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Welcome to the first ever issue of Youth Action News,created especially for you: our first ever YouthAction Groups!We’re very excited that you have decided to join us in the fight against globalpoverty and hope that you will have a fantastic time in the process.This newsletter has been created to give you more information about some of thecampaigns Oxfam are involved in at the moment and the ways you cancontribute. It also gives you some handy hints and tips to get you up and runningas a campaigning group and build on the great work you have been doing so far.You are our first Youth Action Groups- ever- so that makes you and your feedback very important to us.If you haven’t done so already, please send us your completed survey, (talk to your grouprepresentative if you haven’t received the link to this.) Please also send any of your stories or thoughtsto us at youthteam@oxfam.org.uk and let us know if there’s any other support you would like or you canfind your regional contact details on page 7 of this newsletter!But anyway, that’s enough from us, read on to find out more…Emily and The Oxfam Youth and Schools TeamCampaigning actionsthat are fun andengaging with a clearaim can help makeyour message asstrong as possible.Right: The OxfamYouth Boardcampaigning tosupport the RobinHood Tax atSherwood Forest.April 2010.Photo: ClaireArthur/Oxfam3 The Fantastic Five5 fast and fantastic actions to take thismonth.4 Campaigning hints and tips,Issue 1A double page spread dedicated tohelping you with your campaigning.6 Your Group, Your TeamWhy teamwork is so vital tocampaigning.7 Advice and SupportA handy page of Oxfam contactsoffering advice and support.Front cover: Students at the Wave climate change march,December 2009. See page 4 to find out more.Photo: Claire Arthur/Oxfam2

Five fast and fabulous actions to take this month(A great way to put off doing your coursework for an extra few minutes…)1 Fill in a ‘Say what you see’ action cardIt only takes a few minutes to fill in an action card. Send your completedcards to us and we’ll send it on to the Prime Minister asking him to keep hispromises on the Millennium Development Goals. These cards can be givento you by your regional Oxfam contact (whose details can be found on page7 of this newsletter.) Make sure to pass these on to your course mates andfriends too!2 Set your teachers some work!By signing our petition, teachers can join the many others calling onthe Prime Minister to provide more and better aid to secure primaryeducation for all by 2015.Ask them to visit www.oxfam.org.uk/education/gc/mdgaction andpass it on.3 Request an Oxfam speaker for your schoolOxfam School Speakers are fully trained volunteers who are availableacross England to deliver workshops, presentations and assemblies to raiseawareness of the issues surrounding global poverty and the human impactof climate change, amongst other topics.If you think your school would benefit from a visit from one of our speakers,talk to your teacher and find out more on www.oxfam.org.uk/education/.4 Vote for Robin!Calling all merry women and men …A tiny tax on bankers could tackle poverty and climate changearound the world. Visit www.robinhoodtax.org.uk to watch thevideos, vote ‘yes’ for Robin and join the tens of thousands ofothers who support this fast-moving, flourishing campaign.5 Spread the word…Finally, please share these actions with as many people as possible.They’re all quick and easy to do and will make a real difference, so get theword out and share this page with your friends, classmates, parents,siblings, aunts and uncles, gran and granddad and anybody else who willlisten!To find out more about Oxfam’s campaigns visit:www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign3

Campaigning hints and tips is a double page featurededicated to helping you with your campaigning.This issue tells you all about The Wave: a past campaign studentshave taken part in, as well as ideas to get you started planning events andhints and tips on creating a campaigns banner.The Wave was the biggest climate change marchin the world- ever! On 5 th December, more than50,000 people came together to demand action onclimate change ahead of world leaders meeting atthe Copenhagen summit on the 7-18 th ofDecember 2009.Wearing blue clothes and face paint, they createda human wave that flowed along the ThamesEmbankment towards Westminster, ending up atthe Houses of Parliament. Here, they asked theUK government to settle for nothing less than afair climate deal to protect the environment andthe world’s poorest people who are already feelingthe effects of climate change.Left: Oxfam campaigners at the march.Photo: Pete Lusby/OxfamThe fun, interactive and vibrant nature of thisevent made it so powerful, as it appealed to awide variety of people of all ages. Choosing atheme for the event (blue clothes and facepaint),also really helped everyone feel part ofone big team; helping to put across thestrongest message possible to the UKgovernment.Creating events that follow these sameprinciples (on a large or small scale) can makesure that people feel motivated, excited andpassionate about the message you are puttingacross. This was equally important in the localevents held across the country in the run up tothe Copenhagen summit, as shown in thepicture on the right.Right: Students at their local ‘Oxjam’ event, raising awareness ofOxfam’s climate change campaign in preparation for theCopenhagen summit. Photo: Tom McKenzie/Oxfam 4

Holding an event is a great way to raise awareness of your campaign, as well asgiving people the chance to find out more information and the different ways they canget involved. Like The Wave, events that are vibrant, fun and interactive with a clearmessage are the most effective, although they don’t have to be anywhere near aslarge to have a positive effect!Below are a few ideas to get you started thinking about different events you couldhold. You might want to focus solely on raising awareness of your campaign,however if you decide you want to raise money as well, you Oxfam regional contactcan offer you advice and support to do this.Put on a short playto raise awarenessof your campaign.Perform toindividual groupsor the whole schoolor college if you’refeeling brave!Make a creative messagefor local MPs orpoliticians explainingwhy your campaign isso important. You couldshoot a short film,make a large banner orcreate a montage ofmessages fromsupporters.Invite a local MPinto your school orcollege and invitepeople to a questionand answer ordiscussion eventsurrounding yourcampaign.Put on an ethicalfashion show with apresentation before toput your messageacross.The more creativeamong you can evendesign your ownoutfits from secondhand clothes.Hold a screeningof a film relatedto yourcampaigningarea (if possible)with a discussionafterwards.Quick Tips: Making a campaigns banner…Banners can be an excellent way ofgetting a strong visual messageacross.They don’t always have to be usedin marches, like the one shown onthe right, as they also look great atevents, when giving presentationsor at stalls to really reinforce yourmessage.If you are making a banner, makesure it is eye-catching and easy toread so it attracts lots of attention.A colorful ‘Make Trade Fair’ banner being used in a campaignsmarch. Photo: Kate Raworth/Oxfam5

Why team work is essential in the creation ofa strong campaign(A fantastic way to put off doing your homework for an extra few minuets…)Every successful campaign relies on teamwork to make it happen. Working together will help you developideas, share Just like your your skills grandma’s keep famous you motivated. cookies, every celebrated recipe has its essentialsecret ingredient that makes it so delicious, and campaigning is no different…wellThis is especially almost anyway. true when In the campaigning, case of campaigning, as it can take however, a lot of the time recipe and for effort success to create is a positive lot changeon a large less scale. mysterious However, (or this edible), is when but none working the together less just as a vital. team becomes especially important and itwill keep you going even when things seem more difficult.Case study:Oxfam Youth BoardAbove: The Youth Board sending a message to politicians ahead ofCopenhagen, September 2009.Photo: Claire Arthur/OxfamThe Oxfam Youth Board are a group of youngpeople who lead in Oxfam youth campaigningprojects and activities. In the past they have madea film delivering a message to politicians beforethe Copenhagen climate change summit inDecember 2009. They also took part in the Wavemarch (as shown on page 4) and most recently,they took part in a photo stunt for the Robin HoodTax campaign and sent their messages andphotos to politicians and their local media.For all of these activities, teamwork has beenabsolutely essential, from the early planningstages right up to taking part in events or activitiesand deciding how to take their campaigns furtherin the future.This is exactly the same for your Youth Group, asworking together effectively will make sure yourmessage is as strong as possible and on top ofthis, you’ll have loads of fun in the process!Tips on keeping your group strong• Remember to talk about who will do what in yourgroup and make sure everyone is happy withtheir role right from the start. This will make sureeveryone feels like a valued and includedmember of the group.• Take some time out together: make some plansto do something in your group outside of yourregular meetings. This will also give any newmembers of the group a change to get to knoweveryone better.• And last but by no means least, remember whyyou decided to become a Youth Action Group inthe first place!For more tips on running a group and holdingmeetings, take a look at the ‘Getting Your GroupStarted’ section of your Welcome Pack, which youshould have received after you registered.Above: The Youth Board team planning their campaign.Photo: Claire Arthur/ Oxfam6

As you’re a registered group, you’ll have an official contact at Oxfam who you can go to with any questions.This person is likely to be based out of your nearest Oxfam office and we’ve listed them all below for you torefer to whenever you need to:North West OfficeJo-Anne Witcombe, Youth & SchoolsCampaignerjwitcombe@oxfam.org.uk0161 234 2793Green Fish Resource Centre, 46-50Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JRSouth West OfficeJennifer Martin, Youth & SchoolsCampaignerjmartin@oxfam.org.uk0117 916 647507876790635Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square,Bristol, BS2 8PEMidlands OfficeSophia Ireland, Youth & SchoolsCampaignersoirelan@oxfam.org.uk0121 634 3611Queensgate Business Centre, 121Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham,B1 1LXSouth East OfficeJohn McLaverty, Youth & SchoolsCampaignerjmclaverty@oxfam.org.uk020 7802 9981Ground Floor, 232-242 Vauxhall BridgeRoad, London, SW1V 1AUScotland OfficeSara Cowan, Community & ActivistCampaigner (Youth)scowan@oxfam.org.uk0141 285 8874First Floor, 207 Bath St, Glasgow, G24HZCymru OfficeRhodri Griffiths, Youth & SchoolsAdvisorrgriffiths@oxfam.org.uk0300 200 1269Fifth Floor, Market Buildings, 5/6 St MaryStreet, Cardiff, CF10 1ATIf you’re unsure who to contact, you can also email: youthteam@oxfam.org.ukTrainingYour nearest Oxfam Campaigns office may also able to help with workshops andtraining with your group, by arranging a visit from an Oxfam Speaker, providingmaterials, or coming to see you themselves.Online informationThe Oxfam website (www.oxfam.org.uk) also contains a huge amount of information.From what the Millennium Development Goals are all about, to the effect climatechange is having on poor communities; it’s a great first stop. Also check out the‘Campaigning Resources’ section of your Welcome Pack for more great links.7