help Make Poverty History

edanto

I just got this request for help from Suas, but I'm not free next week to help out.

Thought I'd post it here in case anyone has a bit of time to help them and hasn't heard of the need. They may have enough people to help at this stage, but if you want to get involved in any other way, I'm sure they'd be glad of the help.

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In the lead up to the WTO trade talks in December, the Irish Make Poverty History Campaign are launching a Christmas Card Campaign to encourage the Irish delegation to negotiate for fairer Trade.

http://www.makepovertyhistory.ie, http://www.tradejustice.ie

All of the Suas college societies will be involved in promoting the campaign and distributing the cards around campus so look out for them and please take the time to fill one out and send it off.

Also, the main campaign organisers are looking for people to help out. In particular, they are looking for volunteers to help put the cards together. They are being delivered to a central Dublin location in the next few days and the campaign will officially be launched next week so they are looking for Dublin based volunteers. The more the merrier so feel free to rope in friends etc!

If you have some spare time and are interested in helping out, please call the office - 01-4735777

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edanto

*nudge*

Did anyone get in touch with Suas? Are they allright for help this week?

DadaKopf

The launch is probably this Wednesday, although it's still in the works.

There are other organisations involved in the launch. It's been organised by 'Trade Matters', an Irish coalition of NGOs campaigning on trade justice including Oxfam and Comhlámh.

This call for volunteers for the launch came from a meeting of societies in universities across the country held by Comhlámh last week.

You can help the MPH Christmas Card campaign by contacting Comhlámh, but you're probably better off contacting your local college society if you're in college. There will be plenty of on-campus card-related activities in the coming weeks.

Other college societies participating are:
- World Aid Society in UCD
- Global Awareness in NUI Maynooth
- An as yet unnamed society in University of Limerick
- One World Societies in UCC and TCD
- MedAct in the Royal College of Surgeons

The card looks ace, so fill it out and return it if you can't lend a hand distributing the thing!

But eh, yeah, contact the SUAS office, so.

edanto

Thanks for the details. I'm working out at DCU and there's a Suas group I've been meeting up with lately. I'll give them a dig out with the cards this week - they sound like a good idea.

Topical too, with Blair giving plugging the Poverty angle again tonight, do you know is there a press release coming from Trade Matters? I couldn't see it on their site. I'm guessing it's the 'send bertie a christmas card' campaign on tradejustice.ie ?

I'll ask Suas as well, but do you happen to know where I'd find a poster to publicise the campaign?

DadaKopf

I'm sure SUAS will have them, but I'll find out tomorrow and get back to you.

DadaKopf

The official launch of the campaign will be held this Wednesday at 11:00. If you want to chip in the distribution of the cards or anything else, you're best off emailing cards@makepovertyhistory.ie. It's Dóchas that's co-ordinating the campaign.

edanto

Thanks - I've mailed them. Hope the campaign raises a good deal of awareness.

DadaKopf

edanto wrote:

Topical too, with Blair giving plugging the Poverty angle again tonight, do you know is there a press release coming from Trade Matters? I couldn't see it on their site. I'm guessing it's the 'send bertie a christmas card' campaign on tradejustice.ie ?

Yeah, TM should have something coming out soon. The Hong Kong WTO Ministerial is starting on the 13th December so Trade Justice Ireland/Trade Matters should have something out about that soon. I think the card campaign has been eating up the time.

TJI/TM produced a common position prior to the last ministerial, and I think their position is roughly the same, except from the little I know about it, there are new concerns about the way the negotiations are now taking place in relation to GATS - how the rich countries are shifting their approach to aggressively pushing for further services liberalisation.

I'll be back with more info!

edanto

Thanks for all the background stuff, it's all new to me and good to know!

I met up with the Suas group last night at DCU and there are a good few of us that'd be happy to slap up posters and we've come up with a handy way to distribute the cards that won't take a lot of time either.

At this stage, I'm just waiting to hear back from cards@mph, but I'm sure they'll get in touch when things are ready. Did the launch happen on Wednesday?

DadaKopf

That address might actually be card@makepovertyhistory.ie.

People can now sign e-cards on the website: www.makepovertyhistory.ie

The campaign has officially been launched, and the cards are on their way out to the societies. Thanks for getting involved! Beyond that, I don't know what's happening.

edanto

I'd found the right address after it came back first time - no worries. I'm still waiting to hear back from them, hopefully before tomorrow.

That'll be the last time I see the Suas group for a while and there's a few people willing to get involved in slapping up posters.

See ya round.

DadaKopf

Who's willing to muck in for posters, and where? I might be able to sort you for those.

edanto

There's a Suas group out in DCU - four of them are happy to help putting up posters. If there's any way of sending them out to us for tonight, we could do it after we meet up this evening.

Failing that, maybe you could mail me something and I could run it though the printer at work