CAMPAIGNS · IMPRESSIONS · POLITICS2005 – 2007

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” – A success story

Dr. Claudia Warning Page 4

Not to be ignored... Herbert Groenemeyer about the campaign Page 5

Reactions to the campaign Page 6

I. Campaign highlights

2004/2005: How it all started and the first highlights Page 8

2006: Football fever, yellow Post-its and long banners filled with messages Page 10

2007: The White Band Nights: culture, action and solidarity in one night Page 11

From Flensburg in the North to Freiburg in the South: local action Page 13

The concert – P8 instead of G8 Page 14

Making voices heard: 1.4 million against poverty Page 16

Poor 8: Films and projects from the South Page 16

Further highlights during 2007 Page 17

Reactions to the campaign Page 19

II. The political dimension

Wanted: More German engagement for the MDGs! Page 20

Germany speaks its mind on development policy Page 27

III. Documentation

Online throughout the world Page 28

The television adverts of the campaign Page 29

Being a public inconvenience: adverts and open letters Page 30

Press review Page 32

Celebrities and supporters Page 34

The campaign team Page 35

Editorial board Page 35

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CONTENTS

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We need you, we need your voice, because we

need to make a change. So much has happened

over the last three years, which is what the follow-

ing pages are all about. But the world needs more

– give her your courage, your knowledge, your

ideas and your commitment in the fight against

worldwide poverty. The clock is ticking. We need

to get active – why not join us?

Everyone at “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”(Nelson Mandela)

HEY, COME CLOSER,

WE WANT TO TELL YOU

SOMETHING

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“DEINE STIMME GEGEN ARMUT”

A SUCCESS STORYThe campaign has set new standards in the expertise and content of campaign work of German non-govern-

mental organisations.

The campaign was set up at the end of 2004 as the “World-

wide Campaign against Poverty” prior to the G8 Summit in

Gleneagles. But it was only once the title had been changed to

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” (“Your Voice against Poverty”)

that the aim of the campaign became much clearer. The key

was to mobilise people to raise their voice and become active,

thus increasing pressure on the Heads of State and Govern-

ment of the most powerful nations in the world and appeal-

ing to them to engage in pro-development and poverty-ori-

ented policy.

After three years of campaigning, we are extremely proud of

our success:

1.4 m people supported our appeal by signing petitions.

Hundreds of thousands of people went to our concerts and

took part in the White Band Nights and other events.

The press response to our campaign was impressive with 5,000 printed articles in three months in 2007 alone.

With over 100,000 subscribers, our campaign newsletter has become one of the largest list serves for develop-

ment in Germany.

Development in Africa was one of the most important items on the G8 Summit agenda.

In 2007, the Federal Ministry for Development received its highest budgetary increase ever – 670 million

Euro were allocated to the Ministry.

The “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” campaign was especially successful in attracting people, who had until now

never shown an interest in development issues. Particularly the commitment of young people has been

impressive. A representative opinion poll carried out shortly before the G8 Summit revealed that the over-

whelming majority of Germans believe that governments must undertake concrete measures to fight poverty,

hunger and HIV/AIDS.

Without the help of our campaign celebrities, we would not have been able to have mobilised the public so effec-

tively and extensively. The German singer Herbert Groenemeyer was one of our most prominent cooperation

partners, whose commitment and financial support contributed to the diversity and visibility of the cam-

paign. Bono, Bob Geldof and numerous other celebrities, such as Claudia Schiffer or the boxing stars, the

Klitschko brothers, also used their popularity to play a key role in the campaign.

The involvement of our partners from developing countries has legitimised the campaign. Its credibility has

largely to do with on the one hand the experience and expertise of VENRO’s member organisations working in

those countries, and, on the other hand, through the direct cooperation with our partners in the South. As a

result, “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” can be seen as a platform for the formulation of their political demands.

To this end, a number of civil society representatives from eight of the world’s poorest countries took to the

stage at our concert in Rostock, in order to reach out to the G8 Heads of State and Government with their

appeal.

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NOT TO BE IGNORED …The last three years has seen us raise our voices against pover-

ty… and it’s starting to pay off. Those in power can no longer

ignore us and we have made the first steps in establishing a

new culture in the fight against poverty. This is what is most

important and is for me a great source of motivation to contin-

ue my work for the campaign. As we said, when the campaign

was publicly launched in Berlin in March 2005, a global cul-

ture can only be measured by its weakest. Dependency and

debt have therefore become moral issues. The extreme poverty,

which continues to exist in the world has called our perception

of consideration for others and humanity into question.

The only answer to this is to act – investing our efforts for peo-

ple living in unbearable and unjust situations. Not only are we

one world, we are also a moral universe. We live together in a

global community and are responsible for one another. Togeth-

er, we have the power to change things. And now is the time to act, deliver, stir things up and get the world

turning in a new direction. If we don’t set ourselves this task right now, we will have to live with the shame of

knowing for the rest of our lives, that we didn’t do what could have been done, in order to eliminate poverty,

disease, hunger and death. This is what we will be measured against by future generations, who will ask us:

what did you do?

Together with VENRO, Herbert Groenemeyer is sponsor of the “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” campaign.

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” has proven that poverty eradication is not a side issue, but remains a key topic

at the heart of society. For the first time in many years, development has been thrust into the public spotlight

and has been the subject of intense discussion, leading to a considerable increase in political pressure.

Together as an association, we intend to sustain the momentum we have gained from our campaign work in

order to develop our technical and political work even further and keep up the pressure on the legislature. The

fight against worldwide poverty and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals remain our

most important tasks.

Dr. Claudia Warning

(VENRO Chair)

“I am here to thank you all for your support in thecampaign against debt and poverty and for fairtrade with Africa. Today, I ask you to raise yourvoices even more to tell the G8: the world can’twait!”Charity Musamba, Researcher in Peace Studies from Zambia, at the Rostock

concert

“The sort of growth, which kills people, plants andanimals, cannot be good. Ghandi showed us, thatwe have to take the future into our own hands, ifwe want to continue to live in this wonderfulworld.”Vandana Shiva, activist for women’s rights and the environment from India, at

the Rostock concert

“The campaign gives us ‘small’ NGOs the opportu-nity to participate actively in ‘large’ events, suchas the Rostock concert. Our Ugandan partnerorganisation’s P8 film on HIV/AIDS was a primeexample of this.”Reinhard Micheel, Executive Director of Aktion Canchanabury e.V., Bochum,

Germany, an association, which supports primarily health projects in Africa

“Our high standard of living has been financed tothe detriment of the world’s poorer countries. Wewant to raise awareness of the fact that it’s time togive something back to them. In my opinion, theRostock concert was the best opportunity to dothis.”Smudo is rapper in the German hip-hop band “Die Fantastischen Vier”

“‘Deine Stimme gegen Armut’ was a good thing.The partnership of non-governmental organisa-tions and celebrities enabled us to raise publicawareness and stimulate debate surrounding theissue of poverty reduction considerably. We mustkeep the momentum going!”Joern Kalinski, Campaigns and PR Director, Oxfam Germany

“Civil society and the UN campaign work hand in hand: in Germany, this form of cooperation has worked magnificently and has effectivelyincreased pressure on the government to stick tothe promises it made back in 2000.”Dr. Renée Ernst, Commissioner for the UN Millennium Campaign in Germany

since February 2005

“The campaign has the same aims as Plan. It hasdone very well in approaching young people inGermany. Girls and boys have engaged actively inthe fight against world poverty, and this is whatmakes this campaign so successful.” May Evers, Officer for Development Studies and Advocacy at the children’s

relief organisation Plan International Germany

“Herbert Groenemeyer said that if I didn’t takepart in ‘Deine Stimme gegen Armut,’ I would go tohell…”Matthias Gruebel wrote the texts for the campaign’s adverts and posters

“It is fantastic that we managed to reach out to somany young people through the ‘Deine Stimmegegen Armut’ campaign. In the future, we shouldalso work together towards living in a fairerworld.”Dr. Iris Schoeninger, Coordinator for Development Policy and Campaigns,

German Agro Action

“Everyone knows today that no-one, whether childor adult, must die of hunger. Everyone can workagainst this. ‘Deine Stimme gegen Armut’ is thecampaign everyone can take part in.”Peter Dietzel, Coordinator at the relief organisation NETZ Bangladesch.

He helped develop the P8 concept

February 2005 March 2005

2004: The United Nations Millennium Declaration had

already been adopted four years earlier. Eight basic devel-

opment goals (the so-called “MDGs”), such as the fight

against extreme poverty, were to be implemented by 2015.

However, not much had happened, and it was obvious that

without pressure from society, nothing would happen. The

UN itself launched a campaign entitled “No Excuse 2015 –

Voices against Poverty,” which seeks to promote the

achievement of the MDGs and supported the formation of

the international “Global Call to Action against Poverty”

(GCAP) campaign. GCAP became the international frame-

work for those activities leading up to the G8 Summit in

Gleneagles. The British campaign “Make Poverty History”

set new standards: thanks to the decisive role of celebrities,

the pro-active British Government under Tony Blair and

professionally managed and intensive PR work, NGOs work-

ing in development were offered a unique platform and

resources. In a short space of time, the campaign became a

worldwide “brand” for the obligations of the G8 governments

to do more to fight the social injustice the world faces. The

British ensured that Africa featured prominently on the G8

agenda. In order to make sure that the G8 governments

would be put

under pressure in

Gleneagles, the

“Make Poverty

History” initiators

looked for power-

ful civil society

actors in each of

the G8 countries.

As it was clear

that the next important G8 Summit would be in Germany

two years later (apart from a low-key stopover in Russia),

Germany’s role was especially significant.

In spring 2004, Bono and Bob Geldof met with the German

NGOs. They were joined by German popstar Herbert Groene-

meyer. The following months saw VENRO make the decision

to set up the German GCAP campaign, which would seek to

move forward the now three common demands of both pro-

grammes. Under the motto “Worldwide Campaign against

Poverty”, the campaign began in 2005 and focused themati-

cally on more and better aid, debt relief and fair trade.

These demands were endorsed in July 2004 at a meeting

VENRO had organised, inviting other key players in the

German development NGO scene. At the end of 2004, at

VENRO’s General Assembly, members decided that the cam-

paign should be implemented the following year. In the

meantime, contact to Herbert Groenemeyer had become

closer: in February 2005, an extensive meeting in a hotel in

Hamburg between VENRO and Groenemeyer & Friends

sealed the deal on the common campaign, and the slogan

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” (“Your Voice Against Poverty”)

was born. 2005 was to become a significant year in the fight

against worldwide poverty.

With huge moving placards, German

Finance Minister Hans Eichel was

called upon to “Make Poverty History”

at the G7 Finance Ministers Meeting in

February 2005.

Photo: VENRO/Bildschoen

At the first campaign press

conference, Herbert Groene-

meyer and the VENRO Chair

Reinhard Hermle presents

the television advert featur-

ing a number of celebrities to

the public.

Photo: VENRO/Bildschoen

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AKTIONSHÖHEPUNKTE 2005

How it all startedand the first highlights

2005 – The campaign yearFrom then on, there was no stopping us. On March 31th,

VENRO and Groenemeyer presented together the main

campaign advert on the premises of the Federal Press Con-

ference. Numerous celebrities from the world of interna-

tional show business warned: “Every three seconds, a child

dies due to the consequences of extreme poverty.” To

ensure the message hit home, all celebrities dramatically

“clicked” their fingers every three seconds, in what would

become the advert’s trademark. Shortly afterwards, another

advert appeared, this time using familiar footballers from

the German Premier League. Both adverts were broadcast

on numerous television stations, in cinemas and at football

stadiums over a number of months. Advertising revenue

gained just from television sponsors reached 1.5 million

Euro. Alongside celebrity support, the activity was also

backed by the German branch of the International Federa-

tion of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). This included the

international music and entertainment business trade fair

POPKOMM in September 2005, at which a further press

conference with Herbert Groenemeyer and VENRO was

held. Seven full-page newspaper adverts and a petition

helped raise awareness of the campaign in a short period of

time significantly, both amongst the public and in political

circles. The campaign reached out to many people, who

would not have otherwise been reached using the tradition-

al methods and channels of development PR and awareness

raising work.

It was the white band that became the symbol of the world-

wide campaign. It was sold hundreds of thousands of times

as a wristband and was used as a banner in many of the

campaign’s activities. The first “White Band Day” held on

July 2nd 2005 – shortly before the G8 Summit in Gleneagles

– saw the Brandenburg Gate and the tower of the Kaiser

Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin being symbolically

enshrouded in a massive white banner. Not only Herbert

Groenemeyer, but also model Claudia Schiffer, actress Nina

Hoss, Bishop Wolfgang Huber (Head of the German Protes-

tant Church) and Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky (Catholic

Archbishop of Berlin) attended the event. On the second

White Band Day on September 9th, a few days before the

UN Summit, 300 activists unfurled an 800-metre white ban-

ner on the lawn in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin

and handed over to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder

the signatures of 300,000 people, who had signed a petition

against poverty. The third White Band Day on December

10th saw the campaign send the traditional figure of Saint

Nicholas along with a list of trade policy demands to Devel-

opment Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul.

The Live8 concerts, which had been organised around the

globe by Bob Geldof shortly before the G8 Summit in Gle-

neagles, attracted enormous media coverage. A last-minute

cooperation ensured that “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”

came across as a political message at the huge Live8 con-

cert in Berlin. In mid-December, VENRO decided to extend

the campaign into 2006…

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May 2005

Hitting home: Federal Development Min-

ister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul signs a

white banner at an event of one of the

European GCAP campaigns. Only those

ministers, whose countries have pledged

to reach the 0.7 percent GNI goal, can

sign this banner. On the same day, EU

ministers pass a step-by-step plan forming a binding agreement for the

increase of resources for development cooperation Brussels, May 24th 2005.

Photo: GCAP

May 2005

The large white banners are pre-

miered in May 2005 at the German

Protestant Kirchentag in Hanover. For

the first time, thousands of people

write messages to the government

on the fabric.

Photo: VENRO/ Andreas Mueller

The campaign’s work in 2006 was very much influenced by

the euphoric atmosphere caused by the Football World

Cup that summer. Using a goal, the campaign raised aware-

ness surrounding the MDGs. What was special about this

goal was the fact that it had eight holes, each one symbolis-

ing one of the MDGs. Inaugurated by Federal Premier

League goalkeeper Stefan Wessels at the VENRO sympo-

sium “Sport and Development” held in May, it was used to

attract voices against poverty for three weeks in June as

part of a stand on the Berlin fan mile.

VENRO member supporters were in charge of the stand and

were able to collect more than 6,000 signatures, including

even that of Berlin’s Mayor, Klaus Wowereit. During the

World Cup, SPIEGEL, one of Germany’s most popular week-

ly news and current affairs magazines, ran a full-page

advert, in which German Chancellor Angela Merkel was

called upon to “Show poverty the red card.”

Prior to the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, the

campaign, together with Action against AIDS

Germany, voiced the NGOs’ expectations of

the G8 Summit at a press conference in

Berlin, especially with regard to the issue

of HIV/AIDS. At the same time as the

campaigns in other G8 states, adverts

appeared in two of Germany’s most well-

known daily newspapers, FAZ and Sueddeutsche

Zeitung. These adverts were characterised by the motif of a

yellow Post-it note, reminding Chancellor Angela Merkel:

“Don’t forget: You are our voice against poverty at the G8

Summit. Fight poverty, hunger and HIV/AIDS.”

During the International GCAP Month of Mobilisation,

which began on September 16th and ended with the “White

Band Day” on October 17th, “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”

launched a fax initiative targeting the federal budget. A day

before cabinet ministers voted on the agenda for the G8

Summit on October 18th, the campaign called on the cabi-

net to raise its voice against poverty in a move that was

clearly visible: a two-seater aeroplane flew across the skies

of Berlin, sporting a long banner on its tail. At the same

time, the campaign appealed to the cabinet through two

adverts in FAZ and SPIEGEL, calling on ministers to put

poverty eradication on the agenda.

Many development organisations and local groups support-

ed the campaign with their own ideas, such as in Eisleben,

Ludwigsburg and Saarbruecken, where people created the

campaign’s name with large home-made letters of the

alphabet.

Germany’s imminent EU Council and G8 dual presidency in

2007 defined political discussion and planning during the

year. The “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” campaign office

moved from Bonn to Berlin and hosted two GCAP meetings

of international activists from Europe and the G8 states in

the autumn.

May 2005 June 2005

At the Protestant Kirchentag in

Hanover on May 27th 2005,

around 3,000 visitors listen in

suspense to Herbert Groene-

meyer as he talks about a trip

to Rwanda. On stage with him:

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace

Prize holder from Kenya.

Photo: VENRO/ Andreas Mueller

Model Claudia Schiffer and

civil society representatives

from all G7 states look over

the finance ministers’ shoul-

ders at their meeting in Lon-

don. Then Vice-Chair Claudia

Warning also takes part, repre-

senting VENRO.

Photo: James Veysey /Camera Press

10

Football fever, yellow Post-it notesand long banners filled with slogans

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS 2006

11

June 2005 July 2005

Bishop Franz Kamphaus and represen-

tatives of the catholic social institutions

in the Main-Taunus district set an exam-

ple in Hofheim on June 27th 2005 and

raise their voices against poverty.

Photo: RMB/Margielsky

White banner at the Kaiser Wil-

helm Memorial Church in

Berlin. “White Band Day,” July

2nd 2005

Photo: VENRO/Bildschoen

In the run-up to the G8 Summit, “Deine Stimme gegen

Armut” set up local events, the so-called “White Band

Nights,” in 19 different towns throughout Germany. Taking

place between April 26th and June 6th 2007, active groups

united to form local event organising committees. In turn,

they organised a plethora of different programmes, ranging

from concerts, film showings and information points to

church services. The aim of all “White Band Nights” was to

increase the number of voices against poverty and provide

information on the issues of poverty reduction, the Millenni-

um Development Goals and the G8 Summit in Heiligen-

damm, Germany. Therefore, providing simple information

on a somewhat unwieldy subject was of paramount impor-

tance: the ultimate goal was to ensure that each and every

person could understand what the campaign was about and

how they could play their own part.

Posters, flyers and announcements in the local press adver-

tised the individual events. Numerous reports in the media

accompanied the preparations and ensured that the public

were aware of the events. Having the events coordinated by

local organisations also enabled the integration of the local

population, as well as the building of linkages between the

various organisations.

The “White Band Nights” took place throughout Germany, in

larger cities, as well as in smaller towns, and displayed the

wealth and variety of ideas the organisations had in devis-

ing the events. Dresden’s event was transformed into a

‘White Band Week’, offering film showings and info events.

Aachen, Duisburg and Essen presented a number of cultur-

al open-air events and in Ostrhauderfehn in Lower Saxony,

young people were treated to information, rounded off by a

street theatre performance and a concert. Following a

church service specially tailored to the MDGs in Hamburg,

a pilgrim was sent on an African cargo bike to the Rostock

concert, picking up further campaign supporters on the

way. On the university campus in Frankfurt am Main,

activists informed students about the campaign during the

day and then held a ‘white party’ in the evening. In Bonn,

hundreds of rollerbladers skated through the town centre in

order to present – as part of a festival on the main market

square – the appeal made by a youth forum for a fairer

world.

Other “White Band Nights” received generous support from

a host of celebrities. The Berlin event was able to boast per-

formances from world stars Angelique Kidjo and Pink Marti-

ni, and in Hanover, Gerald Asamoah, player in the German

The White Band Nights: Culture,action and solidarity in one event

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS 2007

national football

team, took a

chance on the

millennium goal

wall. German tele-

vision host Joerg

Pilawa was also at

the Hamburg

event.

Almost all “White

Band Nights”

showed films

about the so-called P8 countries (Poor8: Bangladesh, Zam-

bia, Mozambique, Uganda, Mali, Cambodia, Bolivia and

Nicaragua), as well as an edited version of the Millennium

Spot. Visitors were called upon to raise their voice against

poverty by signing petitions, writing postcards or sending

text messages with their mobile phones. In many towns, visi-

tors had the opportunity to stand in front of the camera and

take part in the Millennium Spot themselves. At the end of

the event, common activities – such as an “11th hour” cam-

paign or a chain of white lights – united all visitors.

Altogether, around 130,000 people of all ages went to the

“White Band Nights,” with almost 50,000 voices against

poverty raised directly at the events. Almost 100 newspaper

articles were published in an array of regional and national

media, not to mention numerous radio and television

reports. One particularly positive effect of these events was

that some local organisations, which worked together

preparing the events but would otherwise not have had

much contact, have since entered into long-term coopera-

tions.

Where the “White Band Nights” tookplace19 towns in Germany played host to local campaigns under

the motto of “Your Voice against Poverty.” The programmes

consisted of interviews, live music, theatre and short films.

More than 100 newspaper reports documented the events.

Dresden (April 26th 2007) Essen (May 18th 2007)

Potsdam (May 18th 2007) Aachen (May 18th 2007)

Bonn (May 19th 2007) Wetzlar (May 19th 2007)

Duisburg (May 24th 2007) Nuremberg (May 25th 2007)

Leipzig (May 25th 2007) Frankfurt/M. (May 25th 2007)

Berlin (May 30th 2007) Neubrandenburg (June 1st 2007)

Hanover (June 1st 2007) Halle/ Saale (June 1st 2007)

Bad Muenstereifel (June 3rd 2007) Ostrhauderfehn,

Eastern Friesland (June 3rd 2007) Hamburg (June 3rd

2007) Rostock (June 6th 2007) Munich (October 17th

2007)

July 2005 July 2005

On the first “White Band

Day”, medical students from

Jena wrap a white band

made out of bed sheets

from the university clinic

around the Prince-Elector

Johann-Friedrich Monument

on the town’s market

square.

Photo: Tobias Schornsheim

Wetzlar’s white band, which was sewn

together by the town’s inhabitants on July

2th 2005, was more than a mile long and

stretched from the cathedral right through

the whole town. It received the 2007 Oeku-

menischer Foerderpreis Eine Welt prize.

Photo: NETZ

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CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS 2007

July 2005 July 2005

Employees at the

Welthaus in Bielefeld

affix a white banner to

the building on “White

Band Day” July 2nd

2005.

Photo: Welthaus Bielefeld

More than 300 MEPs in Strasburg

signed a white band between July 4 - 6

2005, thus demonstrating their sup-

port for the worldwide campaign

against poverty.

The band was also signed by British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, EU Devel-

opment Commissioner Louis Michel and the President of the European Par-

liament, Josep Borrell. Afterwards, the band was handed over to Jack Straw,

who took it with him to the G8 Summit in Gleneagles.

Photo: VENRO/ Ulrich Schlenker

13

In 2007, many local groups and committed individuals played

an active public role for “Deine Stimme gegen Armut.” They

collected signatures in pedestrian areas, schools and univer-

sities, organised concerts, had a go at building websites or

recorded films for the Millennium Spot. It was their creativity

and engagement that attracted the attention of so many peo-

ple and ultimately led to such a high number of voices speak-

ing out against poverty.

Six final year school students from Osterburg in Saxony-

Anhalt were a fine example of what could be done: Kitted

out with campaign material and white banners, they trav-

elled in March to Berlin and, accompanied by the press,

helped raise hundreds of voices to speak out against poverty.

Numerous school classes, youth clubs, pre-schools, teams,

music schools and sports clubs got active. It wasn’t just

about collecting voices, but also about the campaign’s mes-

sages on development. School pupils went from classroom to

classroom with a microphone and tape recorder, organised

information days and held class presentations on poverty

reduction.

As part of the competition entitled “Every Voice against

Poverty and a Prize for You“, a jury consisting of VENRO

member organisations awarded prizes to the best local activ-

ities, which had dealt with the main issues of the campaign

in a particularly original way and also raised more than a

thousand voices. The results were staggering and included

ideas such as the blocking off of all roundabouts, building

massive-sized letters of the alphabet or compil-

ing class materials. Posters, photos and videos

testify the level of commitment demonstrat-

ed. The “Zara Sunrise Project,” for example,

raised awareness of the campaign by going

on tour through several towns in the

South German state of Baden-Wuerttem-

berg, complete with campaign materials

and self-composed songs.

The winning project was showcased in

the form of an exhibition during the Protes-

tant Kirchentag in Cologne, as well as at the Ros-

tock concert.

At the Open Air Festival in Staatsforsten and the Film Festi-

val in Muenster in August and September 2007, participants

helped raise voices against poverty and proved that political

engagement can and should be fun.

The ‘Stand Up & Speak Out’ initiatives on World Poverty Day

on October 17th were a further highlight of local activities.

Active young people seized the initiative and came to us

with the own ideas and creative suggestions, thereby mobil-

ising the fight against poverty in a most pro-active way. They

appealed to their fellow pupils to take part and organised

discussion sessions on “child labour,” “fair trade” and “a life

without formal education.”

From Flensburg in the North toFreiburg in the South: Local action

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS 2007

July 2005 August 2005

Young people raise their voices

against poverty. This banner hung

in Bensheim for a week, where the

Christoffel Blindenmission and the

Karl Kuebel Foundation beat the

drum for the MDGs between July

13th - 17th 2005.

Photo: CBM

During World Youth Day from

August 15th - 21st 2005, Fed-

eral President Horst Koehler

raised his voice against

poverty and signed a white

banner on the Muensterplatz

in Bonn. The campaign had

three stands in Bonn and Cologne to solicit the support of the international

guests.

Photo: UN Millennium Campaign

14

The concert – P8 instead of G8boxes. Within the concert grounds, VENRO member organisa-

tions also provided information about their work.

Music:

Herbert Groenemeyer Bono Beatsteaks Die Fantastischen

Vier Die Toten Hosen Bob Geldof Seeed Silbermond

Sportfreunde Stiller 2Raumwohnung Mo’Some Big Noise

(Mozambique) Leo Muntu (Zambia) Peter Miles & Menshan

(Uganda) Bangla (Bangladesh) Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

(Mali) Perrozompopo (Nicaragua) Youssou N’Dour (Senegal)

Statements and speeches:

Theary C. Seng (Cambodia) Paulino Guarachi Huanca (Bolivia)

Magret Kawooya (Uganda) Flor Martinez (Nicaragua)

Kumi Naidoo (GCAP, South Africa) Bischof Toribio Porco

Ticona (Bolivia) Charity Musamba (Zambia) Vandana Shiva

(India) Mohammed Yunus (Bangladesh)

Claudia Warning Jan Josef Liefers Michael Mittermeier

Nora Tschirner Wim Wenders

Concert presenters: Sarah Kuttner and Roger Willemsen

A press conference was held prior to the conference and trans-

mitted live by public television station Phoenix. Alongside Herbert

Groenemeyer and Claudia Warning, Bob Geldof and Bono, GCAP

spokesman Kumi Naidoo, Nobel Peace Prize holder Mohammed

Yunus, singers Youssou N´Dour and Anusheh Anadil, as well as

musician Bassekou Kouyate, spoke to the press. The turn out at

both the press conference and the concert was excellent, with 350

journalists and photographers – including 40 camera and video

teams – taking part.

At the same time as the G8 Summit, an alternative Summit, was

held in Rostock, which took a look at issues surrounding develop-

ment and the environment and presented alternative projects

from civil society. VENRO was one of the sponsors of the alterna-

tive Summit and was heavily involved in its preparation. Mixing

the positive PR effects of the concert with the in-depth knowledge

imparted at the alternative Summit has proved to be the best way

of raising awareness amongst the public.

The campaign culminated in the concert “Voices against Pover-

ty,” which took place on June 7th 2007 in Rostock. The peaceful

event took place under the motto “music & messages” and com-

bined entertainment from prominent musicians with messages

from the development field. Tickets prices were kept low, with

each one costing 2.50 Euro to cover organisation costs. Within a

day, the concert was sold out, with 80,000 people storming the

grounds of the IGA park in North Rostock.

More than a million viewers followed the event on Germany’s

public television station ARD. The full six-hour live recording was

shown later that evening on the public television station Phoenix,

as well as on subsequent evenings on various regional public tele-

vision stations. AOL also transmitted the concert as a live stream

on a specially devised website, with videos of the individual

artists remaining available on the website for a month after the

event.

Bands and speakers from Europe and eight chosen developing

countries –as “Voices from the South,” they represented the

poorest countries in the world – appeared at the concert. Along-

side the music was a 2 1/2 hour programme focusing on develop-

ment issues, which also included the short films from the P8

countries (please see page 16 for further information).

Under blue skies and brilliant sunshine, concert goers were treat-

ed not just to well-known German bands such as Die Toten

Hosen or Die Fantastischen Vier, but also music from bands from

the South, such as Bangla from Bangladesh, Perrozompopo from

Nicaragua and Youssou N’Dour from Senegal. Statements came

from various celebrities, such as German actor and musician Jan

Josef Liefers and film director Wim Wenders, who worked on a

film about the MDGs. VENRO Chair Claudia Warning spoke on

behalf of the development organisations. Even Nobel Peace Prize

holder Mohammed Yunus addressed the German public. The final

moments of the event saw VENRO member organisation employ-

ees coming on stage, carrying all the petitions, which had been

signed over the course of the campaign in transparent plastic

AKTIONSHÖHEPUNKTE 2007

The idea of the “participatory video” was also one of the

forces behind the project. Who, if not the people living in

the South themselves, knows best what it is like to live

there?! These short films aimed to give those people from

the South a voice and portray life through their eyes. The

decision therefore, not to have professional directors and

cameramen as film makers was a conscious one. No prior

specifications regarding content were made, with ActionAid

International, Aktion Canchanabury, Care International

Germany, Inkota, Oxfam and World Vision providing the

necessary technical equipment. The results show moving

accounts of everyday life and testify of the courage and

strength of the resistance against inhumane conditions.

Filming took place, in three continents, in the Poor 8 coun-

tries of Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, Uganda, Mali,

One of the closing highlights of the concert in Rostock was

when VENRO members, together with Herbert Groenemey-

er and Bono, symbolically handed over the 1.4 million

signatures of those people who had raised their voices

against poverty to the Federal Government. The sig-

natures were piled into 100 boxes covered in the

organisations’ logos which were then stacked up

on the stage. 800,000 people from Germany and

600,000 people from other G8 states, especially the UK,

had signed letters addressed to Chancellor Angela Merkel

appealing to her to undertake concrete measures for world-

wide poverty reduction.

In Germany, 330,000 campaign supporters signed the letter

online via the campaign website, with almost a further

100,000 pledging their support via text message. The most sig-

natures were gathered via petitions and postcards. The dieGe-

sellschafter.de project, implemented by the German social

organisation Aktion Mensch, disseminated 600,000 postcards

in pubs and bars throughout Germany, and the German

branch of the International Federation for the Phonographic

Industry (IFPI) ensured that many thousands of cards were

distributed to large household electrical goods stores and

department stores throughout the country.

The “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” partner NGOs collected sig-

natures in various ways, ranging from putting petition signa-

ture lists in publications, as well as sending them to other

members and donors. Kolping International raised awareness

intensively in the South and managed to raise thousands of

voices from Peru and Bolivia. Oxfam, German Agro Action and

the One World Network North-Rhine Westphalia set up web-

sites or text messaging services especially for the campaign.

16

Poor 8:Films and projects from the South

Making voices heard: 1.4 million against poverty

September 2005 September 2005

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” and Rolf

Stahlhofen, former singer with German music

collective Soehne Mannheims hosted the offi-

cial opening of the SAP arena in Mannheim on

September 3rd 2005. Around 10,000 people

came to see top German acts, such as Sasha,

Silbermond and Badesalz. Stahlhofen appealed

to concertgoers a number of times to raise

their voices against poverty.

Photo: VENRO/Ruediger Dunker

Customers at the second-

hand shop ADRA Culture in

Weiterstadt, near Darmstadt,

Hesse, raised their voices

against poverty between

September 7th - 15th, tying a

band of fabric to the fence of

the premises.

Photo: ADRA

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS 2007

To mark the opening of the music and

entertainment trade fair Popkomm on

September 14th 2005, the German

music industry pledged at a press con-

ference together with Herbert Groene-

meyer its support for “Deine Stimme

gegen Armut.” Chair of the German branch of the International Federation for the

Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Gerd Gebhardt, said that poverty reduction required

commitment and solidarity.

Photo: Karen Massine

Throughout December, a

large poster in the heart of

Berlin sought to raise

awareness for “Deine

Stimme gegen Armut.“

Anyone near Zoologischer

Garten railway station

would have been able to read: “Poverty is a scandal – here and throughout

the world. Chancellor Merkel, it’s time to act!”

Photo: VENRO/ Andreas Meichsner

17

September 2005 December 2005

Mozambique, Nicaragua and Zambia. These countries

serve as an example for all developing countries. They may

be poor, but have a real chance for positive change, thanks

chiefly to democratic influences and support from civil soci-

ety, such as projects implemented by VENRO’s member

organisations.

Since spring 2007, the “P8 films” have become an integral

part of the campaign’s events. Each film shows what poverty

Further highlights during 2007Apart from the two major highlights of the Rostock con-

cert and the local “White Band Nights,” the campaign also

carried out other activities, which focused on the achieve-

ment of the MDGs and the promises made at G8. In Janu-

ary, and together with Action against AIDS Germany, the

campaign sent a New Year’s card to around 150 political

decision makers, appealing to them to strengthen the

importance of health and MDG issues in the G8 process.

On February 9th in Essen and ahead of the first G7 Finance

Ministers meeting, fake finance ministers appealed for real

help for poor countries. In a joint initiative, “Deine Stimme

gegen Armut,” Action against AIDS Germany and the debt

relief campaign erlassjahr.de sent activists disguised as

finance ministers to the meeting’s press centre.

Since March 2007, the Millennium-Spot has provided an

ingenious service for those wanting to get involved in the

campaign. Anyone wanting to participate in the longest “fin-

ger clicking advert in the world” can now do so and have his

or her video or photograph appear alongside celebrity sup-

porters. “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” sent a mobile film

studio to a series of events. Supporters in North-Rhine

Westphalia were particularly active, who in the meantime

have managed to string together more than 1,100 three-sec-

ond adverts, resulting in a film that lasts almost an hour.

Several dozen celebrities from the music and show business

scene raised their voice against poverty at the ECHO Music

Prize award ceremony on February 25th in Berlin. U2 singer

Bono, who also received an ECHO special achievement

prize, presented the campaign’s new television advert,

which was shown for the first time at the event.

actually means, what success with regard to the Millennium

Development Goals looks like and how civil society can help

in achieving this success.

The films and a selection of exemplary projects in these

countries can be found on the campaign website,

www.deine-stimme-gegen-armut.de.

May 2006

As part of the

VENRO sympo-

sium “Sport and

Development” on

May 4th, Stefan Wessels, goalkeeper with

1. FC Cologne, raised his voice against

poverty (with VENRO board member Juergen

Lieser, right).

Photo: VENRO

18

During the Forum for Civil G8 Dialogue in Bonn’s

Beethovenhalle on April 26th, where government represen-

tatives from the G8 states met with German and interna-

tional civil society representatives to discuss G8 issues, the

campaign, together with the UN Millennium Campaign,

raised awareness surrounding the MDGs on a white band.

The band stretched for several hundred metres along the

banks of the river Rhine.

Two workshops for journalists managed to direct media

attention towards the campaign’s issues and messages. The

workshop in May in Rostock, in cooperation with the UN

Millennium Campaign,

focused on the G8 Sum-

mit. The second work-

shop took place imme-

diately before the Sec-

ond Replenishment

Meeting of the Global

Fund to Fight AIDS,

Tuberculosis and

Malaria, and thus

focused chiefly on glob-

al health issues.

Together with Action

against AIDS Germany, NGO representatives from the North

and the South explained to the journalists the situations of

civil society in this international funding initiative.

On the International Day of Action on October 17th, “Deine

Stimme gegen Armut” mobilised the masses to take part in

an attempt to break a world record. The “Stand up & Speak

Out” initiative, set up by the “Global Call to Action against

Poverty” (GCAP) and the UN Millennium Campaign, aimed

at getting as many people as possible to stand up against

worldwide poverty and thus set an impressive example. A

radio advert, radio interviews and a video with the Berlin

rock band Beatsteaks ultimately helped motivate 43.7 mil-

lion people in 127 countries stand up on White Band Day

against poverty – a new world record! In Germany, more

than 66,000 people at 328 events in towns, schools and busi-

nesses participated in such “standing up” activities.

The campaign’s main event was the “White Band Night”

in Munich. 5,000 party goers experienced a thrilling

evening of live music from bands such as my new zoo, Zoe

and The Busters, as well as interviews, information stands

and the broadcast of the Germany-Czech Republic football

match. German television presenter and football reporter

Guenther Koch spoke to Charity Musamba from Zambia

about the fight against poverty in Africa – as well as the

forthcoming football World Cup in South Africa. Ondrej

Kopecny also reported on the anti-poverty campaign in the

Czech Republic.

March 2006

On the third

White Band Day

on December

10th, the stu-

dent-run devel-

opment organi-

sation Commit managed to collect almost 3,000

voices against poverty. Representatives also hung

up white bands throughout Munich.

Photo: Linda Neumann

The protestant

youth fellow-

ship from

Eisleben

showed its

commitment to

the MDGs on

March 7th 2006 by creating massive letters. The

polystyrene sheets were donated by a local DIY store.

Photo: Juergen Lukaschek

December 2005

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS 2007

“We cannot just sit back and say that it’s pointless.It’s at those moments when masses of people getinvolved in the fight against poverty and celebri-ties support the cause that the effects can be seen.”Nia Kuenzer was part of the winning team in the 2003 women’s football

world cup and shot the decisive golden goal in the final.

“We are getting closer towards our goal of cuttingpoverty in half. Many people now know what theyhave to do. This campaign has created a commu-nity and gives us the strength to fulfil the MDGs by 2015.”Frank Mischo works in the Campaign and PR department of Kindernothilfe

“In North-Rhine Westphalia, we recorded more than7,000 “clicking finger” adverts and used more than1,000 advertising spaces at railway stations through-out the state to raise awareness for the campaign.This may have been a new PR experience for us, but itdefinitely contributed to the success of the campaign.”Vera Dittgen designed the campaign for the state of North-Rhine Westphalia.

Under the slogan “Deine Stimme gegen Armut – Do your bit in NRW!” she

coordinated the campaign in the first few months before handing the baton

over to Monika Duelge.

“‘Deine Stimme gegen Armut’ can serve as an exam-ple for other campaigns. We want to make greatchanges next year and I would be happy if everyoneshowed the same amount of commitment to endingpoverty and inequality as ‘Deine Stimme gegenArmut’ has done. Well done for everything you haveachieved in 2007 and I wish you every success forthe German campaign in 2008!”Kumi Naidoo is spokesman of the worldwide “Global Call to Action against

Poverty” campaign.

“Despite having 20 acts, the event went off unbe-lievably quietly and peacefully. The atmosphereoutside and back-stage was fantastic; everythingwas just how it should have been. Incidentally, thevoices could be heard even on the other side of theGerman border (well, at least in Austria!)”Rene Kraus is tour producer and directed the concert in Rostock.

He lives and works in Vienna.

What can be done, when the political commitment needed

to fight against worldwide poverty is doomed to come to

nothing, purely due to a lack of political will of the responsi-

ble governments? The answer is simple. Come together, set

up worldwide networks: NGOs with celebrities and other

campaigns. Take the most important political events and use

them to mobilise the masses convincingly and vociferously.

This is how both the Global Call to Action against Poverty

(GCAP) as a worldwide network and “Deine Stimme gegen

Armut” as the German GCAP campaign were set up in 2004.

2005 did not just see the important G8 Summit at Glenea-

gles, it was also time to take stock of the progress made in

implementing MDGs, five years after they were first agreed

upon. The MDGs are the eight global development goals

(Millennium Development Goals), to which all UN members

committed themselves in 2000 on the basis of the UN Mil-

lennium Declaration. In this respect, one of the MDGs

envisaged that the proportion of people living in extreme

poverty – i.e. on less than 1 US Dollar per day – should

decrease by at least half by 2015. However, too little had

happened in the five years since 2000, in order to meet the

original deadline of 2015. The fight against poverty in Sub-

Saharan Africa had even regressed.

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” thus called for more intense

commitment and the keeping of the promises made in 2000.

In an open letter to the then German Chancellor, Gerhard

Schroeder, the campaign appealed, “If you, together with

the other G7/G8 Heads of State and Government, pass an

extensive programme of immediate action to fight poverty,

which also contains measures to provide more and better

aid, fair trade and debt relief, we can still be the generation

that can say ‘We kept our promise,’ the generation that

saved the lives of 50,000 people every day. We ask you to

surprise us. Show the world that Germany feels indebted to

the future of all humanity and acts in this respect.”

In a position paper published by VENRO, this appeal was

broken down into twelve concrete demands:

Poverty reduction must be seen as a basic human right.

Developing countries’ strategies for the fight against

poverty must be strengthened.

German development cooperation must be realigned and

the financial resources available increased in line with

the EU step-by-step plan towards the 0.7 per cent goal.

The effectiveness of German development cooperation

must be increased and better coordinated at internation-

al level.

Commitment to the introduction of innovative funding

instruments must be shown.

Effective action against tax oases must be taken.

Immediate, essential and extensive debt relief, as well as

the establishment of international insolvency proceedings

must be agreed upon.

More equality in world trade must be achieved.

The democratisation of the “Global Governance”

system must be actively promoted.

Crisis prevention as a way of fighting poverty must be

strengthened.

International leadership in the fight against AIDS must

be assumed.

International engagement in the fight against the dangers

of global climate change must be increased.

This catalogue of demands complemented the four general

demands, which all national GCAP campaigns throughout

the world had previously agreed upon:

20

THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

Wanted: More engagement fromGermany for the MDGs!

June 2006

At the Designmarkt Alarm

event on June 6th 2006 in

Cologne, the young designer

Dijana Zoradana Elfadivo from

Subjektiva displayed her way

of supporting the campaign –

by sewing the white bands

onto clothing.

Photo: Dijana Zoradana Elfadivo

June 2006

During the football World Cup in June 2006,

the result was: Development 8, the rest 0.

Using a goal wall with eight holes – each

hole representing one of the MDGs – “Deine

Stimme gegen Armut” attracted further

voices against poverty at the Berlin fan fes-

tival on the “Straße des 17. Juni.”

Photo: VENRO Andreas Meichsner

More and better aid.

Debt cancellation.

Trade justice.

Promote democracy and good governance in developing

countries.

It was always clear that the MDGs could only ever be an

important stage goal, as they relate partially to agreements

made at earlier UN conferences, such as the 1995 World

Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen. Neverthe-

less, the consensus remained that fulfilling the MDGs repre-

sented a huge step on behalf of the poorest of the poor.

There’s something going on in Germany …There has been some remarkable progress made in German

development politics since 2005:

Aid has experienced a trend reversal. After years of

decline, available financial resources started increasing

again in 2005. It now represents 0.36 percent of Germany’s

gross national income.

Furthermore, the German government has reinforced on

numerous occasions its commitment to the EU step-by-

step plan, which commits governments to making further

increases in the years to come.

The German government has introduced, for the first

time, an innovative funding mechanism for development

cooperation. A proportion of the income made from the

auction of emission certificates will be earmarked for

development cooperation.

Numerous high-ranking politicians – including Develop-

ment Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul and Environ-

ment Minister Sigmar Gabriel – have voiced their support

for the introduction of a tax on kerosene or a separate

duty on flight tickets.

In 2005, Germany participated in the Multilateral Debt

Relief Initiative (MDRI) and the extensive relief of debts

that ensued.

Further debt relief is expected as part of the

“Debt2Health” initiative.

Germany is now showing considerably more commitment

to the fight against AIDS, as shown by the remarkable

22

The spokespeople for development from each of the Federal Parliament factions in Berlin, November 30th 2005.

THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

As part of the

MDG campaign

week in

Stuttgart from

September

27th to October

5th 2006, the One World Network DEAB

Baden-Wuerttemberg drummed up further

support for the fight against poverty.

Photo: Birgit Lieber

The One World ini-

tiative in Dessau,

Saxony-Anhalt,

the UNICEF work-

ing group and the

Protestant and

Catholic congregations organised their annual walk

for peace on November 12th 2006 under the motto of

“Every voice counts.“

Photo: VENRO/Ulrich Schlenker

September 2006 November 2006August 2006

In the artist section

at the Highfield

Festival near Erfurt

between August

18th - 20th ,

Dominik Kalies set

up a football table. Not only did it attract musicians

such as German band Seeed, it also encouraged them

to raise their voices against poverty.

Photo: Dominik Kalies

increase in financial resources, also as part of the Second

Replenishment Meeting of the Global Fund in Germany.

Finally, it was the German G8 presidency, which made the

slowing down of climate change one of the top priorities of

the Summit agenda in Heiligendamm.

The G8 Summit 2007 in Heiligendamm“In 2007, Germany is the most important country in the world.”

This statement from one of the campaign’s adverts is deliber-

ately striking. Nevertheless, by holding both EU and G8 presi-

dencies in 2007, Germany has gained considerable political

weight. This chance had to be used, also at international level

to lobby other G8 governments. Making contact with the so-

called sherpas, who prepared the Summit on behalf of their

Heads of Government, was particularly important. This was

implemented on the one hand via VENRO’s national “sister”

platforms in the other G8 countries. In this respect, the corre-

sponding network, “G7 NGO Coalition” published its own posi-

tion paper. On the other hand, this was also achieved via an

important meeting with the sherpas in April 2007, which was

organised jointly by the German NGO Forum on Environment

and Development and VENRO.

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” campaigned extensively to

ensure that both development and poverty reduction could

enjoy a high ranking on the agenda of G8 Summit in Heili-

gendamm. Following on from Gleneagles in 2005 and the

2006 Summit in Russia, “Africa,” alongside world economy

and climate change, was once again the third key issue on

the Summit agenda. The central message “Stand by your

commitments” appeared to hit home with the decision mak-

ers. Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Development Min-

ister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul ensured ahead of the

Summit, that Germany would keep its word with regard to

development cooperation, its responsibility lying chiefly in

the realisation of the MDGs, as well as the implementation

of the decisions made at the 2005 Summit. At the latter,

the decision was also made to double development aid for

Africa and to strive to provide general access to HIV

prevention and AIDS treatment for all by 2010.

In Heiligendamm, a unique civil society mobilisation never

seen in Germany before ensured through demonstrations,

peaceful blockades and a concert attracting 80,000 visitors

that the campaign’s messages were unmistakeable for the

German and international community at large.

G8 – No great leap, but small steps forwardAfter the Heads of Government had left their large “beach

hut” in Heiligendamm, and the civil society initiatives had

23

February 2007

At the Christmas market in Krefeld on

December 19th 2006, the organisation aktion

medeor photographed supporters wearing

the campaign scarf, in order to send the Ger-

man government a large collage of photos,

reminding it to engage in the fight against

poverty.

Photo: Antje Mangelsdorf

During the G7 Finance

Ministers meeting in

Essen on February 9th

2007, “fake” finance

ministers from “Deine

Stimme gegen Armut,”

erlassjahr.de, and Action

against AIDS Germany

demanded “real help“ for the world’s poor countries.

Photo: Ralf Kraemer

December 2006

As part of the international GCAP campaign, VENRO representatives

Claudia Warning and Ulla Mikota passed on the campaign’s

message to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor

Angela Merkel as they made their way to the G8 Summit: 1 million

voices, 1 message: Stop poverty now! 8 Heads of Government

must act.”

In her government declaration on the G8 Summit on May 24th

2007, Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed Germany’s support of

the MDGs: “The Millennium Development Goals for Africa have

been determined. The international state community has com-

pleted the definition of its goals. It’s time to implement them.

Our political credibility is at stake. The far-reaching commit-

ments we have made in recent years, in order to increase our

achievements in the development field, can bear fruit. We will

keep these commitments.”

been successfully completed, it was time to take stock of

what had been achieved: although the G8 Summit had led

to several agreements and announcements in terms of

implementing the MDGs, the necessary leap forward was

not forthcoming.

The commitment to provide an extra US$ 50 billion annual-

ly to developing countries for the fight against poverty,

hunger and diseases by 2010, which had originally been

made in Gleneagles, was once again affirmed. However, no

definite agreement was made on when this goal should be

reached.

Germany committed to increasing its funding for public

development cooperation in 2008 by 750 million Euro, a

promise that was indeed kept. With an increase of more

than 14 percent, the development budget has gone up more

sharply than all other sectors of the federal budget. Expen-

diture from Germany for Overseas Development Assistance

(ODA) will increase in the coming year to 9 billion Euro.

Nevertheless, Germany remains a long way off from fulfill-

ing the aims of the EU step-by-step plan – an increase

of at least 1.2 billion Euro per year until 2010 would

be necessary to achieve this. The German G8 pres-

idency also failed to initiate a “bidding race” and

to persuade other G8 members to commit to

increasing their development aid. Innovative

funding mechanisms such as a flight ticket

duty or a kerosene and exchange turnover

tax, which would have represented a huge

contribution towards meeting the financial

challenges, hardly played a role in Heiligen-

damm.

Africa was one of the key issues at the G8 Sum-

mit, and for good reason. The Heads of Government

passed a range of initiatives in order to improve

Africa’s investment climate and thus create incentives for

social and ecological investments in the economy. This

included, for example, new micro-financing mechanisms to

facilitate access to credits for poorer population groups.

24

THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

February 2007 March 2007

The campaign’s spot on the G8

Summit. 21 German and inter-

national celebrities, such as

the boxers Vladimir and Vitali

Klitschko, appeal to viewers

to raise their voices against

poverty.

In March 2007, the Millennium Spot provided

an ingenious service for those wanting to get

involved in the campaign. Anyone wanting to

participate in the longest “finger clicking

advert in the world” can now do so and have

his or her video or photograph appear along-

side celebrity supporters, such as the Berlin

girl band “The Teaserettes.”

Photo: VENRO/Ulrich Schlenker

Eight Millennium

DevelopmentGoals

Eradicate extremepoverty andhunger

Achieve universal primary education

Promote gender equality and empower women

Improve maternal health

Combat HIV/AIDS,malaria and otherdiseases

Ensure environ-mental sustainability

Develop a Glob-al Partnershipfor Develop-ment

Reduce child mortality

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Nobel Peace Prize holder Mohammed Yunus at the concert in Rostock

Sustainable investments in the economy are without doubt

indispensable in the fight against poverty, for the creation

of jobs and a stable income. The dismantling of trade

restrictions, which hinder Africa’s economic development, is

also of central importance. Nevertheless, these issues are

only mentioned in the Summit’s proceedings in the form of

an unbinding declaration of intent.

In Heiligendamm, the G8 states announced a comprehen-

sive package for the fight against HIV/AIDS totalling 44 bil-

lion Euro. Germany intends to contribute 500 million Euro

every year until 2015 to this initiative. Although this is a

necessary and welcome step, many questions regarding

implementation remain open and there is a real fear that

the commitment made in Gleneagles to secure universal

access to essential AIDS medication by 2010, cannot be

met.

Other important global challenges were either not open to

debate or were discussed fleetingly. If the G8 countries

(which are responsible for 85 per cent of all greenhouse gas

emissions no less) only plan to “consider seriously” reducing

CO2 emissions by half by 2050, then these Heads of the

world’s greatest environmental contaminators cannot be

considered as taking their responsibilities seriously.

The issue of foreign debt hardly featured on the agenda in

Heiligendamm and the World Trade Round blockade could

also not be lifted. In some areas, the results of the Summit

can even be seen as being counterproductive for develop-

ment and poverty reduction. The decision on intellectual

property and patent law can only be viewed with criticism.

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” had spoken out ahead of the

Summit in favour of relaxing patenting laws on essential

medicines, so that poorer patients can be treated with

affordable generic drugs. The Summit’s decision to

strengthen patenting laws, however, goes in completely the

wrong direction: poor patients will continue to be denied

access to affordable medication; patents will continue to

cost lives.

On the other hand, a positive outcome of the Summit is, as

documented in the G8 proceedings, the emphasis on the

social dimension of globalisation, as well as the importance

of the ILO’s strategic objectives and the OECD Guidelines

for Multinational Enterprises. The G8 countries commit

themselves to respecting the fundamental principals of the

ILO (International Labour Organisation) in bilateral trade

agreements and promote them further multilaterally. The

sensitive issue of the use of raw materials resulted in posi-

tive discussions in relation to the international Extractive

Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Whether these

are more than just declarations of intent, remains to be

seen. That G8 continues to reach out to important emerging

countries, such as India, Brazil, Mexico, China and South

Africa, which should play an active role in the future of G8,

can be seen as a positive development.

All in all, the successes of the Summit in Heiligendamm

were limited. Had it not been for the massive, imaginative

and well accepted “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” campaign,

the successes, such as the considerable increase in

resources for development cooperation in 2008, would not

25

April 2007 May 2007

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut”

raised awareness about the MDGs

on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn

using a white band that was

almost 1km long. At the same

time, civil society representatives

met Summit representatives from

the G8 states in the Beethovenhalle and discussed the main issues of the G8 Summit in

June.

Photo: VENRO/Lena Horlemann

460 voices against poverty were raised on May 4th 2007 during a

day of action at the community pre-school and the primary school

in Kochel am See, Upper Bavaria. 250 children took part in the

event, which was one of the “Every Voice against Poverty and a

Prize for You” competition holders. Photo: Judith Stolz

have been achieved. The profile of the MDGs has been

raised, support for them has increased and the importance

of poverty reduction has broken out of the NGO sector into

the political and social mainstream. Even Development

Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul noted the importance

of the civil society in the G8 process: “Your commitment has

paid off. We have made significant process and your support

has give me courage.”

Regardless of how much progress has been made, whether

or not the MDGs can be fulfilled, and whether Germany can

demonstrate the necessary commitment to contribute to

this, remains an unanswered question at the end of 2007.

Nevertheless, the chances have increased. Seven years after

the UN Millennium Conference, the MDGs have grown in

political relevance – poverty reduction moves more people

than ever before. And the Federal Government has also

learnt a lesson: a critical civil society, that is prepared to

fight, will go to great lengths to ensure that poverty reduc-

tion and the MDGs remain on the agenda and that politi-

cians honour their commitments for a fairer global society

in terms of the poorest countries in this world.

26

Eveline Herfkens, the UN Secretary General’s Executive Coor-

dinator to the Millennium Development Goals Campaign wrote

to VENRO Chair Claudia Warning on September 13th 2007:

"I do want to reiterate that I am convinced that the German

Campaign, "Deine Stimme gegen Armut," was absolutely nec-

essary and crucial in order to bring the development topic on

to the G8 agenda. Without the immens mobilization of the civil

society sector, Angela Merkel would have never felt the pres-

sure to discuss Africa and development issues in Heiligen-

damm, nor would the topic have gained such a high political

priority."

THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

May 2007 May 2007

At the same time as the G8

Finance Minister meeting

on May 18th 2007 in Pots-

dam, regional state net-

work VENROB organised

together with other local

groups a “White Band

Night” on the Luisenplatz. Alongside interviews with German and

international activists, the event also had a variety of short films

and music. Pictured here is the Pitch Pipe Project.

Photo: Amélie Losier

Prior to his concert on May 31st 2007 in

Berlin, the social justice organisation

Bread for the World handed over 7,500

signatures against poverty to Herbert

Groenemeyer, which he then took with

him to Rostock. The signatures had been

collected as part of the campaign for

food safety.

Photo: Brot fuer die Welt

Civil society press conference as the G8 Summit comes to a close, Heiligendamm press centre, June 8th 2007.

27

Germany speaks its mind on development policy

In your opinion, does the German Government spendtoo much, too little or exactly the right amount ofmoney for development assistance?

In your opinion, how important are further and con-crete measures by the German Government to fightpoverty and poverty related consequences especiallyin Africa?

Do you think the implementation of a kerosene tax oran airticket levy for development assistance is …

Keeping promises on development issues by the German Government is…

Don’t know:Too much:

Too little: 33.3 %

36.2 %23.4 %

7.2 %

Very reasonable:Extremely reasonable:

No answer:

Reasonable:Rather not reasonable:Unreasonable: 13 %

19 %36 %

15,5 %14.2 %

2.2 %

29.2 %35.2 %

28.5 %

4.7 %1.7 %

0.7 %

Not that important:Of no importance:No answer:

Important:Very important:Extremely important:

20.2 %

35.4 %

34.7 %7,2 %

2.3 %0.1 %

Not that important:Of no importance:No answer:

Important:Very important:Extremely important:

I have heard about the Millennium Development Goals

68.7 %

50.7 %October 2007May 2007

I can name a Millennium Development Goals

12 %

7.2 %October 2007May 2007

Shortly before the G8 Summit, TNS-Infratest carried out a

representative opinion poll on development on behalf of

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut.” This poll was then repeated

with slight variations in October, in order to find out

whether the statements made and trends ascertained in the

first poll could be backed up. The results are remarkable:

The German population lays great importance on the issues

of health service provision and education in poor countries.

The public simultaneously appeals to the Federal govern-

ment to keep its promises and international commitments –

many are even prepared to make their own personal contri-

butions, for example in the form of paying an extra duty on

flight tickets. The results also reveal that although, at this

half-way stage on the road to 2015, the public is more aware

of the existence of the MDGs than before, still too many

people know nothing about them.

June 2007

At the “White Band

Night” in Hanover on

June 1st 2007, a

group of six local

organisations hosted a

mix of dance, music,

information and voices

from Africa. The event, which took place at Steintorplatz in the city

centre, boasted acts such as Freestyle-Rapper Spax & Kid Cut.

Photos: DSW/Ralf Orlowski

May 2007

On May 31st 2007, only a few days

before the G8 Summit, NETZ, the

development organisation focusing

on development cooperation in

Bangladesh, called for an online

demonstration via the online com-

munity “Second Life.”

Exactly the right amount:

The internet is

absolutely essential

for a campaign of this

size. The activities,

which took place

online developed over

the course of 2007

into a mainstay of our work. The campaign website

www.deine-stimme-gegen-armut.de registered more than

1.6 million visits in this year alone. The website provides all

important information surrounding the campaign, including

the issues at stake, how to get involved and campaign mate-

rials. The online calendar and photo gallery present and

document local campaign activities.

Only a few mouse clicks are required to raise your voice

against poverty. Shortly after the G8 Summit, the campaign

letter to the Federal government, containing the campaign’s

demands and messages, was signed online for the 300,000th

time. And these supporters did not just come from Ger-

many: thousands signed one of the eight appeal letters that

had been translated into another language. One supporter

even translated the letter into Indonesian: Suara Anda

melawan kemiskinan!

Since January 2007, the campaign’s blog has informed web-

site visitors in a series of 120 postings about the latest

developments in politics and the work of the campaign.

More than 65,000 visitors had read articles by

the end of October, with the analysis of the

G8 Summit (7,300 visits) and the posting

about bidding for concert t-shirts on eBay

(6,000 visits) being the most popular. Web

surfers were able to make use of the com-

ment function to convey their opinions about

the postings. It was used around 600 times, most often on

the posting about the campaign concert in Rostock. As one

reader wrote, “For me, it’s not just about the music, I also

want to be one of 70,000 people, who raise their voice

against poverty.”

After 25 issues, the campaign newsletter updates more than

100,000 subscribers with the latest information on develop-

ment. One reader reached the following conclusion: “…the

newsletter really stands out in a crowd! It sums up every-

thing well, the articles are not too long and also explain the

various abbreviations, which ensures that the newsletter

also appeals to non-experts!”

In the shape of the Millennium Spot (www.millennium-

spot.org) “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” developed an inno-

vative online tool: anyone who so wishes can lend his/her

face to the campaign, by uploading a photo or video. Along-

28

DOCUMENTATION

Suara Anda melawan kemiskinan! Online throughout the world

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” – onlinewww.deine-stimme-gegen-armut.de – Official campaignwebsite

www.deine-stimme-gegen-armut.de/aktiv-werden/online.html– Banners and information on how to support the campaignonline

www.millennium-spot.org/en – Give your face to the cam-paign. The longest “finger clicking” advert in the world.

www.myspace.com/deinestimmegegenarmut – MySpacecampaign profile

www.myvideo.de/mitglieder/DeineStimmegegenArmut – Cam-paign videos hosted by MyVideo

www.dailymotion.com/deinestimmegegenarmut – Campaignvideos hosted by Dailymotion

Furthermore, both www.studivz.net and www.facebook.comhave “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” groups.

June 2007

At the “Voices

against Poverty”

concert in Rostock

on June 7th 2007,

development organ-

isations, such as

Misereor and the

European Cidse net-

work, presented their work to the concertgoers.

Photo: Anika May

June 2007

Around 80 employees from organisations

that had helped raise voices against

poverty, carry 1.4 million signatures on to

the stage as part of a symbolic handover

at the Rostock concert on June 7th 2007.

Photo: Matthias Muehlbradt

side our own website, we also surf the virtual community,

going to those places where supporters can be found. Our pro-

file on the online community MySpace (www.myspace.com/

deinestimmegegenarmut) has been especially successful:

since March 2007, more than 8,300 users have become cam-

paign “friends” within six months. Amongst almost 800 com-

ments, one from “Manon” can be found: “I am proud to be

able to participate in this campaign and say ‘You have my

voice.’” The campaign videos hosted by MySpace have now

been viewed more than 78,000 times, with around 50,000

users having viewed the campaign’s video clips hosted by

the video community MyVideo.de (www.myvideo.de/mit-

glieder/DeineStimmegegenArmut).

The campaign also offers a wide range of website banners

for those, who want to decorate their website with the cam-

paign’s website. The diagonal white band in the top corner

turned out to be the biggest hit, appearing on popular web-

sites such as tvtv.de and harrypotterbuch.de. The various

television adverts of the campaign can also be integrated

into other websites.

29

June 2007

Kumi Naidoo’s blazing speech at the

concert in Rostock on June 7th 2007

made the global dimension of the cam-

paign abundantly clear. Naidoo is

spokesman for the Global Call to Action

against Poverty (GCAP).

Photo: Matthias Muehlbradt

July 2007

In Neu Wulmstorf near

Buxtehude, year 11 and

12 pupils from the local

grammar school pre-

sented “Deine Stimme

gegen Armut” on the

Rathausplatz in the

form of large letters.

Photo: Jana Maslonka

In various television and cinema adverts, numerous Ger-

man and international celebrities appealed to viewers to

raise their voices against poverty. The 2005 advert shows

actors, models, artists and top athletes clicking their fin-

gers, demonstrating that a child dies every three seconds

due to the consequences of extreme poverty.

“You can make the world a better place! Your voice can

make a change!” This was the opinion of 21 German and

international celebrities. They appealed to the public to

The television adverts of the campaignsend letters, emails and text messages galore to the Federal

government and remind the G8 states ahead of the Summit

of their commitment to the fight against poverty. To ensure

that they can be understood, all celebrities speak German,

from Antonio Banderas to Penelope Cruz to Matt Damon.

The adverts were broadcast by all relevant private televi-

sion stations free of charge and seen in 2007 by more than

40 million viewers.

A campaign cannot survive without some sort of “advertis-

ing.” Time and again, “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” has

reminded the Federal government of its promises and has

appealed through open letters and adverts in newspapers

and journals for more engagement in the field of develop-

ment. Here is a selection of the campaign’s advertising:

December 2007: Advert quoting Chancellor Angela Merkel

appears in Sueddeutsche Zeitung and FAZ on the occasion

of World AIDS Day on December 1st.

July 2007: Advert on the outcomes of

the G8 is published in SPIEGEL, in which

they are criticised for not having done

enough for development.

As part of a large advertising campaign in

May 2007, we spotlight the obligation of

the G8 states to make good their commit-

ments and appeal to them to raise their

voices against poverty. Whereas Vanity

Fair, Focus, Gala, Welt am Sonntag and

the music magazine Visions highlight the

poverty situation using figure pairs, two

adverts quoting Chancellor Angela

Merkel appear in SPIEGEL. The adverts are printed more

than 7 million times.

May 2007: In an open letter, university professors, intellec-

tuals and Nobel Prize holders appeal to the G8 Finance min-

isters to keep their promise to increase development aid.

October 2006: Advert appears in SPIEGEL on the Cabinet’s

decision regarding the G8 Summit agenda.

July 2006: Using yellow Post-it notes in Sueddeutsche

Zeitung and FAZ, the campaign sends the following

reminder ahead of the G8 Summit in Russia to Chancellor

Angela Merkel: “Don’t forget: You are our voice against

poverty at the G8 Summit. Fight poverty, hunger and

HIV/AIDS.”

June 2006: In SPIEGEL, “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”

appeals during the football World Cup to the Federal gov-

ernment to “Show poverty the red card!”

June 2005: In SPIEGEL, Stern and Frankfurter Allgemeine

Sonntagszeitung, “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” publishes a

draft letter, which readers can send to Chancellor Gerhard

Schroeder ahead of the G8 Summit in Scotland.

May 2005: FAZ publishes on May 31st an advert with the

photos of the celebrities and text from the campaign’s tele-

vision advert.

June 2005: Ahead of the EU Finance ministers and G7

Finance ministers meetings, celebrities appeal to Federal

Finance Minister Hans Eichel to make history and raise his

voice against poverty. The appeal appears as a newspaper

advert and as an email in FAZ, Stern and SPIEGEL.

April 2005: “We have Pitt’s. We have Clooney’s. We have

Groenemeyer’s. We have Schiffer’s” announces a full-page

advert in Sueddeutsche Zeitung and appeals to readers to

raise their own voices.

December 2004: An open letter in Sueddeutsche Zeitung

and in SPIEGEL signed by a number of German celebrities

and VENRO’s Board regarding a “matter of life or death” is

the campaign’s first advert.

30

Being a public nuisance

DOCUMENTATION

August 2007

In front of the Vil-

la Hammer-

schmidt in Bonn,

visitors learn

more about the

MDGs in a playful

manner.

International Quarter open day, August 19th 2007

Photo: Dirk Bange

Civil society perspectives with regard to

the Global Fund’s replenishment confer-

ence formed the main focus of the journal-

ist workshop in Berlin on September 26th

2007. Anandi Yuyaraj (left) works in India

for a programme focusing on AIDS preven-

tion. Francoise Ndayishimiye from Burundi

represents the NGO in the Global Fund’s Board.

Photo: VENRO/ Stefan Kreutzberger

September 2007

31

43.7 million people stood

up on October 17th as part

of the record breaking

“Stand up & Speak Out”

event and raised their voic-

es against poverty. Even the

Altes Rathaus in Wilster,

Schleswig-Holstein took

part in the action.

Photo: Carsten Doehler

At the “White Band Night”

in Munich on October 17th,

the main theme was “foot-

ball, music and messages”.

Whilst Germany played the

Czech Republic at football,

football reporter Guenther Koch interviewed Ondrej Kopecny, repre-

sentative of the Czech sister campaign “Cesko proti chudobe”.

Photo: VENRO/ Johannes Rosenstein

October 2007 October 2007

Between March 1st and June 15th 2007, more than 5,000

articles appeared in the print media under the heading of

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut,” which corresponds to a dis-

seminated print run of 154 million. During the same period,

109 television reports were broadcast, reaching 86 million

viewers. All of the main daily national newspapers, includ-

ing BILD-Zeitung reported on the cam-

paign, taking up the issue of poverty eradi-

cation in Africa. Magazines, such as

SPIEGEL, Stern, Galore and even Playboy

ran interviews and reports on Herbert

Groenemeyer’s commitment. One particu-

lar issue of Vanity Fair, which was pub-

lished around the time of the G8 Summit

even had eight different front covers, with each cover fea-

turing a different celebrity who had pledged his/her support

to the campaign. The concert on June 7th was the media

highlight of the year. More than 350 journalists and photog-

raphers and 40 television and video teams came to the con-

cert and main press conference alone. Even the local events

– especially the “White Band Nights” – attracted much

interest in the local press.

On the whole, the cam-

paign was represented

positively in the media,

even if at times shortened

to little more than a few

political statements. It

was the pop stars, howev-

er, that formed the main

attraction. Groenemeyer’s

and Bono’s statements

defined a major part of the content-related messages. The

new concert concept of “music & messages” only partially

bore fruit, as far as the media were concerned. The mes-

sages lagged somewhat behind

the concert announcement,

the musical highlights and the

questions to the organisations.

The live recording of the concert,

broadcast on Germany’s first pub-

lic television channel, ARD, was

almost completely focused on the

musical acts instead of the develop-

ment messages. This nevertheless

seemed not to affect the public nor

printed articles: the key messages cer-

tainly seem to have hit home there

(politics should make commitments, reducing poverty by

half as one of the MDGs, Poor8 concept).

32

Press review

DOCUMENTATION

“The atmosphere is

great, the mes-

sages appear to be

coming through.”

(SPIEGEL Online,

07.06.07 reporting

on the concert)

“The concertgoers, most of

whom ranged from the young

to the fairly young, were treat-

ed to an unusually varied con-

cert with exceptionally com-

mitted musicians from Africa

and Europe.”

(FOCUS Online, 08.06.07

reporting on the concert)

Fever pitch: This graph shows the number of press articles in the

online editions of 518 dailies and online news services over the

last six months. Just in this tiny section of the media world, there

has been an overwhelming response, with over 2,500 articles

appearing in this period. It is clear to see the response of the cam-

paign’s main press releases since the end of March, the rapid

increase in the last three weeks before the concert in Rostock and

the press release on the occasion of the MDG halfway mark. This

trend is also representative of the response for print articles and

television reports.

33

34

“Deine Stimme gegen Armut” is a joint campaign between

VENRO, Herbert Groenemeyer and befriended experts from

the PR and media industry.

Other celebrities and cooperation partners supported the

campaign.

The 2007 G8 Summit television advert includes: Ben Affleck,

Emmanuel Adebayor, Antonio Banderas, Bono, Till Broen-

ner, Penelope Cruz, Matt Damon, Ulrike Folkerts, Bob Geldof,

Herbert Groenemeyer, Thierry Henry, Wladimir and Vitali

Klitschko, Sarah Kuttner, Jens Lehmann, Peter Lohmeyer,

Brad Pitt, Christiane Paul, Claudia Schiffer, Kolo Touré and

Nora Tschirner.

In 2005, the following celebrities clicked their fingers

every three seconds for the television and cinema advert,

because every three seconds, a child dies from the conse-

quences of extreme poverty: Brad Pitt, George Clooney,

Cameron Diaz, Hugh Grant, Herbert Groenemeyer, Kylie

Minogue, Bono, Xavier Naidoo, Claudia Schiffer, P. Diddy,

Justin Timberlake, Jamie Foxx and Anne Will.

The line-up from the 2005 footballer advert, which could be

seen in many of the German Premier League stadiums, is:

Sergej Barbarez, Abder Ramdane, Simon Jentzsch, Robert

Enke, Ingo Hertzsch, Christian Ziege, Andreas Neuendorf,

Lars Ricken, Benjamin Auer and Lukas Podolski.

The following Nobel Prize holders signed the open letter to

the G8 Finance ministers:

George A. Akerlof, 2001 Nobel Prize holder for Economics,

USA; John M. Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Prize holder for Litera-

ture; Clive Granger, 2003 Nobel Prize holder for Economics,

UK; Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize

holder, South Africa; Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Prize

Holder and President of “World Centres of Compassion for

Children International”, UK.

Mohammed Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize holder, attended

the concert in Rostock.

Bishops

Archbishop Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky

Bishop Wolfgang Huber, Head of the German Protestant

Church

Bishop Franz Kamphaus

Bishop Martin Schindehuette

Further celebrities pledged their support for the campaign

by taking part in the “Voices against Poverty” concert on

June 7th 2007, by signing open letters, or in other ways:

Boris Becker, Alfred Biolek, Nina Hoss, Guenther Jauch, Nia

Kuenzer, Jan Josef Liefers, Heike Makatsch, Michael Mitter-

meier, Franka Potente, Rolf Stahlhofen, Wim Wenders,

Roger Willemsen, as well as the following bands: 2Raum-

wohnung, Beatsteaks, Die Fantastischen Vier, Seeed, Silber-

mond, Sportfreunde Stiller, and Die Toten Hosen.

Experts from the PR and media industry, as well as

befriended designers and agents, have made a huge contri-

bution to “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”:

Kaloff Artist Relations - Claudia Kaloff and Team

(Hedi Pottag, Imke Sommerkamp, Marcus ‘Becko’ Beck)

Joerg Heinrich and Frank Bender

21TwentyOne

Matthias Gruebel

Klaus Ulrich and team

Walter Schoenauer and Florian Reichl

Johannes Jagusch

Other cooperation partners have included:

AOL Deutschland

Carmunity GmbH

Damian-Team Eine Welt Versand GmbH

Deutschrock Merchandising

Deutsche Phonoverbaende (IFPI)

DieGesellschafter.de

elephantseven

eventfunk.de

Hastings Music GmbH

InterLake GmbH

Kobalt GmbH

Landjugendverlag GmbH

MVG Medienproduktion und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH

myspace.com

MyVideo.de

polylog.television

YOC AG

Many of VENRO’s 105 member organisations have played a

very special role in supporting and shaping the campaign

with their own events and extra resources.

Celebrities and supporters

DOCUMENTATION

Last, but by no means least, you have all contributed to making “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”such a success. Thank you!

The campaign teamMany helping hands and bright minds at VENRO have gone to ensure that “Deine Stimme gegen Armut” has always been insafe hands.

The following people made up the campaign team:Ulrich Schlenker (Coordinator since 2006), Stephanie Angermeier (Coordinator in 2005), Bjoern Lampe (White Band NightCoordinator in 2007), Stefan Kreutzberger (Press Officer in 2007), Bodo Ellmers (Policy Officer in 2007), Heike Salvador(Campaign Assistant in 2005), Britta Amorin (Press Officer in 2005), Birte Rodenberg (Policy Officer in 2006) and Kathari-na Philipps (Trainee in 2006). Caroline Jane Kent also of DSW supported the campaign.

The following people were interns and stand-ins during the campaign: Jennifer Braun, Jens Frayer, Timo Herdejost, PeterKuehnhold, Sandy Martens, Bastian Neumann, Caroline Schmidt, Cristina Umani, Katharina Weltecke and Ellen Wiemer.

VENRO’s Board displayed its strong moral sense of political responsibility, especially Dr. Claudia Warning, Ulrich Post, Dr. Juergen Hammelehle, Bernd Pastors (VENRO Board members since 2006) and Reinhard Hermle (Board member in2005), as well as VENRO’s Executive Director Dr. Ulla Mikota. Everyone in VENRO’s offices in Bonn and Berlin pitched inand helped with energy and enthusiasm.

On behalf of Herbert Groenemeyer, the campaign team was supported by Claudia Kaloff (overall organisation), Imke Som-merkamp (2007 concert organisation) and Marcus Beck (P8 films, 2007 concert organisation).

Editorial boardPublisher:Verband Entwicklungspolitik deutscher Nichtregierungsorganisationen e.V. (VENRO)Kaiserstr. 201D-53113 BonnGermanyTel: + 49 (0) 228 94677-0Email: sekretariat@venro.orgWebsite: www.venro.org

Campaign team “Deine Stimme gegen Armut”:Chausseestr. 35D-10115 BerlinGermanyTel: +49 (0) 30 2463 2105Email: deinestimmegegenarmut@venro.orgWebsite: www.deine-stimme-gegen-armut.de

Concept/Editor-in-chief: Stefan Kreutzberger (medienbuero eco Cologne)

Co-writers: Bodo Ellmers, Stefan Kreutzberger, Bjoern Lampe, Dr. Ulla Mikota, Ulrich Schlenker, Katharina Weltecke

Translation: Thomas Crowe

Design: Wolfgang Scheible, Cologne

Photo Credits (if not otherwise indicated): Front cover: VENRO/ Bildschoen, VENRO/ Ulrich Schlenker, MatthiasMuehlbradt, Ralf Kraemer, Juergen Lukaschek, p. 4: Stefan Kreutzberger, p. 5: Groenemeyer/Deine Stimme gegen Armut,pp. 6/7: VENRO, personal, Stefan Kreutzberger, p. 8: VENRO/Bildschoen, VENRO/Ruediger Dunker, p. 9: VENRO/RuedigerDunker, VENRO/Bildschoen, p. 10: VENRO/Ulrich Schlenker, p. 11: Andreas Seeliger, p.12: VENRO/Bjoern Lampe, p. 13: VENRO/Ulrich Schlenker, p. 15+16: Matthias Muehlbradt, p. 17: Ralf Kraemer, p. 18: Johannes Rosenstein,VENRO/Lena Horlemann, p. 19: personal, SIDI-Sportmanagement, p. 21: Stefan Kreutzberger, DWHH, p. 22: Federal PressOffice, Peter Kuehnlein, p. 24: Matthias Muehlbradt, p. 25: Robert Schulze, p. 26: Stefan Kreutzberger, p. 29: JohannesRosenstein, p. 32: Stefan Kreutzberger, VENRO/Dirk Bange, Back cover: Stefan Kreutzberger, VENRO/Dirk Bange,VENRO/Lena Horlemann, Marcus Beck

Bonn and Berlin, February 2008

35