Dear Oxford Hub member,

I hope that all of you who made it to OxFID over the weekend enjoyed the talks, met some interesting people and generally had a great time. I was far enough removed from organising the event that I think I can say without being self-congratulatory that it was a remarkable and groundbreaking weekend.

There were highs and lows in the discussions, from the relatively upbeat outlook that Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society, portrayed on Friday night, to reminders of the recent and ongoing tragedies that face the continent. We've loads of footage to sift through, but photos, videos and audio snippets will be available soon.

Regardless, the presence of over 400 people over the course of the 4 days encouraged me there is a growing community of students taking these issues seriously and trying to make a difference in any way they can.

And so we return to normal. The Oxford Hub Series continues this Wednesday with People and Planet hosting representatives from Traidcraft and the Ethical Trading Initiative to talk about sweatshop clothing.

And our final training session of year will be useful to everyone going away on volunteering projects this summer or in the near future. We hope this new initiative has proved useful for many of you and look forward to bringing back a revised schedule in the new year.

As ever term is racing by. Enjoy the sun and hope you have a good week,

Adam

Contents

1. Oxford Hub Series - PEOPLE AND PLANET: SWEATSHOP FASHION: WHO SHOULD TAKE ACTION?
2. Oxford Hub Training Week 4: Volunteering Abroad - All You Need To Know
3. Pick of Oxford Environment Events: WHAT IS SCIENCE FOR; CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY
4. Pick of Development Studies Events: GENOCIDE IN AFRICA
5. OXFORD STUDENTS FOR LIBERTY invite you to 'Rum and Rights'
6. Still Human Still Here: Mini Lobby of Parliament - Wednesday 14th May
7. TravelAid - FILMSCREENING: WHEN THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE
8. Brunel ‘the man who built the world’: an illustrated talk
9. Be Informed - WORLD NEWS THIS WEEK

1. Oxford Hub Series - PEOPLE AND PLANET: SWEATSHOP FASHION: WHO SHOULD TAKE ACTION?

Wednesday 4th Week (14th May), 8pm, Magdalen Auditorium

Going to buy a new t-shirt has become a rather confusing thing for those aware of the ethical difficulties involved:

• Where were they made?
• How were the workers treated?
• What is their carbon footprint?
• What is the shop's ethical record like?

But is it the shopper who should be lumbered with these questions?

On Wednesday People and Planet will be joined by Alastair Smith, representing fairtrade organisation Traidcraft and Peter Williams, from the Ethical Trading Initiative, an alliance of retailers, NGOs and trade unions working towards
making the UK supply chain meet or exceed international labour standards. They will address the question of who should take responsibility for making the fashion supply chain more ethical: consumers, companies, government and so on.

It should be a fascinating event, going beyond the simple issues of fair trade to the theory behind it, and more…
…With the recent fair trade events in Oxford, such an understanding will be invaluable.

Come along, bring a friend, and leave feeling ready to go out and buy that new t-shirt with a clearer mind!

2. Oxford Hub Training Week 4: Volunteering Abroad - All You Need To Know

Join us for the final training session of the year as Anthony Lunch, Managing Director of international NGO MondoChallenge shares with us the A to Z of volunteering abroad.

Please register your interest with training@oxhub.org ASAP due to limited capacity

Trainer: Anthony Lunch, Managing Director, MondoChallenge

Date: Tuesday of Week 4 (13th May 2008)

Time & Venue: 7.30pm to 9.30pm – Miles Room, St Peter’s College

Volunteering abroad can be one of the most enriching ways to spend a couple of months. Not only is it an opportunity to share your life and skills with people in another country but it can bring long term benefits to them and to your own career. Indeed it is often a life changing experience.

This session will focus on how to choose the best volunteering organisation for yourself, the dos and don’ts of volunteering abroad, and provide you an overview of pre-trip preparations that would be required for such trips as well as the post-trip reviews. It will cover the ethical dimension of volunteering, ask pertinent questions like what the ideal trip length is and why you should pay as a volunteer, as well as touch on travelling with a purpose.

MondoChallenge was set up in 2001 as a not-for-profit organisation. Since then, they have sent over 950 volunteers to help with development programmes in Asia (India, Nepal, Sri Lanka), Africa (Tanzania, Gambia, Senegal and Kenya), Europe (Romania) and South America (Chile and Ecuador). Volunteers come from all over the world and stay for periods of from one to six months. The projects are community based and they strongly encourage volunteers to initiate adult literacy, sports, music, arts, and theatre clubs and activities for the benefit of the wider community.

Contact: training@oxhub.org for registration, queries etc. See you then!

3. Pick of Oxford Environment Events: WHAT IS SCIENCE FOR; CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY

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.

Monday 4th Week (12 May), 4.30pm, Sheldonian Theatre

"What is science for?" Professor Sir John Sulston and Professor John Harris introduced by Professor Richard Dawkins

Wednesday 4th Week (14 May), 5pm, Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue

"A policy framework for climate change and sustainable development - economic analysis and beyond" Professor Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chair, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

4. Pick of Development Studies Events: GENOCIDE IN AFRICA

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 4th Week (12 May), 5pm, Seminar Room, History Faculty, George St

"The challenges of understanding genocide and genocidal politics in Africa." Horace Campbell, Syracuse University

5. 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: “Defining boundaries: Is it ever legitimate for the state to criminalise sexual expression between consenting adults in the privacy of their homes?” 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 4th 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.

6. Still Human Still Here: Mini Lobby of Parliament - Wednesday 14th May

Were you touched by the street-play The Bogus Woman last term, shocked as people spoke out about their personal experiences of destitution at the sleep-out in March organized by Student Action for Refugees? (Did you feel a bit guilty for bailing out because it was chilly? Honestly!? ;-) ) Did you sign the petition? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE and wrap-up a fantastic year of campaigning to end the destitution of refused asylum seekers by participating in a mini lobby of Parliament by STAR and Amnesty members from across the UK.

The mini lobby will take place on Wednesday the 14th of May in Committee room 20 in Parliament from 12-4pm and will be followed by the handover of the 4,000 strong Still Human Still Here petition collected by STAR and Amnesty members on Action Day. People will be meeting in London from 10.30.

If you are interested in going along and representing the 900 signature strong petition we collected here in Oxford, check out details on the website, www.star-network.org.uk and get in touch with Vickie who is coordinating a group from oxford at victoria.obrien@stcatz.ox.ac.uk. (Vickie will be going down later so if anyone is up for leading an earlier group just let her know!)

P.S. Dr Evan Harris MP will also be present at the OxHub Series panel discussion event on the 28th of May on the Treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK today, so make sure you all speak up then too!!

7. TravelAid - FILMSCREENING: WHEN THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE

Thursday 4th Week (15 May) @ 7pm - Lincoln JCR

WHEN THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE

award-winning documentary on the civil war between the heavily-armed Guatemalan Military and a nearly defenseless indigenous Mayan people. Featuring Rigoberta Menchú, the Quiché Indian woman who won the Nobel
Peace Prize for her work for women's and indigenous rights.

trailer @ http://youtube.com/watch?v=e4EADG6iZkM

on facebook: GUATEMALAN FILMSCREENING: When the Mountains Tremble

Suggested donation to TravelAid Guatemala: £2. All proceeds go to Camino Seguro, a school serving the children of the Guatemala City garbage dump. http://www.safepassage.org/ TravelAid UK Charity No. 1092061

8. Brunel ‘the man who built the world’: an illustrated talk

A leading historian, DR. STEVEN BRINDLE is speaking at STEEPLE ASTON VILLAGE HALL on SATURDAY 7TH JUNE 2008 at 7:30 PM about Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brunel was nominated by Jeremy Clarkson to be the greatest Briton, for his role in creating the GWR railway, SS Great Briton and bridges such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Dr Brindle is the author of Brunel, The man who built the world, Paddington Station: Its History and Architecture; and Shot from Above - Aerial Aspects of London.

All proceeds go to a local charity, the Steeple Aston Pre-School. Julia Skinner, Chair of Steeple Aston Pre-school said “What better way to mark Father’s Day than by supporting our pre-school and finding out more about Brunel. “My son is fascinated with railways, tunnels and bridges, and this talk on Brunel is a fantastic opportunity for Dad to be inspired by our greatest engineer and answer all his questions. The money raised will go towards building a much needed extension to the Pre-School. So move over Bob the Builder, our hero is Brunel!”

Signed copies of ‘Brunel, The man who built the world’ are available on the night at a discounted price of only £20.00. Tickets for the talk cost £10:00. Tickets are available from: Steeple Aston pre-school (tel: 01869 340863) http://www.sapreschool.ik.org, Sarah Godwin (tel: 01869 349023), and Steeple Aston village shop (tel: 01869 340281).
ends

9. Be Informed - WORLD NEWS THIS WEEK

- Health/Natural Disasters

Myanmar: Cyclone death toll reaches 28,000, millions still at risk. Massive aid efforts are being stalled as the Burmese government refuses to issue visas to foreign aid workers, and has only allowed in a trickle of food aid. Oxfam warns that nearly 1.5 million people are at risk of starvation or disease if not helped in the immediate future.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78142
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/world/asia/11cnd-myanmar.html?hp

- Violence/Conflict

Lebanon: Government opposition group Hezbollah declares war; 38 killed in clashes since Wednesday. The clashes were as a result of the longstanding power struggle between the U.S. backed Lebanese government and Hezbollah led opposition, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. This week Lebanon has seen the worst sectarian violence since its 1975-1990 civil war.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Lebanon.html?hp

Sudan: Sudanese government cuts relations with Chad after rebel attack. The Sudanese government has accused Chad of supporting a group of Darfur rebels who attacked the Sudanese capital of Khartoum this week. The attack was rebuffed, but President Oma Hassan al-Bashir has since cut ties with Chad.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1144805.htm

Yemen: Nearly 100,000 affected by recent violence. Bombing and shelling continues between the government forces and Shia rebels in northern Yemen. The International Committee of the Red Cross says that living conditions have deteriorated due to violence as well as rising food prices.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78139

Burundi: Clashes continue, displacing 20,000. Fighting between the Burundi army and the Forces nationals de liberation rebels has affected thousands since 17 April. Many have fled their homes with nothing and are lacking in basic food, water, and shelter.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78129

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