Author: Fiona Remnant

That’s it, the deadline is up for applications to be a Local Events Campaign Coordinator in your town! We’ve had some amazing applications and can’t wait to get stuck into a season of gigs and festivals. Fancy getting involved? You’ll get training on the latest campaigns, free tickets to gigs, and we can guarantee* you’ll have fun. If you’re interested drop us a line at [email protected] – don’t forget to tell us which town you’re based in.

Some of you lucky activists have already lined up free tickets to Glastonbury by working for Oxfam this year (places still available for WOMAD – check out http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/stewarding/index.html). Oxfam has a long and proud history with the Glastonbury festival, and this year we will be sharing a special space with the other Glastonbury charity partners, Water Aid and Greenpeace. This will be a quiet zone where festival-goers can kick off their shoes and relax in the hay bales next to some calming water pools. These pools will contain little bottles with messages from supporters and staff saying what the charity means to them. We’ve got five spare bottles we’d like to fill with messages from our activists – yes that’s you!

What does Oxfam mean to you? What do Oxfam’s campaigns mean to you? What would the world be like without Oxfam’s campaigns over the years? How do you feel when you’re campaigning for Oxfam? Be eloquent, be inspired, be thought-provoking. You’ve 50 words to inspire a probably tired but very happy festival-goer (they’ll also have a chance to respond with their own message). Send your 50 words to me ([email protected]) by 4th June and we’ll let you know if you made it into the pool. And if you’re at Glastonbury remember to check out the oasis when you need some positive calm…

*If you don’t I’ll make sure you get a huge slice of cake to compensate

We are now weeks away from an election, and we need climate to be a top priority of the next UK Government, whoever they are.  To ensure this Oxfam has teamed up with some of the UK’s biggest environmental and development charities to arrange ‘Ask the Climate Question Time’ (ACQ) events with local candidates in many key SW constituencies as a part of a national initiative in the top 51 marginal constituencies. 

. Following the failure of world leaders to agree a global climate deal in Copenhagen, the next UK government must play a leading role in revived international negotiations and we must ensure the EU does the same.

Our aim is very simply to shout the loudest about climate change where the parties are listening the hardest.  Is there a hustings happening near you?  Check http://asktheclimatequestion.org.uk/ and if you want to ask the climate question then you might want to take a look at some of our suggestions below:

What will you and your party do to…

1.Take a leading role in making sure that the international climate change negotiations secure a fair, ambitious and binding deal? (One that keeps global temperatures below 2 degrees Centigrade and turns the so-far antagonistic negotiations into collaborative engagement)?

2.Deliver the UK’s fair share of the promised $30bn in short term financing to help poor countries adapt to climate impact and curb emissions? (Promised in 2009 Copenhagen Accord over 3 years, 2010 to 2012)?

3. Show international leadership on generating the new finance needed to help developing countries curb emissions and adapt to climate change (Over and above the $100bn per year agreed by rich countries at Copenhagen)?

Oxfam has produced lots of information and an action pack see http://www.oxfam.org.uk/election There is also lots of information on development and more questions on http://www.voteglobal.org.uk

Do get in touch if would be great to hear back from you about the responses you get – contact me on [email protected]