Dear Oxford Hub member,

The week of the Oxford Forum for International Development has finally arrived! If you haven't yet checked out the full and final schedule then you can do so now at http://www.oxfordhub.org/oxfid/schedule There probably won't be an event for students to do with international development that is this good until 2009 (the next OxFID…) so don't miss out on getting one of the last 50 tickets from www.oxfid.org - the programmes for Saturday and Sunday are worth the £12 alone!

Also, if you can't make the main weekend events, we are hosting the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court on Thursday evening in the Sheldonian. Again, this sort of event doesn't come round often…

In other news, we've got the calls to action from the Oxford Hub Series events in weeks 1 and 2 below, as well as a summary of the talk given last week, and our usual world news summary. Digest and enjoy.

So, have a great week and we look forward to seeing you either on Thursday or at the main OxFID event over the weekend.

Best,

Adam

PS: If you've already bought an OxFID ticket, then you should get it in your pidge this week, or just turn up to the first event and let us know your name.

Contents

1. PROSECUTOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AT SHELDONIAN
2. Oxford Hub Training (Week 3): Effective and Efficient Fundraising
3. Oxford Forum for International Development: Focus on Africa
4. Week 1: Call to Action - INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
5. Week 2: Call to Action - HUMAN RIGHTS
6. Shaheed Fatima - The Iraq War: A Quartet of Cases
7. Pick of Oxford Environment Events: WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?; ETHICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
8. Pick of Development Studies Events: BRANDING AND DEVELOPMENT; MISSING MEN AGAIN
9. EWB: Reminder: New Committee Intake
10. Oaktree UK: Recruitment for National Executive positions
11. OCEP - Summer Camp Director Wanted!
12. OXFORD STUDENTS FOR LIBERTY invite you to 'Rum and Rights'
13. U8 - Africa Forum - Anti-corruption Agencies in Nigeria
14. Oxfam: CLIMATE CHANGE - IS CORPORATE POWER COOKING THE PLANET?
15. OXAB CHARITY AUCTION
16. EWB: Liquid Nitrogen Icecream
17. People and Planet - SHOWING OF CHINA BLUE - WEDNESDAY 3RD WEEK
18. Be Informed - WORLD NEWS THIS WEEK

1. PROSECUTOR FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AT SHELDONIAN

The Oxford Forum for International Development (OxFID) in association with Oxford Transitional Justice Research present

Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, The Hague

speaking on International Justice in Africa

at 6.30 pm on Thursday 8th May 2008 at the Sheldonian Theatre

Tickets on sale for £3 at www.oxfid.org and free for those with OxFID ticket!

The International Criminal Court is an institution set up to prosecute individuals involved in crimes of humanity and genocide. The Court is compiling cases of crimes against humanity in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Darfur, Sudan.

2. Oxford Hub Training (Week 3): Effective and Efficient Fundraising

Tuesday 3rd Week (6th May), 7.30pm to 9.30pm, Miles Room, St Peter's College

Trainer: Bill Bruty, Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA)

Please e-mail training@oxhub.org early to register your interest due to limited capacity (of 25).

This session will focus on how to build rapport with a potential funder as a three-step dance routine, run by Bill Bruty from OCVA. Bill will convey the key experiences and ideas he has acquired over his career. In 120 minutes, you will gain the essential ideas and tools of an effective fundraiser. This session will look at successful bid writing, building rapport with funders and getting the best out of the student community.

Bill has been a professional fundraiser since 1984 and has worked as Fundraising Manager or Director for three large national charities in the UK. As a fundraiser, he has successfully raised several million pounds from some of the world’s largest companies and foundations, such as Marks and Spencer, Barclays Bank and the Sainsbury family Trusts. He is also one of the UK’s leading fundraising trainers, working with clients as diverse as UNICEF UK, the Directory of Social Change and the Open University Business School, as well as small community based agencies in the UK, Ecuador and Eastern Africa.

OCVA’s vision is for Oxfordshire to be a county where all communities are valued and everyone has a chance to contribute. Their mission is to enable a diverse voluntary and community sector to flourish in Oxfordshire, and they do that by providing advice, information and training, acting as advocates and representatives, and building partnerships. More information can be found at http://www.ocva.org.uk.

Contact: training@oxhub.org (E-mail early to register your interest)

3. Oxford Forum for International Development: Focus on Africa

9-11th May at the Said Business School, only £12 (including food)

Website: www.oxfid.org

OxFID is a packed weekend of lectures and workshops run by leading figures in international development, focusing this year on Africa. If international issues interest you, then this event is simply not to be missed!

Our line-up includes the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, former Vice President of the World Bank, Directors of the International Monetary Fund, Royal African Society, New Economics Foundation, Medecins du Monde, MANGO, Architects for Aid, One World, and 30 other speakers from the UN, Oxford University, Amnesty International, DFID, Oxfam, Christian Aid, and many more.

Only 50 tickets left - buy them now at www.oxfid.org

4. Week 1: Call to Action - INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT

To find out more about the role of International Institutions, check out the Action for UN Renewal and their campaign for an elected UN parliamentary assembly. In addition, check out the work of the Bretton Woods Project, who analyse the actions of the World Bank and IMF and their effects on the world’s poor.

Vijay Metha will be chairing a debate on the role of the UN in rebuilding Iraq in the Oxford Town Hall on 14th May at 6:30 with Tony Benn and the Lord Mayor of Oxford.

http://www.action-for-un-renewal.org.uk/
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/

5. Week 2: Call to Action - HUMAN RIGHTS

The Oxford Hub series with Oxford University Amnesty International and Oxford Students for Liberty this week took up the theme of human rights law with a speech by Shaheed Fatima. We hope the audience were inspired to think more about human rights law in general and in particular discrete points relating to the war in Iraq.

- What can you do?

1. Learn more about Human Rights Law. Shaheed’s talk raised a number of important questions to do with human rights law. If you are interested in the subject, contact the Centre for Socio-Legal studies (http://www.csls.ox.ac.uk/) or the International Human Rights Law course (http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/postgraduate/caz/conted/hlaw.shtml) who will be able to advise you.

2. Learn more about human rights abuses and take action to oppose them. Perhaps the best places to inform yourself about violations of human rights are the websites of Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/), Amnesty International UK (http://www.amnesty.org.uk/) and Liberty (http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/). In general, Human Rights Watch has better research and a wider range of cases, but AIUK and Liberty are better for taking action. If you do feel strongly, come along to Amnesty International Letter Writing Lunches (2-3pm every Thursday, food for £1) to write letters in protest, go to OSFL’s Rum & Rights to discuss the issues (every Monday, www.oxfordstudentsforliberty.org for more information) or sign a letter next week in your college’s Letter Writing Week

3. Do you feel strongly opposed to British involvement in Iraq? If so, there are a number of protest groups that have been formed in recent years, for example the Stop the War Coalition (http://www.stopwar.org.uk/)

6. Shaheed Fatima - The Iraq War: A Quartet of Cases

Shaheed Fatima came to Oxford to deliver a powerful talk on the fall out from the war in Iraq through the lens of four recent cases in the UK brought against the Secretary of State for Defense.

Shaheed is a junior barrister at Blackstone Chambers, where she has developed a stellar practice in civil liberties and both UK and international public law. She has been described as a human rights champion by The Lawyer magazine, and has recently been named the Liberty/JUSTICE Human Rights Lawyer of the Year.

Though the cases discussed turned on complex questions of jurisdiction and overlapping international law, Shaheed presented the information in an accessible way. Three of the four cases, those where she had personally acted in, concerned allegations of serious abuse and wrongful death by British soldiers of Iraqi people in the aftermath of the invasion. The fourth case was an attempt by the mothers of two soldiers who have died in Iraq to gain a formal inquiry into the procedure the government followed in deciding to go to war. Shaheed outlined the chilling facts of the cases, before talking through the ramifications of the House of Lords judgments on the future of human rights in British conflict zones.

7. Pick of Oxford Environment Events: WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?; ETHICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

This feature takes the pick of the weekly listings sent out by the Environmental Change Institute. Hopefully we’ll be able to have their listings up on our website soon, but in the meantime please see http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/oxfordenv/index.php for full details.

Wednesday 3rd Week (7 May), 9pm, Wolfson Bar, Wolfson Graduate College, Linton Road

"Who killed the electric car" This is a documentary film showing

Tuesday 3rd Week (6 May), 2-4pm, Seminar Room 1, Old Indian Institute, 34 Broad St

"Special Seminar on the Ethics of Climate Change" Joanna Burch Brown, Dept of History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge

8. Pick of Development Studies Events: BRANDING AND DEVELOPMENT; MISSING MEN AGAIN

Here we list the pick of the week’s seminars from QEH, The Department for International Development. For more see www.oxfordhub.org/node/80

Monday 3rd Week (5th May), 17:00 Seminar Room, History Faculty, George Street

"Branding and Development. The Ethiopian Coffee Sector v Starbucks" Speaker: Doug Holt (Oxford)

Wednesday 3rd Week (7 May), 17:00, St Anne's

"Missing Men Again: Gender, AIDS and Migration in Southern Africa" Speaker: Bridget O'Laughlin (Institute of Social Studies, The Hague)

9. EWB: Reminder: New Committee Intake

Positions available: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Training Coordinator, Social Secretary, Publicity Officer, IT Officer, General Committee Members

The application process:

If you are interested in helping out or volunteering in any capacity whatsoever, do reply stating your details (name, college, subject, year, position(s) interested in).

We will then arrange for interviews with the applicants throughout week 3, and we will announce the new committee in week 4.

10. Oaktree UK: Recruitment for National Executive positions

Oaktree is an entirely youth-run aid and development organisation which seeks to:

1. Raise funds for projects that empower young people in developing communities through educational opportunities.

2. Mobilise a generation of young people to respond to the issues of injustice and poverty facing our peers across the world.

3. Be the voice for young people on issues of development.

It is run entirely by volunteers under the age of 26!

Founded in Australia in 2003, Oaktree has invested well over $1,000,000 in community-led educational projects, providing educational opportunities to over 40,000 young people in five developing countries. It has inspired more than 10,000 young people to volunteer and led the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY concert in Australia.

Now young leaders are joining together across the globe to create a truly international movement of young people building a better world. At Oaktree we believe in young people. We recognise that our generation has the potential to see real lasting change in the lives of millions of disadvantaged people. However, unlike other organisations, we entrust our entire operational structure to young people. From forming a school group, to working with our partner organisations, through to leading the international organisation, Oaktree provides real opportunities for young people to create positive change in our world.

We are seeking passionate young leaders to join our founding national team in the UK, which is based here in Oxford.

For further information on the roles available please see the attached document. Please also refer to our website www.theoaktreeuk.org and contact recruitmentuk@theoaktree.org if you have any questions.

Applicants should be under 26 years of age and should submit a CV and Personal Statement to recruitmentuk@theoaktree.org by 5pm Thursday 8th May.

11. OCEP - Summer Camp Director Wanted!

Oxbridge Cultural Exchange Project (OCEP) are looking for a director for a TEFL summer camp in Jiangsu province. This is the 5th year of operation for the camp running in Chinese middle schools in the north of the province.

The director is in charge of the camp including planning the curriculum, leading activities and managing a team of teachers. The ideal candidate would be:

-Well organised
-A good leader
-Calm under pressure
-Someone with experience teaching or working with children

No Chinese language experience necessary: the director is supported by a bilingual manager.

The camp runs from 1st July - 14th August. Flight subsidies and expenses are available. More details on our website at http://www.ocep.org.uk/ or by email to thomas.hayward@ocep.org.uk

12. OXFORD STUDENTS FOR LIBERTY invite you to 'Rum and Rights'

An informal forum for discussion about topical human rights and civil liberties issues…with rum!

This week's topic will be: “government surveillance - protection or threat?” No specific knowledge is required, come along to have your say or just to sit back and listen.

Where and When?
Longroom, New College Monday of 3rd week, 7.30pm £2 for members/£3 for non-members or free if you sign up to OSFL on the door.

Look forward to seeing you there!!! Visit our website www.oxfordstudentsforliberty.org for more info or contact details.

13. U8 - Africa Forum - Anti-corruption Agencies in Nigeria

Africa Forum is a series of informal seminars, convened to give students an easy, low-commitment, introduction to issues of Development in Africa. The forums are led by masters students, in an atmosphere of armchair-learning with chocolate cake, to sharpen our young minds. This week's discussion will be on…

Anti-corruption Agencies in Nigeria

a promising event which may throw some light on how patrimonial ties in Nigeria work, and what hopes there are of fighting it. The event begins with a presentation of issues, with research hot off Nigerian soil, before we open up the floor to questions, discussion and chat, really.
Places are limited, so to book your place for the first forum, or just receive further information, follow this link - http://www.oxfordhub.org/u8/

14. Oxfam: CLIMATE CHANGE - IS CORPORATE POWER COOKING THE PLANET?

Tuesday 3rd Week (6th May), Christ Church Lecture Room 1, from 5 until 6.30pm.

The Oxford Students Oxfam Group Presents: a talk from the World Development Movement. Climate change: Is corporate power cooking the planet?

The world is waking up to the reality of climate change - and its impact on the poor. But methods to deal with it like carbon trading, carbon offsetting and biofuels are really about satisfying corporate interests and maintaining
narrowly defined 'growth'. Hear how corporate globalisation is preventing us tackling climate change and find out how to join the campaign to stop climate injustice.

15. OXAB CHARITY AUCTION

Tuesday 3rd Week (6th May), 8pm Oscar Wilde Room, Magdalen.

Come along to our annual fundraising evening in support of OXAB's work with disadvantaged children in the Balkans.

There'll be lots of great prizes to bid for, with all the money raised going to support worthwhile projects in orphanages and youth centres in Bosnia and Bulgaria. Entry is £3, after which all drinks are FREE!

Look at the website: http://www.oxab.org.uk

16. EWB: Liquid Nitrogen Icecream

Wednesday 3rd Week (7th May), 1.30-2.15pm, Engineering Dept

We will be making and distributing FREE liquid nitrogen icecream on the Wednesday of Week 3 outside the Engineering Dept (the walkway outside the engineering cafe). Do come along if you want to cool off with some freshly made icecream while you enjoy the summer sun! We will be serving it from 1.30pm to 2.15pm - no excuses!

17. People and Planet - SHOWING OF CHINA BLUE - WEDNESDAY 3RD WEEK

This Wednesday Oxford People and Planet will be holding a showing of China Blue, a film that takes an undercover look at life in a Chinese jeans factory. Following the life of a worker named Jasmine, the film raises issues concerning international labour and exploitation as well as the growing prominence of China as an exporting country. Having won the Amnesty International-DOEN Award, this promises to be a thought-provoking evening. The film will be held in the Harris Lecture Theatre in Oriel College, starting at 7.30pm, Wednesday 3rd week.

18. Be Informed - WORLD NEWS THIS WEEK

For more detail on all the week’s news and links to further information please see www.oxfordhub.org/worldnews Please email Natasha Kaleta Li on news@oxhub.org with questions/comments.

- Food Crisis

Switzerland: United Nations to establish global food crisis task force. The task force has been set up to address the continuing rise in global food prices and food shortages. The top priority will be funding the World Food Programme’s $775 million shortfall caused by rising prices.

United States: Bush proposes an extra $770 million in emergency food aid. The proposed increase has received a good response from lawmakers, and would bring total U.S. food aid to $2.6 billion. The additional aid would not be available until October.

- Health/Natural Disasters

China: Viral outbreak kills 22 children in the Anhui Province. The outbreak is caused by a potent intestinal virus, enterovirus 71, commonly known as hand, foot, and mouth disease. There is no vaccine or cure.

Myanmar: Widespread damage caused by Category 3 cyclone. Over 240 people have been killed and several towns flattened by Cyclone Nargis, which hit Yangon and the Irrawaddy delta on Saturday morning.

- Human Rights

Myanmar: Burma’s constitutional referendum a sham says Human rights organisation. Human Rights Watch has released a report claiming the 10 May referendum on a new constitution is being marred by widespread repression, censorship, physical attacks, and intimidation.

Pakistan: Government ratifies UN human rights treaty. Amnesty International has applauded Pakistan’s recent ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Pakistan has also recently signed two human rights treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

www.oxfordhub.org