Action Briefing Jun 2005 - Jul 2005
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

If only rhetoric could end poverty . . .

Guest Article: In a year when the UK Government claims Africa is centre stage in its international development policy, will the rhetoric be matched by real political action? 'Whose Rules Rule? African Answers', a free public conference on 18th June at Aston University, will explore this urgent question.

Organised jointly by the World Development Movement and UK African Diaspora groups, the conference will examine African development from an African perspective, in the wider context of global justice. The conference takes place just weeks before Prime Minister Tony Blair hosts the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, with Africa as one of the key items on his agenda. Last time the G8 came to Britain, its summit in Birmingham was surrounded by tens of thousands of campaigners calling for debt cancellation. This year, huge numbers are expected to turn out again to repeat the demand for urgent action on debt, aid and trade.

Voices
Africa has already heard more than its fair share of rhetoric on these matters from the G8 and others, but African voices are often the last to be heard, if not altogether ignored or distorted, in the debate on Africa's development. This conference will bring together speakers from grassroots African organisations across the continent in an attempt to address this imbalance.

As well as taking a critical look at initiatives such as Tony Blair's Africa Commission, the conference discussions and workshops will look at what Africans are doing to generate positive solutions for Africa and how we in the UK can truly be part of making poverty history. Speakers include Mohau Pheko, from the Africa Gender and Trade network, and Oludare Ogunlana from the All-Africa Students' Union, This event is part of an initiative involving WDM and UK African Diaspora groups that formed in response to the Commission for Africa. The groups have joined together to challenge the negative portrayal of Africans and highlight the diverse and numerous successful people-centred development movements led by Africans, which have led to sustainable improvements in the living standards of Africans.

Solutions
Spokesman Kofi Mawuli Klu said, "We fear that the general approach to African Development is built on a model of development favourable to deregulated free markets and Western economic and political interests. Real solutions for Africa are more likely to come from genuine African initiatives, for example, the Pan-African Movement, the landless movement in Southern Africa, the Africa Social Forum and the campaign against privatisation in Ghana. The UK and other rich country governments, international NGOs and liberation movements can best support African development by building solidarity with these grassroots movements. We believe that by highlighting and sharing the evidence of sustainable, people-centred development in African we can be a positive influence on African development."

'Whose Rules Rule? African Answers' runs from 2pm-5.30pm on Saturday 18th June in the Great Hall, Aston University, Birmingham. The afternoon’s activities are set to be a really interesting and informative forum in which those with all levels of knowledge can participate. Entrance to the conference is free but you are asked to register in advance to guarantee a seat. You can do this by filling in the enclosed flier and returning it to WDM, by registering on-line at www.wdm.org.uk, or by calling freephone 0800 328 2153. We hope to see you there.

Jamie Clarke,
World Development Movement

World Development Movement
Founded in 1970, the World Development Movement (WDM) campaigns to tackle the root causes of poverty and, by joining movements around the world, win justice for the world's poorest people.

WDM believes that charity is not enough. Instead, the Movement mobilises public pressure on governments and companies to change the policies that keep people poor. Its active network of local groups and campaigners across the UK are currently calling for global trade rules that put people before profits, and working to ensure full debt cancellation

WDM is independent of any political party and free to campaign without the restrictions of charity law. For more information visit www.wdm.org.uk.