Youth Ambassadors Campaign Toolkit

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CAMPAIGN TOOLKIT

ONE YOUTH AMBASSADORS

2Essential Campaign Toolkit

INTRODUCTIONThis is your toolkit for the ONE VOTE 2014 campaign. It explains what we hope to achieve, why we are targeting the EU, and includes facts and stats that will give you the confidence to convince others to support this crucial campaign.

INTRODUCTION 3

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN 4

BECOME A FACTIVIST 6

THE POLICY BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN 8

HOW THE EU WORKS 10


About the

campaign

Essential Campaign Toolkit

4

Extreme poverty has been halved in the last 20 years, and could be virtually eliminated by 2030. Whether or not we hit that target

is in our hands - every single one of us has a part to play. 2014 is a critical year in this journey, and we need ONE members across Europe to seize the opportunity and get active. This summer, as hundreds of new MEPs take office, we must call on them to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the world’s poorest people. As the elections approach, candidates need to know that extreme poverty is an issue their constituents care about, and want to see them act on. And once the elected MEPs start working, we need to keep the pressure up and let them know we’re watching them closely to make sure they deliver on their promises.

So why is this such an important moment in Europe? The new European Parliament and European Commission will sit for five years, and could set us on the right path to hit the 2030 goal. By piling on the pressure, we can help them rise to this challenge.The EU as a whole is the world’s biggest aid donor, so plays an important role in poverty reduction. But we need to be smarter about how the money is invested. For example, spending on agriculture is eleven times more effective in

reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa than other investments. We need to scale up investments in healthcare and make sure people have access to energy too.It’s not just about giving aid though; we must create a fair environment for African economies to thrive. Improving the transparency of how funds flow between governments and businesses will help African citizens follow the money and ensure resources are being used to improve lives. The EU can help by ensuring that its own companies are transparent and accountable in their dealings with developing countries.We’ve seen big wins in Europe on development spending and transparency in recent years, but we need to see more. To make sure that happens, we want at least half of new MEPs to sign our pledge, which we will only achieve if thousands of people across Europe tell them to.2030 might seem like a long way off, but ending extreme poverty in our lifetimes would be an incredible achievement. We’ve already done so much, but it’s essential to keep up the momentum and finish the job. It’s in our hands.

We will ask MEP candidates to publicly sign the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge, which reads:

We will ask the European public to put pressure on MEP candidates by signing our petition, which reads:

Ending extreme poverty is in our hands. Together, we can make sure it is virtually eliminated by 2030. In the next 5 years, we need to build support for the poorest countries, especially through investments in agriculture, healthcare and access to energy, and to make governments and businesses transparent and accountable.

As a representative of the [Italian] people, I will make sure we keep our promises in the fight against extreme poverty, and help ensure that our laws make it easier for the world’s poor to lift themselves out of poverty.”

Dear candidates,

Ending extreme poverty is in our hands. Together, we can virtually eliminate it by 2030. Please help make it happen by supporting investments in agriculture, healthcare and access to energy, and making governments and businesses transparent and accountable.

ONE VOTE 2014 ENDING EXTREME POVERTY IS IN OUR HANDS

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

Ending extreme poverty is in our

hands. Together, we can make

sure it is virtually eliminated by

2030. In the next 5 years, we need

to build support for the poorest

countries, especially through

investments in agriculture, healthcare

and access to energy, and to make

governments and businesses

transparent and accountable.

As a representative of the British

people, I will make sure we keep our

promises in the fight against extreme

poverty, and help ensure that our

laws make it easier for the world’s

poor to lift themselves out of poverty.



Become a

factivist


7

BECOME A FACTIVIST

At ONE we like to call ourselves factivists, which means we’re fact-based activists

inspired by concrete evidence and driven by technology. Knowing the facts about extreme poverty is essential, so here’s some that will be useful in your campaigning.

THE PROBLEMA Around the world, 1.2 billion people are living in extreme poverty (living on less than $1.25 a day).

A Nearly one in eight people go to bed hungry every night.

A Each day, 19,000 children die before their 5th birthday from preventable diseases and over 80,000 people die from AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis.

A In 2012, global aid flows from rich countries fell for the second year in a row – a scenario we have not seen since the 1990s. Many of the steepest cuts came from European countries.

A Every year, developing countries lose millions through illicit financial flows - that’s when money is illegally transferred out of the country. Nine of the 20 countries with the highest losses compared to their total government revenue were in sub-Saharan Africa.

THE OPPORTUNITYA From 1990 to 2000, global extreme poverty dropped from 43% of the world’s population to 33%.

A From 2000 to 2010, extreme poverty worldwide went down again to 21% - cutting it in half over the past twenty years.

A If this trajectory continues, extreme poverty can be virtually eliminated by 2030.

A Since 2000, 6 million child deaths were averted through immunisations supported by the GAVI Alliance.

A The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria saved an estimated 8.7 million lives between 2004 and 2012.

A Targeted development assistance and savings from debt relief have also allowed an extra 54 million children to start primary school in sub-Saharan Africa between 1999 and 2011.

A The EU as a whole is the world’s biggest donor of aid and has committed to spend 0.7% of its collective gross national income (GNI) on development assistance by 2015. It also promised to direct half of all those increases to Africa.

A The EU has not yet fulfilled this promise, but 2014 marks the year in which a new European Parliament is elected and a new European Commission will be appointed. This is an opportunity for action.

behind the

The policy

campaign



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Across the globe, smart aid from rich countries is helping to unlock other sources of finance, build infrastructure and lay the groundwork for continued and sustainable growth. Resources available to poor countries go well beyond aid, but particularly in the poorest countries, aid remains the largest resource. The EU must keep its promise to collectively invest 0.7% of its Gross National Income (GNI) in development assistance.

In sub-Saharan Africa, growth in agriculture is 11 times more effective at reducing poverty than growth in other sectors. 70% of Africans depend on agriculture as a source of income. But the sector is underperforming because of poor policy management, neglect and underinvestment. The EU must step up investments in agriculture, particularly to support small-holder farmers.

New momentum in the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria – three of the most deadly diseases in the developing world – means we now have the ability to control and defeat these diseases once and for all. Vaccinations against diseases like hepatitis B, measles, and yellow fever can save millions of children’s lives each year. Not only do investments in the health sector save lives, but healthier populations also mean more productive societies that have a better chance of lifting themselves out of poverty.The EU must continue to support life-saving health programmes such as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the GAVI Alliance.

The lack of access to electricity profoundly limits a country’s economic development, constrains people’s life chances and traps millions in extreme poverty. Tackling this will be one of the biggest opportunities to finally end extreme poverty.The EU must fulfil its pledge to help developing countries deliver energy access to 500 million citizens by 2030.

Improved transparency of revenue streams will allow African citizens to follow the money and ensure that resources are invested effectively for development – in better health services, more productive agriculture, higher quality education, and improved infrastructure.The EU must ensure that its own companies and practices are transparent and accountable in their dealings with developing countries, by passing laws that make this standard practice.

B y signing the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge, MEP candidates are publicly declaring their support for action to end extreme poverty. But what’s behind the promise? Leaders will need to take decisive actions once they are in power, and we’ll be holding them to account to make sure they do.

THE POLICY BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN

ON AID

ON AGRICULTURE

ON HEALTH

ON ENERGY

ON TRANSPARENCY


How

the EU

WORKS


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The European Union is a unique economic and political partnership. At its core are the Member States — 28 countries

that belong to the Union — and their citizens. EU Member States have delegated some of their decision-making powers to the shared EU institutions, so that decisions of joint interest can be made at the EU level. Decision-making in the EU involves various institutions, in particular:

A the European Parliament, which represents the EU’s citizensA the Council of the EU, which represents the governments of the EU Member StatesA the European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTThe European Parliament has 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) that are directly elected by European citizens every five years. The number of MEPs for each country is roughly in proportion to its population, and MEPs are grouped by political affiliation. The European Parliament has three main roles:

A debating and passing European laws, with the CouncilA scrutinising other EU institu-tions to make sure they are working democraticallyA debating and adopting the EU’s budget, with the Council

In total there are 73 MEPs elected from the UK, who represent 12 different regions: East Midlands, East of England, London, North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the

HOW THE EU WORKS

Humber, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK – apart from Northern Ireland - operates a closed list system. Closed list systems are where the party selects the candidates it wants to be elected and ranks them in order of who they want to be elected the most. Depending on the share of the vote they receive in that specific region, they will then receive a proportional number of MEPs from this list. In the 11 regions (excluding Northern Ireland) the public vote for the party and not the candidate. Candidates are then selected by the party, by region.

WHY IS THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IMPORTANT FOR DEVELOPMENT?

The EU as a whole is the world’s biggest donor of aid to developing countries. The European Parliament has a say in the EU’s seven-year budget and every yearly budget, including life-saving aid programmes. The European Parliament also has half of the decision-making power (along with the Member States) when it comes to making EU laws in certain areas. These laws apply to all 28 EU Member States and can have an impact on developing countries through the way we interact with them. For example, the EU can make sure that European companies doing business in developing countries are more transparent and accountable.

EU CAMPAIGN SUCCESSESLIFESAVING AIDIn 2012, the EU was deciding on its next seven year budget. ONE members campaigned to avoid cuts to life-saving aid programmes. In the end, European leaders decided to cut the overall EU budget, but they didn’t touch the aid budget. That means that €51bn will be available for the world’s poorest between 2014 and 2020. The EU will be able to continue building on the incredible results its aid programmes have already seen. For example, between 2004 and 2012, thanks to the EU development budget, 13.7 million pupils have enrolled in primary education, 18.3 million children have been vaccinated against measles, and more than 70 million people have been connected to drinking water.

TRANSPARENCY FOR OIL AND MINING COMPANIESIn 2011, the European Commission proposed an EU law that would mean European oil and mining companies have to publish what they pay to the governments of resource-rich African countries. This information will help African citizens demand that money is spent on essential services like hospitals and schools. The European Parliament heard ONE members’ call and was key in championing the transparency rules that were eventually adopted in 2013. This is an example of an EU law that could unlock millions of Euros inside developing countries and help them lift themselves out of poverty.

ABOUT ONEONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of 3.5 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Cofounded by Bono and strictly nonpartisan, we raise public awareness and work with political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand

greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. ONE also works closely with African activists and policymakers as they fight corruption, promote poverty-fighting priorities, monitor the use of aid, and help build civil society and free enterprise.

A Find out more about the issues we work on

A Read more about ONE in our FAQs

Youth Ambassadors Campaign Toolkit

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