it. When the number living on less than US$2 a day almost reaches half the world’s population, there is a hidden pandemic which needs to be addressed, urgently. It’s a matter of life or death for millions every year.

And the worst part about those figures is that the world has the technology, money and ability to address the problem. Yet we still lag behind what the world has promised, time and time again.

The Global Financial Crisis has affected the worlds poorest the most. By the end of 2009, the President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, says that an additional 55 to 90 million people will be trapped in extreme poverty. He also warns that the number of chronically hungry will rise to over a 1 billion by the end of 2009. That’s 200 million more than just over a year ago. In a speech to global financial ministers, Zoellick warned that the world faces a ‘human catastrophe’ if the world fails to act – above all through raising development aid, as the world has promised time and time again.

The movement to end extreme poverty is more important than ever. If the global economic crisis goes unchecked, with developing countries ignored, the crisis will transform into a global human crisis.

The development of a social movement
But first, a little about the history of the current social movement to end poverty. In the lead up to 2000, a movement grew out of the UK calling for debt relief for what the World Bank calls the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), under the banner of Jubilee 2000. This campaign gathered the support of thousands, from the soccer mum to well-known celebrities. 2000 came and went, and while the campaign achieved some success, HIPC countries were still heavily indebted.

Also in 2000, the UN Millennium Summit, held in September, released the Millennium Declaration. This Declaration outlined where world leaders wanted the world to head, and what type of world they envisioned for the new millennium. The Declaration stated that “We will spare no effort to spare our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which a billion of them are currently subjected.” Out of the Millennium Declaration came the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – 8 goals (broken down into 18 targets and 40 indicators) to be achieved by 2015 in ending extreme poverty and improving development around the world.

After the Millennium Summit and the introduction of the MDGs onto the world stage, civil society came together and launched what has become the largest social movement in history. In 2004, at the World Social Forum, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP – www.whiteband.org) was launched, bringing together civil society organisations from around the world.

2005 saw the launch of this social movement onto the global arena. Make Poverty History, a part of GCAP, launched in the UK, Australia, Canada, and many other countries around the world. The ONE Campaign launched in the US, and Live8 was staged in every G8 country, as well as in South Africa. The Live8Live List gained 38 million signatures from G8 countries, and the Live8 concerts gained unprecedented media coverage for the issue of extreme poverty. The MPH/Live8 Long Walk to Justice rally, held paralleling the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, had over 250,000 people participating calling for three main goals: More and Better Aid, Fair Trade and Debt Relief for the world’s poorest.

While the events around July, 2005, could be seen as the peak of the social movement, it was in practice only the launch of a far reaching social movement. After these events, GCAP has established over 100 national-level campaigns (such as MPH in Australia or the ONE Campaign in the US), and the UN Millennium Campaign engaged almost 2% (116 million) of the world’s population in 2008 alone through its annual Stand Up event in October every year.

And since 2000, this movement has achieved a lot. The number of the world’s poor has decreased, and in some regions rapidly decreased. Child mortality has rapidly decreased in almost every region, and countries like Uganda have been able to roll out universal primary-level education due to drastic debt-relief.

What has been achieved
The gains that have been made have only been possible because massive numbers of people have been involved globally in the movement calling for the end of extreme poverty. The UK, due to efforts of campaigners, has pledged to raise their development assistance to 0.7% of GNI by 2015. In Australia, Kevin Rudd has pledged to raise development assistance to 0.5% of GNI by 2015 (still short of the 0.7% target agreed by all OECD donor nations over a period of 40 years, most recently at the Monterrey Conference in 2002). Scandinavian countries, already giving over 1% of GNI in development assistance, recently tried to decrease ODA levels, yet campaigners in those countries, and public backlash in general, stopped these countries from decreasing ODA levels.

The MDGs provide the social movement a globally-agreed framework on development for the new millennium. When the Millennium Declaration was signed, it was agreed to by all 189 members of the UN, a world first in itself.

Due to efforts in 2005, the G8 nations pledged a further US$50 billion in development assistance. While many of the promises made at Gleneagles are yet to be achieved, groups like Oxfam in the UK and the ONE Campaign in the US provide ongoing accountability and continual pressure on G8 nations to follow through on the promises made at the G8.

The social movement in Australia
In Australia, Make Poverty History is made up of over 60 aid and development NGO’s, union groups, churches through Micah Challenge, and others campaigning for more and better aid, fair trade and debt relief. Each individual organisation focuses on different issues surrounding the universe of international development, but each of these organisations are committed to seeing the end of extreme poverty. Organisations such as World Vision, Oxfam Australia and the Oaktree Foundation have been heavily involved in the MPH campaign and the social movement more generally. And each organisation, generally, has focused its attention on various aspects of the MPH campaigns – Oxfam on fairer trade through the Make Trade Fair campaign, Oaktree on issues of aid through the Zeroseven Roadtrip, the MPH Concert and campaigning that will continue to occur this year.

What has been achieved so far in Australia
Through the efforts of all MPH member NGO’s and groups, Australia has seen it raise its ODA levels from 0.3% of GNI in 2005, to 0.5% by 2015. In real terms, that is an AU$4 billion increase. Along with more aid, that aid is being better focused with the AusAID program, the MDGs, its targets and indicators are becoming more integrated into the development of AusAID programs and, increasingly, the evaluation of AusAID projects are based upon MDG indicators. The media has increasingly become aware of issues of extreme poverty and the MDGs, and opinion pieces addressing the issue of poverty are being written by both civil society and MPs on a regular basis in the nation’s major media outlets.
Campaigns run by various organisations have seen meaningful results. In 2007, the Oaktree Foundation, in partnership with Reach, organised the Zeroseven Roadtrip as a follow-up to the MPH Concert of 2006. This roadtrip culminated with Kevin Rudd, then Opposition Leader, committing to raising ODA levels to 0.5% of GNI by 2015. This would not have been possible without the thousands of people and hundreds of businesses engaged by 700 Oaktree MPH Ambassadors, nor would have it been possible without over 50,000 people who participated in the Face Up To Poverty photo petition organised by World Vision, some of whom were featured on the MPH Opera House projection that gained international media coverage through CNN and BBC.

The MPH Concert of 2006 organised by Oaktree and presented by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) along with many of the partner NGO’s in the MPH campaign, saw 14,000 young people at the concert itself, while 20 million worldwide saw the concert online or through Channel 10’s coverage of the event. The concert also generated widespread media coverage around Australia, with Bono, the Edge and Pearl Jam headlining the concert, along with a number of Australia artists performing. The concert was held parallel to the G20 Finance Ministers summit in Melbourne, and sent a massive message to the G20 finance ministers about the Australian public’s position on matters of extreme poverty.

What this all means
Both globally and at a national level, events from Live8 to the MPH Concert and Zeroseven within Australia aimed at generating and keeping momentum going, in an effort to put pressure on leaders to increase aid levels, and make a serious effort to end poverty. These events show our leaders that the public is serious about these issues, and wants to see change happen.

But, if these events are not followed through with meaningful action – members of the public writing to their MP’s or Senators, groups lobbying government, media attention and debate surrounding these issues, among other actions, then these events only go so far. Raising awareness in the public only goes so far – providing avenues of engagement, and meaningful actions that the public can take, provides the tipping point for political action to take place. Once politicians see that the public cares about an issue – whether that be through letters received from the public, or petitions signed – change starts to occur. And when it comes down to it, if votes are at stake, change will undoubtedly occur.

Why I’m involved in the campaign to end extreme poverty
I do not consider myself to be an expert on development - that is best left up to the local communities where developmental projects are being undertaken. However, I do believe that, living in one of the most privileged countries in the world, I have a responsibility to do what I can to end what I see as the greatest injustice of our generation.

And I in no means wish to diminish projects undertaken by aid and development organisations worldwide. Projects delivered by organisations like World Vision, Oxfam, Plan, and many others provide life-saving skills, medication, education and opportunities to millions around the world. The projects of the Oaktree Foundation have provided educational opportunities to thousands, and initiatives such as GOLD, supported and funded through the Schools4Schools program (www.schools4schools.org) or our current work in Timor-Leste in partnership with Plan Timor-Leste, are programs that I truly believe change people’s lives for the better. And indeed, organisations such as Oxfam and World Vision are world leaders and experts in areas of development and aid.

However, the mere fact that there are many hundreds of development organisations around the world does not excuse governments from promises that they have made, or from what I see as a moral obligation of governments around the world to address the issues surrounding extreme poverty. This is why movements like Make Poverty History are needed to keep governments to account on their promises, and make sure that they do indeed follow through.

A person’s age, the amount of money that they do or do not have, what degree they do or do not have, or their position in society has little bearing on the change that they can create. The movement to end extreme poverty has brought together the average person to the celebrity, and this is a powerful voice aimed at the leaders of our world today.

I’m involved with Oaktree, and more generally the movement to end poverty, because I believe that it is a matter a life and death for many of the world’s poor. Oaktree, for me personally, provides just one outlet to campaign for these issues, and focuses on issues that I believe are extremely important. The campaigning that Oaktree has undertaken in partnership with and the support of many other organisations, businesses and individuals around Australia has had a huge effect on the lives of many, and is desperately needed if a meaningful commitment to the MDGs and the 0.7% target is going to be reached in Australia.

Position of the movement in 2009
And this brings us back to the beginning. The movement to end extreme poverty, globally and at a national level, is more important than ever. The current global economic crisis has set achievement of the MDGs back. The World Bank’s governing body of 24 finance and economic ministers recently stated that “developing countries face especially serious consequences as the financial and economic crisis turns into a human and development calamity." They also stated that "Hard-earned progress towards the Millennium Development Goals is now in jeopardy."

It is the job of organisations like Oaktree, World Vision, Oxfam, and of civil society more broadly to make sure that the world’s developed nations indeed keep their promises on development aid and effectiveness, ODA levels, and a commitment to the MDGs. The MDGs may not be fully realised by 2015, but that does not mean that governments can relax their stance on the issue.

Mind-boggling numbers of people are living in abject poverty, suffering from chronic hunger, and dying because of access to extremely basic sanitation and hygiene needs. The global economic crisis threatens to turn into a crisis of “human calamity” if the economic crisis goes on unchecked, or if the needs of developing nations are ignored.

Behind every statistic is a story that has affected a child, a mother, a father, entire families, villages, nations and the world at large. The largest social movement in history, and the campaigns, projects, events and actions run by each organisation within the larger movement, must not wind down, but instead intensify pressure and campaigning, to ensure that the needs of the world’s poor are met.

Over the past week, Sydney turned to a ghost-town. APEC rolled into town, along with 21 world leaders, including George W. Bush, and rolled out again as quickly as it came. 3 metre high security fences were erected around the city, 3500 police were deployed to the areas that the APEC summit was being held, and helicopters and fighter jets fly across the Sydney sky, albeit very low across the sky.
So all-in-all, the summit has been hailed as a success. At least, it was a safe success. No major incidents, and “only” 88 arrests, most during the protests that happened on the Saturday of the summit, and the overwhelming majority for minor offences, with some specifically created the APEC summit.
But even if you personally think that the security for the APEC summit was a little heavy-handed and over the top, there is another issue to address. What was actually talked about in the summit, and what was achieved?
Saying what was achieved is a hard task. If talking in a diplomatic sense, a hell of a lot. America and China were at the same table addressing Climate Change, attention turned to the Doha round of WTO negotiations, and a “Sydney declaration” was issued on Climate Change. But...
In the declaration that Australian PM John Howard released, we see the word “aspirational” more times than the average university academic would use the word in a lifetime of publications. Goals were set, yes, but they are “aspirational.” Targets were agreed upon, but are “aspirational” instead of binding. Essentially, the Sydney Declaration is a declaration stating that the 21 APEC nations will aspire to, sometime in the future, to set aspirational, non-binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other things, with the penalty for non-compliance being... what?
I do not wish to dive into the deep and often unforgiving world of global warming politics. However, when 21 world leaders gather and can only agree on aspiration goals, aspirational targets, with no fixed numbers on these targets themselves, I believe it shows the attitude that John Howard, and many other world leaders, are taking towards important global issues.
John Howard hasn’t used the world aspirational just with the issue of climate change, either. He has referred to the Millennium Development Goals, themselves taking in environmental sustainability and responsibility, as aspirational goals as well. Under his logic, and so many other world leaders, he sees them as goals that, in an ideal world, would be great to aim for, but we don’t live in an ideal world, do we?
That logic doesn’t work. The MDG’s are 8 goals, with 18 targets, and 44 indicators as to the progress of those targets. They are measurable, and they are real. They are economically viable, so there’s no need to worry about hugely adverse effects on the economy, as John Howard, and others, so desperately tries to argue about setting binding targets in the case of climate change. They are just not aspirational.
Sure, we may argue over the wording of the Millennium Declaration, in which it states that the governments of the world will “spare no effort” in achieving the MDGs, but the fact is that the MDGs go beyond being “aspirational.” Idealistic? Maybe. Huge? Yes. Achievable? Very much so.
Today’s world leaders need to look beyond national borders in their thinking. They need to address the pressing issues of our time, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, climate change and unfair trade barriers. Going beyond vague declarations that amount to ink on a page, and a few good thoughts, but nothing binding, is desperately needed. As time goes by, it is the world’s poor that will be affected the worst, yet they have contributed the least to the problems that we see today. Climate change will affect the world’s poor the most, yet they contribute the least to its effects. Unfair trade barriers are imposed by developed western nations, leaving the world’s poor with poor access to the world’s markets and the advantages of globalisation. HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drugs are available in developed countries at any pharmacy, yet in developing nations, people die due to expensive drugs, or no access to life-saving drugs at all. Poverty kills millions, yet developing countries continually refuse to raise Official Development Assistance levels to just 0.7% of GNI.
The UN Millennium Summit in 2000, and again in the Monterrey Consensus in 2002, and yet again at the Millennium +5 Summit in 2005, world leaders showed that they can agree to enact change n the world, and move beyond the vagueness of many world summits and agreements. In 2005, civil society showed that the world does care about these issues, with a passion that goes deeper, at least in many people, than a passing fad, contrary to what many choose to believe.
Meaningful action seems to be hard to come by these days, but this something that is needed more than ever. The public want action, civil society continues to put pressure on governments to act, yet it seems that the political will is still not there. What will it take to get our leaders to act?

Just thought I'd post this as it looks promising, and it's on the Millennium Campaign's website.
(Source: http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=grKVL2NLE&b=190470&ct=4305075)


Brown and Merkel Announce International Health Partnership

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel today announced an International Health Partnership designed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Partnership will include major donor countries, including Britain and Germany, and key international agencies such as the World Bank and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to accelerate MDGs 4, 5 and 6: reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

After their meeting in London, the two leaders released a joint statement in which they said: "We see this as a critical step in our call for an international mobilisation of effort to achieve the MDGs that will build year on year until 2015. Our efforts must bring together the private sector, NGOs, faith groups, international agencies and governments in a new partnership to reduce poverty, improve health and provide opportunities for the poor across the world."

The Partnership focuses on healthcare because "of the MDGs, those focusing on health are the least likely to be met." There is a lack of strong health systems with sufficient health workers, clinics and supply of medicines, but global health assistance is also too fragmented. The Partnership will focus on strengthening the global health infrastructure.

"We reaffirm our commitment made at the G8 and the EU to provide the financing needed to meet our health commitments through the established institutions and mechanisms. In this context, the replenishment of the Global Fund will be a key step. We will also explore innovative financing mechanisms to meet these commitments," they said.

Both Brown and Merkel are following through on their G8 promises of last June. In Heiligendamm, Germany, the leaders of the world's 8 richest countries promised more funds for healthcare and better coordination of health aid. Brown talked earlier about a "global alliance" in a speech at the UN Head Quarters last month and urged countries to renew their commitments to the MDGs.

The International Health Partnership will have its official launch on September 5.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor
wanderer with shelter -
when you see him naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn...” (Isaiah 58:6-8)

So ... here we go again and yet ANOTHER attempt by Besty to have a regularly-updated blog. Although i know that this may fall apart in a couple of weeks, its good to think positively while it lasts!

So it's time to start my second semester of uni...

I'm already a week in, but hardly have any of my textbooks or readings ... thats the downer of not having a job after 6 months of almost full-time volunteering ... And I still can't find a job =[ ah well, i'll get there!

And I still don't know if I want to do sociology ... but don't have that much time to decide either. Got until the 3rd, so its okay.

Other than uni, everything is uber awesome! Okay, so maybe i'm not putting the most effort into how i express myself when i say 'uber,' but everything is great! Zeroseven is over, which has lifted a lot of stress off my shoulders, uni is starting again (only bad part about that is exams) and I have an awesome girlfriend who just makes life that much more greater!

So yes, you could say that I'm quite happy!

Except for the prices of textbooks... But that's another story.

Saw Knocked Up today with rusty. I have to say that yea its a funny movie, although, there was one scene that just ruined it for me! and the thought of having kids also went out the window, and I don't know when it's coming back :P But kids are still cute and awesome!! hehe

Then went to Hogs Breathe which was great! I really shouldn't have nacho's ... especially 2 days after having half a pizza, 3 mini magnums, sharing a 1.25L pepsi aanndd some krispy kreme donuts... but tat is definately another story! So a few hours with Rusty was awesome, then i had to catch the rail bus back home, because of trackwork ... damn CrapyRail...

Shall be back soon to postmore exciting (or not so exciting) adventures of Besty (and usually Rusty as well)

Love you babe!

Is it really possible to take the Australian political system seriously anymore?

In an election year, I guess people are expecting various promises and pledges from both the Government and the main Opposition party. And many people would also now be expecting these promises and pledges to be broken once th election is over. But looking at recent events in Australia, I have to say I'm rapidly loosing faith in our political system, especially our two-party system. The Haneef alleged terrorism case, the resurgence of the Tampa incident in 2001, plus seemingly endless election stunts, tat seem to forget that the Australian population just may have a mind and just may be able to think for themselves.

Organisations like GetUp are trying to bring back grassroots democracy, and that is great, and thy are doing an awesome job at it. Now we just need a political system that is actually there to do what its meant to do - to represent the people that elected them.

It's time that our politicians got real and actually did something, other than arguing and stalling and making election promises that they don't intend on following through.

Being away for a week with the most inspirational people that someone can ever meet changes your life. It changes your life in the most positive way, and it is an experience I would not exchange for anything.

From July 1-7, the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY ZEROSEVEN Roadtrip occurred in Australia. From Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, and teams in Sydney and Perth, 500 Youth Ambassadors campaigned on behalf of MPH, all converging in Sydny for a finale concert and something that has never been done before - the projection of video and photos onto the Sydney Opera House, showing Australia and the world that our generation does care about ending extreme poverty.

So, why ZEROSEVEN? Throughout the trip, we campaigned for one thing: a commitment to 0.7% of GNI to go towards foreign aid (Official Development Assistance)by 2015. We campaigned for our nation's leaders, both Government and the Opposition alike, to commit to this target. We also ran a campaign called Face Up To Poverty, asking Australians to Face up and show the government that they support the 0.7% target for foreign aid.

And what happened? None of us doubt that we made history, but it is only the start of the journey. We held 5 concerts, plus a celebration concert in Sydney. We mobilised over 6,000 young people through these concerts. We had more than 35,000 people Face Up To Poverty throughout the week. We even saw the PM, John Howard, Face Up To Poverty. And on the 6th July, we witnessed a commitment by Kevin Rudd, Federal Leader of the Australian Labor Party, to 0.5% of GNI to Foreign Aid by 2015, if the ALP win the next election. Yes, this isn't he target of 0.5%, but it is a start. It is recognition that our campaigning efforts, and that the Australia public, give the government, of whatever colour, the permission to spend our money on foreign aid.

As for myself, I was part of the NSW team, campaigning around Sydney for the entire week. The week for me can be summed up with sleep deprivation and emotional ups and downs, but I wouldn't give it up for anything.

I personally spent about 4 months helping plan the NSW leg of the Roadtrip, and it was a great experience to see this planning eventuate into tangible action and campaigning. Although i must admit that when the first day of the Roadtrip swung around, I approached it with nervous feelings, not knowing whether the whole week would work or not.

And the first day didn't come with much luck. All 100 Ambassadors, along with crew, were told to expect rejection along the way, and the first day was just that. We were campaigning in the Eastwood area of Sydney, in John Howard's electorate, and it was the hardest day of campaigning. But it did prepare us all for disappointments along the week.

The rest of the week can only be described as awesome. On the second day we campaigned in the city, which included a flash mob of sorts where 100 people dressed as pirates chanting and generally campaigning in Martin Place.

Third day, we went to Bankstown, and this was an awesome day of campaigning in an area that had not been targeted by MPH in the past. All in all, a great day, including a very cheap BBQ for the public, and live jazz music!

Fourth day, we did another day of campaigning in the city, this time focusing on Face Up. Throughout the whole week, there was a Face Up wall outside Customs House, near Circular Quay, where the public could see 10,000 faces from the Face Up campaign. We had teams of ambassadors at this wall at many times throughout the week, and crried out Face Up mainly in the city.

On the fifth day, we headed out to Bondi Beach to do a "people sign" spelling out make poverty history on the beach. While this was smaller than we would have liked it to be, it was a great time, and we did involve a lot of passers-by in the photo. The Daily Telegraph and channel 9 was also at the beach, so we gained some media exposure through the event.

Sixth day, we saw the 'finale' at the opera house, and the MPH Projection onto the side of the opera house, follwoed by a wrap up and chill out/party atmosphere for tall 500 ambassadors plus crew and national team.

Seventh day, we went to the National MDG Summit, which was interesting to hear the various political parties opinions regarding the 0.7% of GNI goal. After this, we went off to Live Earth,as zeroseven campaigners had got cheaper tickets, and that wrapped up the week!

Yes, that was a very short wrap up, but all i can say is that the week was damn amazing. The projection onto the Opera House gave us a sense of completion, as well as a sense that we did achieve something out of the Roadtrip.

Emotionally, it was a week that went from up to down in about as much time as it takes to read this line. Many nights the crew didn't get to sleep till 2am, and got up early every day for the next days activities. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, but we dealt with the issues as they came up, but all in all, a great week!

FRor more info on what ZEROSEVEN was, go to www.zeroseven.org

It's only the start of the journey!

Hey hey guys!

If any of you reside or are in Australia between now and July, PPLLEEAASSEE go to this website and participate!

www.optus.com.au/faceup

Face Up To Poverty was launched on June 5th, and is part of the ZEROSEVEN Roadtrip and is an ongoing campaign within Australia.

Please participate in this "face" petition, and help create change within Australia!

More Info:
www.zeroseven.org
www.makepovertyhistory.com.au
www.optus.com.au/faceup

Not because i'm biased or anything, but ...

Just been told of a great site for all those in Australia (and anyone else that wants to help!) to search the net AND fight agains poverty at the same time.

It's called Ripple, and the basis of the site is that, if you search with ripple (its Google powered), an advertiser gets to show an add, and will pay ripple an amount of money, which it will then forward on to one of four organisations. Have a look at the site for more details, www.ripple.org, but i think its a great idea!




Will get back to regular updates soon!

Make History with the who's who of Aussie music on the Make Poverty History ZEROSEVEN Roadtrip. Go to www.zeroseven.org to apply if your between 16-26 and living in Australia!

It's a Sunday night, and I've just got back from church. It has been just like any other Sunday night, and I love my own church. But a few things popped into my head tonight, and it's stuff that has been puzzling me for a while.

Don't get me wrong. I love my church and I strive to be a Christian each day of my life. I wouldn't call myself a "model" Christian, and I know that I fall short in many areas of my life. But this isn't about that. I'm worried that the Church today teaches about justice, and how we should strive for it, but rarely acts on their own words.

I agree that the primary focus of the Church today is that of teaching what Jesus said, and showing the world that he is the Messiah. After all, that is what the Church believes. But one of the important aspects of Jesus life was focusing on the poor and the fringes of society. The Church also recognises this. it teaches that we should seek justice, seek to help the orphaned, the poor, the destitute, the fringes. And I agree that there are organisations that are affiliated with churches, and churches themselves (such as the Salvation Army) that do focus on this. But could more be done?

In an age of huge injustices, the church should be acting as a vehicle for achieving justice for everyone, whether those individuals are Christians or not. Jesus didn't discriminate, nor should the church. And the church shouldn't only focus on missionaries either. The work of missionaries is often great work in the 21st century, but there is other pressing work to be done, as well as missionary work. First address the injustices of this world, and then maybe the world will give more respect to the church. Distribute condoms within Africa to those who need them so desperately. Initiate HIV/AIDS education programs and encourage active participation. Encourage those in the Global North to lobby their governments on issues of justice, and that goes beyond the abortion debate.

The Church as a whole is great at talking the talk. And it is right in encouraging its members to seek justice. But more concerted efforts from the church are also needed. The Micah Challenge is a great example of how the Church can be involved with issues of justice and the poor. But more is needed.

Leaving theological differences aside, the Church is a powerful vehicle for change in society. It represents a large slab of Western society, and perhaps an even larger slab in the Global South overall, and has the power to enact positive change on society. Often the church are seen as hypocrites, and sometimes, I don't blame people for thinking this. No one is perfect, but the Church does have a powerful following behind it. Why not use that following to create lasting social change, which is something that Jesus, who associated himself with the poor and the fringes of society, I am sure would not mind the Church doing.

PS: This is just my personal view, from my own experiences of the Church. I am in no way saying that the Church is the ONLY way lasting social change can be made, and that non-church going people do not seek justice - of course they do! I am also not saying that the Church should change their main focus - if this happened, then the Church would loose 2,000 years of history. WEhat I am saying, however, is that the Church, in teaching about justice and helping the poor, can and should be an international agent (among many) that can encourage and enact lasting social change, through seeking justice.

Besty
PPS Sorry if you couldn't follow any of that, or if I didn't make too much sense!

Do Marketing, Promotions and Advertising execs, sitting in offices the world over, really know how to target our own generation? And when I say target, i mean in an effective way that changes the way our generation looks at a product, service, or anything in general.

The short answer, I suspect from many, would be resounding 'yes.' Our own generation, Generation Y (or however you would like to name our generation) seems to bear much of the world's marketing force, and we do indeed buy. But does this necessarily mean that we are impacted or affected by advertisements, or are we making our own assessments of products (as an example) and buying things purely on our own assessments, with maybe a little help from the advertisements we see every day?

I must admit, there have been some marketing campaigns that have caught my own eye, and one of them was "The Zero Movement" for Coca Cola Zero in Australia. I won't go into whether the way Coke carried out the campaign in its early stages was ethical or not (as much of its advertising looked very much like a grassroots campaign, when it really was not) but it did catch my own attention, as I'm sure it caught many people's attention.

So, where am I going with this?

when it comes to NGO's, international campaigns and causes, they too must compete with corporate advertising, which often has a lot of money behind it. So, say with campaigns such as Make Poverty History in Australia, the ONE Campaign in the US and other such campaigns, do they need to rethink how they connect with young people, and how they stir interest in their own campaigns?

In my own opinion, young people can no longer be targeted and spoken to through traditional media sources, from the daily newspaper to even the regular TV ad. It just doesn't cut it anymore. Instead, to effectively create interest in, engage and involve young people, advertising, marketing and promotions has to take on a whole new level. Take, for example, street art. Or stencil art. Or street media publications, independent of major commercial media firms. Or even the odd TV ad that doesn't take the form of the tradition, 30 second ad, aimed at a generic audience, and seems to assume that the audience is either completely dumb or not educated (to be blunt.) Think guerrilla marketing.

And I'm not talking about viral marketing! I'm talking about targeting young people in an engaging and NEW way.

This is the challenge faced by MPH, the ONE Campaign and others. Its something that I think (Product)RED is able to do effectively, as far as I have seen. It's also something that NEEDS to be done.

Our generation wants to be involved, wants to be active, wants to be engaged. But it also doesn't want to be treated as if they don't know anything. They don't want to be subject to marketing that is generic. Different subcultures require different types of advertising and marketing. If it is right, people will become curious and investigate more. If it isn't, however, we will just pass it off as another generic advertisement, not applicable to us.

Social movements that are changing the world need to consider this: the way they approach the world, and approach generation 'Y', needs also to be world changing and original.

So, I started Uni today at USyd.

And I only had one lecture. Was Anthropology ... at 4! Which was kinda annoying. But the lecturer is great which is good!

Other than that, uni wasnt that eventful. Had lunch with a friend from UTS, then waited around for my lecture. No tutorials this week!

Got drenched when i left though. It decided to hold off on the rain until I was ready to leave, then when i was just about to leave ... it bucketed down. And then stopped once I got to the station. Trust Sydney weather.

Will update all later!

Besty

Just thoiught I'd update you all on my life at the moment, seeing as I haven't posted anything for a while.

I start uni O-Week on Wednesday, and then my first lectures next Monday. Should be good! Only have 12 hours a week, with Friday off! =)

Other than that, not much is happening.

I'll be in more regular touch/TIG Blogging soon!