Age of Stupid - global premiere and screenings in Oxford

The Age of Stupid, Franny Armstrong's film on Climate Change, was released in the UK back in March - but the huge global premiere is taking place today and tomorrow.

On September 21st / 22nd, on the eve of the UN General Assembly's climate session, The Age of Stupid will be launched internationally at the biggest and greenest live film event the world has ever seen. A-list celebrities will walk the green carpet to a solar powered cinema tent in downtown New York, linked by satellite to 700 cinemas in 50+ countries. As the website puts it, "For one night only, Stupid will screen in every corner of the globe, from beachside screens made from old sails in pacific islands and rooftops in the middle east to uber glitzy green carpets in Paris and Amsterdam."

Following the screening of The Age of Stupid, there will be a further 40 minute event featuring Kofi Annan, Gillian Anderson, Mary Robinson, the film's director Franny Armstrong, the star of the film Pete Postlethwaite and other leading thinkers, celebrities and political figures from around the world. There will be live music from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and satellite links to scientists working in the Indonesian Rainforest and at the melting glaciers in the Himalayas. A group of children will speak from the very room in Copenhagen in which all our futures will be decided at the UN climate summit in December.

It won't be showing in Oxford tonight, but there will be two more screenings in October if you haven't had a chance to see it yet:

Friday 16 October
7.30 p.m. at West Oxford Primary School, Ferry Hinksey Road,
with an introduction and talk by Mark Lynas,
Climate Change Supervisor for the film and author of ‘Six Degrees’.
Showing organised by Michael Soth as part of ‘Thriving Sustainably’ – an inspiring and visionary community event taking place in West Oxford Community Centre the day after,
Saturday, October 17th from 9.30am – 7pm.
For more info visit: www.thrivingsustainably.org.uk

Thursday 29 October
8 p.m. at West Oxford Community Centre, Botley Road,
with an introduction and post-film discussion led by
Tim Nicholson, local environmentalist and campaigner.
Find out what local residents are doing to tackle climate change and get inspired or join in.
Event organised by Low Carbon West Oxford.

Both venues are only a few minutes’ walk from Oxford railway station.
No tickets, just turn up!

Further info and actions:

Check out the film's website, which is packed with information on the film, climate change, sxcreenings and other events.

And check out not stupid, the action campaign linked to the film. There are actions you can take, information on the Copenhagen negotiations in December.

Oxford "City Mobiliser" needed

Stop Climate Chaos are looking for volunteer mobilisers in four cities around the UK, one of which is Oxford. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass this on.

SCC says:

City Mobiliser Internships
http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/city-mobiliser-internship

Help build The Wave, the UK's biggest ever demonstration on climate change!

Do you live in Brighton, Exmouth, Norwich, or Oxford?
Do you know your local climate campaign scene?
Are you happy talking to people, organising meetings, publicising events, networking with a range of local organisations?
Then we want to hear from you!

On Saturday 5 December 2009, ahead of the crucial UN climate summit in Copenhagen, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life will flow through the streets of London to demonstrate their support for a safe climate future for all.

This is a chance to work in your local area, towards a national event, putting pressure on the international process. We're looking for volunteers who can commit at least 1 day a week from October to December.

To apply:
Read the complete job description and download the application form:

http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/city-mobiliser-internship

Deadline: 5pm, Wednesday 16th September 2009.

If you’d like to discuss the role, please telephone 0207 324 4622 and ask to speak to Lucy, or email jobs@stopclimatechaos.org

Climate change campaigning - planning meeting on 3 September

Message passed on from Maranda St John Nicolle of CCOW - apologies for the short notice!

On 3 September, there will be a meeting sponsored by Oxfordshire Climate Alliance, to look at how people and groups with an interest in climate change can campaign in the run-up to the Copenhagen talks this year. The meeting will be from 7:30 to about 9:15 pm, in the Oxford Town Hall.

There will be a large number of groups coming (over 30 at last count) including sustainable town groups, churches, student groups, charities, and others. Lucy Pearce, from Stop Climate Chaos, will be joining us to talk about the march in London on December 5th, and Ben Margolis from tcktcktck (and Oxfam!), a new global climate campaign, will tell us of their activities. We'll think how we can respond to these endeavours, and then local groups will have the chance to present their autumn campaigning plans (briefly - 2 to 3 mins each!). Once they've done so, we'll split into groups, so people can learn more about/plan the things which they found most interesting and inspiring. Then we'll gather together for a final plenary to look at how we can take things forward.

It would be lovely if a few people from OOG could make it - I will be going along myself.

Naveed

Ox-Tales - have you bought your copy yet?

If you haven't yet made it onto the Oxfam website or into an Oxfam bookshop to get your copy of the four books in Oxfam's fab new series, Ox-Tales, you're missing out!

The books – and stories – are themed very loosely on the four elements and have Oxfam afterwords highlighting different aspects of our work: EARTH (from land rights to farming): AIR (combating climate change), FIRE (campaigning for arms control) and WATER (safe water and sanitation). This exciting project – which The Observer calls “a triumph” – has been delivered in partnership with Profile Books and Hay Festival, together with thirty-eight British- and Irish-based writers, each of whom have generously donated their time and words for free to Oxfam.

The series is lovely to look at, just the right size to fit into a handbag or large jacket pocket, and is crammed full of exciting work from high-calibre authors such as John Le Carré, Alexander McCall Smith, Kate Atkinson, Sebastian Faulks, Helen Fielding, William Boyd, and Ian Rankin. There's such a rich variety to pick from - I think you'll find there's something there to suit every taste, and pretty much every mood. The stories are the perfect length to add interest to an otherwise dull bus or train ride, or to provide a legitimate excuse for a twenty minute flop in an armchair or a tea break in the garden.

And of course it's all in aid of Oxfam's work - if you buy them at an Oxfam shop or on the Oxfam website, £3.50 out of the £5 they each cost will go straight to Oxfam. (If you buy them from other booksellers, this could be as little as 50p).

To buy the books on Oxfam's website, simply scroll back up and click on the book cover of your choice; or find out more, and watch/hear Ian Ranking and Alexander McCall Smith reading their own stories from the collection, on Oxfam's Talking Books page.

Enjoy!

Book fair project update

As some of you will recall, our October book fair raised money for an education project in Liberia. I thought you'd like to read about some of the achievements of the project:

· One hundred and sixty four teachers have improved their teaching skills through in-service training – improving the quality of learning for over 8,000 children.
· Three new libraries have been established, 12 libraries have been re-stocked, and teachers and librarians have been trained to develop a reading culture in pupils and local communities.
· Parent Teacher Associations are established and influencing improvements in 12 schools.

If you'd like to see the full report, please contact volunteer@oxfordoxfamgroup.org.uk

Port Meadow Sponsored Walk

We were lucky to hold our walk in glorious May weather yesterday. The route ran from Lake Street through Hinksey, Osney Island, Binsey, Godstow and Wolvercote, before returning though Wolvercote Common, Port Meadow, the Oxford Canal and Grandpont. Alternatively, the route consisted of the Watermans Arms, Perch, Trout, Red Lion, White Hart, Bookbinders Arms, Brewery Gate and Oxford Retreat (a much longer walk :-) ).

It's a fantastic route, full of a lot of historical and natural history interest. My main memories will be the swallows skimming the meadows that were so densely covered with buttercups, the grass snake that crossed the path ahead of me, and the happy atmosphere of people out enjoying the grand weather. We had fewere walkers than we had hoped, but those that came were well sponsored. Looks like we will raise £600-£700 for Oxfam.

If you missed it, the good news is that you can still get the walk booklet to do your own DIY sponsored walk for Oxfam (or just make a donation if you prefer not to organize sponsors). We plan to get the booklet online soon, in the meantime, email me at volunteer@oxfordoxfamgroup.org.uk to ask for a copy

Book fair helpers

The book fair workgroup met last night (over a curry) to discuss how the fair had gone and how we thought we could improve it. We're looking forward to another successful fair this October, but would really appreciate some extra helpers. Specifically:
1. Is anyone good at mending shelves?! (There's a broken shelf in our lock-up and we're all too rubbish at that kind of thing to give it a go!)
2. Does anyone want to take on the role of liaising with the Wesley Memorial Hall (booking the room, refreshments and organising what time we can get in on the day etc). It's a small job but would be one less thing for the workgroup to think about.
3. Any car drivers out there? We always need help with collecting books and delivering them to our lock-up, and sharing this with more people would be brilliant.
Please email volunteer@oxfordoxfamgroup.org.uk if you are able to help with any of this. Thank you!