OWW 2008 About this site
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| OWW 2008 |
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2008 GROWING TOGETHER2008 is the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. OWW will focus on bringing together people of many religions and cultures to grow together in mutual understanding of the shared values embodied in human rights relating to freedom from want. Growing Together will stress the need for global awareness of how our everyday local actions affect people's basic human rights around the world through, for example, trade relationships, climate change and the pursuit of the UN's Millenium Development Goals. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, aspires to: “…a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want” Millions of people around the world still do not enjoy that most fundamental right – the right to survive – which forms the basis of all other rights. In March 2008 at a conference to explore how the implementation of UN Millennium Goals could be speeded up in Africa, Jessica Nalwoga, of the Church of Uganda, told the participants: ‘‘Most parents are not able to provide clothing for the children to wear to school. Neither can they provide adequate school materials. Parents are, on a daily basis, faced with the task of choosing which human rights to violate: education, health or food? For they can hardly meet any since they are themselves living on handouts.'' While the concept of rights is a useful legal device to hold Governments accountable, the concept of ‘Ubuntu’ expresses our individual relationship and commitment to all other members of the human family: “Sharing this fragile planet, our rights are inextricably linked to those of our fellow human beings. However faraway the event may be, if another human being anywhere is denied their fundamental rights that impoverishes the world I inhabit.” Milind Kolhatkar, Chair of One World Week. April 2008. Ubuntu is the traditional Africal philosophy described by Dr Mustafa Ali, Secretary General of the African Council of Religions, in April 2008, as meaning: “we must all take care of each other for us all to be secure." It emphasises the interconnectedness of us all, which is being demonstrated so vividly by climate change, trade relationships, economic justice and security. So how can we ‘Grow Together’ to strengthen the human family? Growing together – locally…by bringing together people of diverse cultures and of many faiths and none to grow together in mutual understanding of our shared values and commitment to each others’ human rights locally and globally. (see our Guidelines pages for ideas about how to bring people together - if you're looking for some quick pointers go straight to the Ten Top Tips page). Or you could take 'Growing Together' at its face value and set up a community allotment! The Black Environment Network [BEN] have useful experience, and a returned VSO,Vicki Clark, has a good story to share. Growing together – globally…by learning more about how our local actions and personal lifestyles can affect the rights of members of our human family across the world to a livelihood and what we can do to help.
Organise local events with local communities to explore global interactions which link us together. Try to find issues that local people can relate to, such as:
Climate change- its impacts and how people’s livelihoods are affected by drought; floods; loss of land; rising food prices –all threatening their basic right to survive. Explore how actions in one part of the world affect outcomes for people in another, for example: What will be the effect of using land to grow biofuels instead of food? South Africa's planned production of biofuels from crops such as maize, sunflowers and sugar cane ‘‘can play a role in improving energy supply for the poor as long as they are grown by small-scale farmers and rural people'', said South African Non-Governmental Organisations Coalition (SANGOCO). But according to Annie Sugrue, southern African co-ordinator of Citizens United for Renewable Energy and Sustainability, a non-governmental organization (NGO): "we are taking away food from poor people's tables and putting it into rich people's cars". She was speaking at a South African Non-Governmental Organisations Coalition (SANGOCO). workshop in Johannesburg on the effects of climate change on the poor (May 15, 2007) . [You will find links to excellent materials about these issues in the resources section of this website] Only through a growing appreciation of responsibility for each other, ‘ubuntu’, can we hope to tackle the causes and effects of climate change in a way that enables us all to grow together Trade
Many trade practices have often been guilty, and still are, of exploiting producers and violating their human rights to obtain lower prices for the consumer and higher returns for shareholders; both groups may well have been unaware of practices such as using child labour or indiscriminate use of pesticides which damaged the health of farmers and their families, as well as the soils.
Fairtrade practices are different:
Fairtrade is bringing consumers and producers closer together in recognition of each other's needs, rights and dignity as people, not just producers.
Fairtrade encourages sustainable cultivation practices; Fairtrade pays producers a price that covers their costs; The Fairtrade premium enables producers to improve the lives of their families and communities. So Fairtrade ensures that farmers and their families can grow and flourish together with consumers.
Fairtrade enables consumers and producers to grow closer together – becoming more aware of each other’s lives, needs and rights.
Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]- have been set by the UN to achieve freedom from want for the world’s poorest people. Many of the Goals address the basic right to survive, including rights to health and education. Explore how Governments, International Agencies and NGOs use our aid to address these goals and how we can help. For example you could explore how the Aid agencies of different faiths respond to the needs and rights embodied in the MDGs - try inviting speakers from the NGO Aid agencies listed on the links pages.
Growing together is a development from 2007's theme All Together Now - the thinking behind that remains valid for this year's theme - for more on All Together Now, see OWW 2007
When planning events for One World Week please work with reference to OWW's vision and aims. Let us know about your planned events. You can enter them on the website here yourself: once you have registered, look in 'Using this site' to find out how to enter your events. There is lots of help to enable you to do it yourself but if you would prefer to email us we'll upload it for you. Looking for inspiration? See examples of what happened in 2007 and previous years below: Click here for information about events in 2007
Click here for information about OWW 2006 |