Federica Giordano, ONE Youth Ambassador:

The lead singer of a band I like sings: “I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good” – well, I am happy to say that that’s the case today! Over the past week, a high number of papers have been distributed among Italian high schools and Universities from the north to the south of Italy. It is the World’s Best News, an initiative promoted by the European Union and its member states, including my country –Italy– to inform public opinion about the importance of achieving the 17 Global Goals agreed by world’s leaders last year. No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Quality Education, Gender Equality by 2030…This is the most ambitious plan in human history!

So, how are we Youth Ambassadors personally contributing to the success of this project?

Not only we are physically handing these copies out in our cities, but we are creating momentum around topics which don’t usually make the headlines. Through our enthusiasm and commitment, we are trying to bridge the gap between what’s happening beyond our borders. This is the only way to understand today’s global phenomena: the world is more interconnected than ever and we need an informed and active youth which can read through what’s happening and connect the dots.

I am so glad that my country got so actively involved in the World’s Best News project and I want to take this as a sign of Italy’s commitment to the fight against poverty. In fact, Next May, when the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will host the G7 in Sicily, he will have the chance to get the world’s most powerful leaders’ around the table to agree an ambitious and forward-looking agenda to deliver the Global Goals by 2030. The legacies of past Italian G7s have delivered incredible change – increasing global investment in agriculture, and health initiatives that have saved and improved millions of lives.  With Prime Minister Renzi’s commitment to increase Italian aid to the 4^th largest amongst the G7 countries, I’m excited about the ambition building ahead of Italy’s presidency.  Let’s not waste this incredible opportunity and let’s fight together to make poverty history.

Cristiano Maggipinto, Chief of Unit IX – Evaluation and Visibility, Directorate General for Development Cooperation, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation:

If we look at the numbers of the current youth population – young people between the ages of 10 and 24 – it’s the largest it has ever been: 1.8 billion, 600 million of them are girls, and a majority living in countries that have yet to reach their full development potential. They are the world’s best hope for addressing our most pressing challenges of development, global peace and security. And to defeat extremist ideologies. It is both a moral obligation and a strategic investment for us all to pay greater attention to youth and unlock opportunities in youth activism. We should be asking ourselves more frequently how can young people themselves be the heart of the solution, identifying together areas to pursue with renewed vigour, even though our approach needs to be holistic, integrated and multidimensional as is the challenge of sustainable development.

Education remains on top of our agenda, both at home and abroad: domestically by increasing our efforts towards education for sustainable development in school and university curricula; in our partner countries by contributing to programs that make education accessible and inclusive, and more than ever in those contexts of emergency and humanitarian need where we cannot put education on the side and risk losing generations of young people. But also with a special priority on empowering those 600 million young women mentioned earlier. In these young women lies an extraordinary potential for achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Regarding Italy’s effort to implement the 2030 Agenda we have taken its universal nature very seriously. Domestically we are “looking at ourselves in the mirror” – as we speak – in order to finalise a National Strategy of Sustainable Development by the end of the year, or the early months of 2017 at the latest. The Strategy will be presented at the next UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York (July 2017) as part of our National Voluntary Review. This will also include our external Strategy, whose main pillar is represented by our Development Cooperation, currently in the final stages of review in order to better align itself with the SDGs. Last but not least we are pushing the EU to finalise its strategies as well.

Our G7 Presidency and those that will follow, but also the G20 Presidencies, will have a crucial leadership role to play in order to firmly move “from vision to action” in the implementation of the SDGs. This will be the spirit that will guide our G7 Presidency in many sectors of the development agenda – from food security to education, from migration to women’s empowerment, including an emphasis on Africa – and the spirit that we encourage our G7/G20 partners to help us spread worldwide in order to be more ambitious and more transformative. That’s what the 2030 Agenda encourages us to do, at both the global and local levels. Because it’s fundamentally a mandate for every single individual, every community, every country, every region, that to fulfil the 2030 Agenda and its Goals.

Do you think music can change the world? We do!

In 2013, ONE launched Agit8 (get it?!), a music-based campaign where dozens of musicians from across the globe contributed their songs to the fight against extreme poverty. These protest songs proved the inspiration for our own awareness raising event: karaoke!

As Angelique Kidjo, special adviser to the Agit8 campaign, said, “We have seen great progress when people join forces to demand change. If enough people add their voices to the chorus of protest, world leaders will be forced to hear us and act.”

Those words became the motto of the Leuven Group of Youth Ambassadors in Belgium and with exams coming up, karaoke was the perfect stress-relief for the university’s students!

After the first brave singer got us under way, a constant stream of students and passionate karaokers crooned, screamed, and belted out an eclectic mix of Eurovision classics, epic ballads, and of course, U2 songs as we engaged with the crowd and spoke to them about ONE.

Halfway through the event, Ine and I made a presentation to explain how important it is to turn up the volume and make protests too loud for politicians to ignore. The theme of the Karaoke Night was “Poverty is Sexist” and we aimed to highlight how gender inequality unfortunately goes hand-in-hand with poverty, meaning that women in the poorest countries are often hit the hardest.

Karaoke was the perfect way to get students in Leuven involved with our campaign, because at ONE, “we’re not asking for your money, we’re asking for your voice!” And is there any greater (or more fun!) way of expressing your point of view than through the notes of a powerful song?!

The students listened carefully to the presentation and were all enthusiastic to join the campaign by signing the Poverty is Sexist open letter, as well as symbolically signing a ONE canvas with finger-paints! The magic of the notes of the songs enveloped everyone in a big communal bubble of happiness with everyone wanting to sing their hearts out.

When people come together and raise their voices, amazing things can happen. The night ended with the whole room of 60 students singing “Where is the Love?” by the Black Eyed Peas—a beautiful reminder of how the power of music can unite and bring people together for a good cause.

As Ed Sheeran, who recorded a new version of Bob Dylan’s classic “Masters of War” for Agit8, said: “Music is a powerful tool in galvanising people around an issue. There’s no better way to get your point across than to put it in a beautiful song.”

And now, Leuven knows that, too.

If you want to support girls and women everywhere, join ONE’s Poverty is Sexist campaign today!

Ruslan (right) with classmate Marie. Photo: @marievdbosch

Having never met someone more famous than a local musician before, the news that I had been chosen to meet European Commissioner Mimica was really miraculous. At first I didn’t comprehend it, but after a couple of hours it finally got into my head. Along with my classmate Marie, we were the ones chosen out of almost 200 students to go and represent our school, our city and the whole of the Belgian youth in Berlin.

The night before our departure I couldn’t sleep, I just couldn’t – my mind was filled with excitement and curiosity. In the morning I wasn’t even tired, just excited. I left home for the airport where we met with Tamira, the ONE Brussels Director, a very impressive woman with a lot of charisma. She was the perfect person to guide Marie and me on this trip.

We had no problems passing customs and very patiently we waited for the plane to arrive. We arrived in Berlin about an hour and a half later than expected, but there was no need to hurry.  We jumped in to a cab with an African chauffeur, possibly the nicest taxi driver I will ever meet. He was a very humorous and friendly man who took us to the Checkpoint Charlie museum in the heart of Berlin.

Ruslan, Marie and German youth representatives at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. Photo: Marco Urban/ONE

We then went to the Brandenburg Gate, a very impressive construction where we took couple of pictures with the German delegation of ONE. It was really nice to have this connection with the German youth knowing we all had the same goal.

Next was the meeting with Commissioner Mimica and German Minister Müller. The moment they entered the room, there was a moment of silence but you could feel the excitement. They were very relaxed and they listened to everybody. I was quite surprised they looked so glad to see us, we even had a couple of moments laughing all together.

Ruslan, Marie and German youth representatives with Commissioner Mimica and Minister Muller. Photo: Marco Urban/ONE

Commissioner Mimica told us: “I am delighted to meet ONE’s young ambassadors today and launch the action/2015 campaign in Berlin, together with Minister Müller. Young people are the future of international development and as the European Year for Development begins, their involvement, ideas and engagement will be more crucial than ever”.

A few hours later, while waiting for the plane in the airport, we were very surprised to bump into Commissioner Mimica and his Chief of Cabinet! We had a little chat with his Chief of Cabinet while waiting and then off we were, back to Brussels.

Ruslan with his action/2015 pledge. Photo: ONE

It was a very tiring day, but I enjoyed every minute of it, I wouldn’t hesitate to do this trip again. I’ve learnt a lot, it was a fascinating experience. And, now that I know what is at stake this year, I will follow the decisions our leaders take to help end extreme poverty closely.

Several months ago, I read a blog on ONE’s Facebook page from an author stating that she didn’t believe sending teams on mission trips was worthwhile, and in some cases, might hurt.

It caused me to pause and deeply discern whether my past five trips to Kenya with teams of university students, educators, and medical professionals were worthwhile.

Me at one of the 55 partner schools Kenya Connect works with in rural Wamunyu.

With an upcoming trip a few months away, I thought deep and hard whether we were making a difference and helping to change lives or was it just a “feel good” trip for the participants. Would it be better to use that money for direct services or were we making a difference?

As I began our journey with a team of seven others, including three college students from William and Mary, Colby, and Georgetown, a librarian, engineer, physical therapist, and teacher trainer, I had the thought of the blog on my mind.

The result: after two productive weeks in Kenya, I decided that in many cases, and at least with our work in Kenya, the blogger got it wrong.

I work with the non-profit/NGO, Kenya Connect (KC). Founded in 2002 by American Tim Gregory and Kenyan James Musyoka, KC strives to connect and ignite youth and educators globally for the purpose of promoting a peaceful world and developing global citizens for the 21st century. We do so by employing local field staff to insure we are meeting the needs of the community.

Over 80% of past volunteers have stayed involved with Kenya Connect and continue to help those who suffer from extreme poverty

Kenya Connect works in rural Wamunyu with 55 partner schools. Almost all of the schools are without electricity, running water and school supplies. Most of the school children live in extreme poverty and have very limited resources. The community highly values education and each school has a large and active parents’ council, and the local community chiefs are also involved.

On this current trip, we held two professional development workshops for teachers on literacy and how to use books and print materials in their classrooms. Teachers came from miles for this workshop, often on foot – even on a Saturday.

They are eager to learn more effective ways of teaching and to use resources in the Kenya Connect Learning Resource Centers that otherwise would be unavailable to them. We taught composting classes with a demonstration composter that was built by a local craftsman and we taught silk screening as a means of a microbusiness.

Our university students met with secondary students funded through The School Fund to talk to them about careers, college admission and scholarship.

Our physical therapist did assessments with children at the Special School for children with physical and cognitive disabilities and we conducted science experiments with students in several of our partner schools – these experiments had been created by their partner school in Maryland.

Students doing a science experiment

Throughout our two weeks we heard the sentiment over and over, we love partnering with Kenya Connect and thank you for coming to be with us.

Part of our success is that we employ a field staff, local Kenyans, who run our operations in Kenya. They have worked with Kenya Connect since our inception and have worked to learn the needs of the community and have developed action plans to meet these needs.

They work closely with the heads of schools, community leaders and teachers. When we built the LRC and did school renovations we hired local craftsmen which helps the economy. When our teams come over we do work that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to and our goal is to empower and teach, so that they can become self-sufficient.

One of the most important aspects of bringing teams to a well-run NGO is to see, to listen, to smell, and to be in relationship with the community. One team member commented, “I had seen pictures of the past trips and heard presentations; nothing could capture being here.” Over 80% of our past team members have stayed involved with Kenya Connect and have helped raise money to continue to help educate those living in extreme poverty. They have shared their stories and they have become global citizens with a greater understanding of the term “extreme poverty.”

I understand some “mission and philanthropy” trips miss the mark. But I contend that there are many that truly make a difference for the developing world and in helping communities to grow.

ONE member Sharon Runge has been volunteering with Kenya Connect since 2006 and has traveled to rural Wamunyu six times. She recently was named Executive Director of Kenya Connect and is passionate about education and helping children open their worlds to knowledge. She also loves to hike, read, travel and run, especially with her husband and two daughters.

What you might not know is that they also helped make a difference in the fight against extreme poverty by using their money to do good at our second annual ONE store pop-up shop.

With products from Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, and more, your purchase helps support healthy economies across the continent. Visit the ONE store now and receive 20% off ONE branded products (excluding beaded bracelets) until March 31st with the promo code: PowerSummit2014.

Lots of compliments on our African artisan products from Raven & Lily’s Ethiopian collection to our 2013 fashionABLE scarves available in either blue or orange

Show off what causes matter most to you. Benefiting ONE, United against Malaria, Transparency International and the Global Fund, our beaded bracelets are an easy way to raise awareness and make a difference while staying on trend!

Overwhelmed by the popularity of our products!

Our Indego Africa patterned sweetgrass and tin bangle set looks great mixed with other bracelets- including our ONE beaded bracelet and MADE’s Kamusivi bracelet. Can you spot them?

Get all these lovely accessories in the  ONE store with 20% off when you use promo code PowerSummit2014 until 31 March 2014.

One of the lessons at the KickStart Ghana summer school focused on aspiration setting. Our volunteers led the children on a creative session where they designed posters and diagrams detailing their thoughts on the future, both personally and from a career perspective.

When they had finished they had to present back to the class what they had created and why. We found that the children really engaged well with this task and we were really pleased with the wide range of potential opportunities they had given consideration to.

Take a look at our Facebook page for more photos from the class.

When you were young, what did you dream of being? Tell us in a comment below.

140 guests joined us at Het Ketelhuis cinema for our pre-première of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the film based on Mandela’s autobiography, to catch a glimpse of his momentous life.

The film stars Idris Elba and Naomie Harris and is about to hit cinemas around the world. Depicting Mandela’s life from his childhood growing up in the rural village of Qunu to his imprisonment and finally his liberation in 1990, the film sketches an impressive picture of a man who united a country and inspired the world.

ONE has been honoured to host several other pre-premiere screenings of the film in partnership with the Weinstein Company. Students at 10 college campuses across the US and guests in London, Paris and Brussels all got to watch the feature ahead of it’s release.

In light of Mandela’s passing a week before the event, guests joined us in paying tribute to him and reflecting on how we can come together to fight the injustices of our generation.

Extreme poverty is one of the biggest scourges of our time, and by raising our voices together we can put an end to it. Between 1990 and 2010 global extreme poverty has been halved, and if we keep going at this pace, it could be virtually eliminated by 2030. This is why ONE and its 3 million members worldwide are advocating for smart aid and policies that can help make this happen.

In the Netherlands too, long a champion in helping the world’s poorest, we are bringing together members and people from all walks of life to demonstrate what smart aid can achieve and to call for more support.

It was wonderful to have so many people gathered at our screening and to feel inspired by Mandela’s example to do just that. Together as ONE, we can be the generation that defeats extreme poverty.

Share Nelson Mandela’s call to action to ‘be that great generation’ on Facebook or Twitter.

Amber’s volunteer work at a Tanzania AIDS clinic changed her life – but what impact does volunteering overseas really have? Photo: ONE

This question in The Atlantic’s advice column with Jeffrey Goldberg really stuck with me: “Will my daughter be hurt in the college-admissions process if she doesn’t go to Africa?”

Goldberg responds, “What you’re describing sounds like a condescending exercise in ego-tourism. If I were the leader of a struggling African village, I would rather have your $2,500 in cash than 10 days of access to your daughter’s limited set of skills.”

Part of me wants to give him a high five  – but another part of me thinks that he’s missing the value of these organised volunteer trips, like those provided by VSO International, World Teach and Volunteer Africa (which we’ve actually covered on ONE.org before). For many people, this is once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness extreme poverty and bring their experience back home to their communities.

I decided to do a little investigating. I asked a few ONE staff this question:  Are short volunteer trips to the developing world helpful or hurtful to the fight against extreme poverty?

HELPFUL – But it could be better: Meagan Bond, creative manager, ONE
Voluntourism isn’t going away anytime soon, so we should try and refocus it to maximize the effectiveness. Seeing extreme poverty firsthand can give you an understanding and connection to the issue that you wouldn’t otherwise have – that can make you a stronger, more compelling advocate and a real ambassador for these issues to people who will never experience what you did. So perhaps the organisations that plan these trips could end each trip with an information about how to be an advocate/fundraiser/etc for the issues when they get home. I’m sure there are better ideas out there, and I think we should spend our energy figuring out what they are instead of criticising people who have good intentions.

HELPFUL, Sam Sanden, ONE volunteer leader, US
When outsiders come and impose their desires and ideas without local support, it can easily become a burden and waste of resources. However, working with local established partners, serving their needs and their vision, I have found short term volunteer trips incredibly helpful and rewarding for both the attendees and the recipients. When we work overseas, we have found our presence to be a force multiplier, opening doors previously closed for the local NGOs and it has benefitted their ongoing long-term work significantly. It also has raised the level of awareness and support for the local NGOs stateside which in turn has enabled more effective work overseas throughout the year. Not only did we see lives changed in Africa, but we also came back changed, with a renewed passion to stay in the fight! While money is always needed, nothing compares to working shoulder to shoulder with people.

BOTH: Saira O’Mallie, campaign manager, ONE UK
I’m mixed – it really depends on who you are and what you do. It can be an amazing experience but it has to be part of a journey. You can’t fix a problem like extreme poverty in two weeks, but you can get the insight and experience that leads to a longer commitment to the cause.

BOTH: Annabel Hervieu, press secretary, ONE France
I think short volunteer trips are more helpful for the volunteers than for the poor people. It helps the volunteers discover how life is in other countries and cultures. It must be a great personal experience, but we know this is not what will help fight extreme poverty and help the communities where they are settling. Meanwhile, at least it can raise awareness among these individual volunteers who can become super factivists and testify on how important it is to campaign against extreme poverty and mobilise decision makers.

NOT HELPFUL: Joe Mason, ONE faith leader and globe-trotting videographer for NGOs
“There are well-intentioned organisations that offer trips to Africa that include mountain-climbing, wildlife safaris, even trips to see volcanoes, paired with a few days spent passing out rice packets to those in need. Though all of this sounds exciting, our presence may not be what a struggling village really needs. What if the money spent on airfare, hotels, and food could be turned into a new training centre for agricultural development in northern Kenya, where rural farmers learned more effective methods of growing food for themselves, and for selling their crop for a profit?”

If I had worked a normal Monday to Friday, 9-5, for the past four months, then a blog about what I had been involved in would be no problem. However, ONE isn’t that kind of place.

With offices across the world and a team overflowing with creativity, overwhelming passion, and knowledge, it becomes nearly impossible to condense the list of incredible things that happen inside, and outside, these four walls.

Nonetheless, one thing has been pretty consistent: going out and meeting the British public dressed as a 7ft orange-fleshed sweet potato for our successful nutrition campaigns. Whether I met with government ministers, like Alan Duncan, Minister of State for International Development at DFID, or even just unsuspecting members of the public, the reaction has normally been the same. Firstly, what are you? And secondly, please can I have my picture taken with you for my Facebook profile picture?

Aside from sweet potato antics, I’ve loved meeting ONE members. Whether they were volunteering at the Big IF event in Hyde Park or the agit8 pop-up concerts, or asking their friends and families to sign our petitions, their ability to turn even the most sceptical and unforgiving punter into a development enthusiast is incredible.

Across the country, from Leeds to Hertfordshire, I’ve met members who put aside busy schedules to demand an end to the preventable injustice which is extreme poverty, and it keeps me going.

I will miss working at ONE, but the lessons I’ve learnt from staff and members will make sure that I’m an activist for the rest of my life.

Billy started out as an active ONE member and student group leader. If you want to get more involved in volunteering, campaigning and find out about internship opportunities, contact your local ONE office and we’ll tell you more. 

Young activists in the UK have been getting messy to raise awareness about the biggest ever national campaign to end global hunger. 

Ten points if you recognised the Rudyard Kipling poem If which has been re-worked for this film, and ten bonus rock-geek points if you knew that alternative metal band Enter Shikari provided the soundtrack and voiceover.

Enough Food for Everyone IF is a movement of over 100 organisations, including ONE, who have come together in 2013 to influence a series of big opportunities in the UK that could kick start the end of global hunger – including the G8 Summit which is being held in Northern Ireland in June.

The message is simple: there is enough food in the world for everyone, but not everyone has enough food to eat.  The solutions to end global hunger are there, but we need to come together and make world leaders act if it’s ever going to become a reality.

If you’re 16-25 there are three exciting campaign missions to get involved in, including a creative challenge that led this group of activists to hold the paint fight. Find out more and download the campaign toolkit.

And if you are over 25 and feeling really annoyed that someone has decided you’re too old to throw paint and like alternative metal, you can either join in anyway (we won’t tell), or see what else you can do to support the campaign.