It has been ten years since the Darfur conflict erupted and millions fled their homes in the countryside for the safety of towns and camps. If you do not live in Sudan, it is understandable if you think the problem resolved itself long ago. But if you could come with me to Darfur, the land where […]
Last week’s Behind The Brands initiative kicked off with a call for Mars, Mondelez International and Nestle to stop ignoring the women who are working in their cocoa supply chains. Between them, these three companies net more than $45 billion a year in confectionery sales. But throughout their cocoa supply chains – from growers to […]
Malo ni! My name is Mikaele Maiava. I’m writing from the Pacific Island archipelago of Tokelau to tell you about a global action against the fossil fuel industry. Last October, Tokelau turned off the last of its diesel generators. In their place, we switched on our solar plants, making Tokelau the first country in the […]
There has been a great response to the Behind the Brands launch on Tuesday (Feb 26). Consumers clearly care about the people behind the foods they buy. Thousands of people have taken action; the start we hope of a movement to reverse the 100-year legacy of the world’s ten largest food and beverage companies in […]
It’s a pretty good day in the office when I get to work with a group of thirty inspiring South Sudanese community leaders and meet a Deputy Representative of the United Nations Secretary General. This is how I spent last Saturday at the final of six workshops run by the Humanitarian Crisis Hub in partnership […]
What do Twinings, Toblerone and Twisties have in common? The same as Coca Cola,Cheerios and Cadbury’s, Milo and Vegemite. They’re all made by the ‘Big 10’ food companies, who between them make over $1bn a day. Here at Oxfam we’ve spent a good part of the past 18 months looking at how the world’s biggest […]
By Heather Wortes – University of Woollongong student Oxfam University group members from around Australia joined forces at a three day conference in Sydney last week. Students came from as far as Perth and Brisbane to share their success stories from past events and to brainstorm ideas for campaigns and events in 2013. The university […]
I have just returned from Papua New Guinea where the struggle for control of the country’s natural resources is raging. Communities are quite literally fighting for their lands, environment, livelihoods and culture – all of these are at risk from logging, palm oil and other so-called developments. Land is life, as they say in PNG. […]
The World Bank doesn’t know the environmental and social impact of the almost $20 billion it lends to private companies. A recent audit revealed that the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the IFC, “knows very little” about the impacts of its financial market lending, which accounts for 40% of its portfolio. The IFC has […]
Lorna Schmider-Woodcock is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman from Brisbane. She currently lives in Canberra where she is an Indigenous cadet through the Australian Public Service Commission program at the National Museum of Australia. On December 10th and 11th, 2012, I attended the Indigenous Knowledge is Eternal: Knowledge and Culture Sharing in Indigenous […]
