Look To The Stars News: Fair Trade

Colin Firth Helps Oxfam Food Drive

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:30:00 -0000

After disappointing results from the latest G8 Summit in Japan, Oxfam is organizing a desperately needed food drive for Africa’s east region. Actors Colin Firth, John Hannah, and Daniela Nardini are campaigning for Britons to answer Oxfam’s call.

As food prices continue to rise, the people of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are finding it increasingly difficult to feed themselves, millions verging on destitution.

A Make Trade Fair campaigner since 2002, Colin Firth is a vigorous supporter of Oxfam projects.

“It’s devastating to hear that these people are facing another food crisis,” he told The Press Association. “A dangerous storm of factors – drought, conflict, grinding poverty and skyrocketing food prices – have stacked on top of each other and are pushing people over the edge. Malnutrition rates have spiked and children grow ever hungrier each day.”

Frustrated with the Summit results, Oxfam International Executive Director Jeremy Hobbs said, “Several governments championed steps to tackle the crucial issues sitting on the G8 agenda, but in the end this summit did not deliver the breakthroughs that are so urgently needed. The consensus reached was shallow at best… Rich country biofuels are a major cause of the global food crisis at this moment, yet the leaders barely mentioned them and blithely continue to burn food in their cars. It’s like discussing the Titanic but failing to talk about the iceberg.”

“Oxfam desperately needs the support of the British public,” says Firth, “to help avert catastrophe and keep people alive.”

See Oxfam’s Big Heads video here

John Oliver Questions Fair Trade

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:12:47 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Amidst the growing confusion between fair trade products – there’s fair trade, fairer trade, fair and organic, fair and local, fair and non global warming, fair to the last drop, etc. – political humourist John Oliver may have found a much easier way to determine what product to buy.

In one of his stand-up comedy acts last month, Oliver asked, “What is fair trade, when you boil it down, other than basic human politeness? …Rather than praising fair trade, we need to be demonising unfair trade. So, I suggest that from tomorrow onwards, all unfairly traded products should be forced to carry this logo: It’s a cartoon of an international businessman urinating upon an Africa boy. I think that might really help nag at your subconscious when you’re queuing up at the supermarket with a basket full of shattered lives.”

In another example of unfair trade, Oliver targeted outsourcing: “I try and write new material as much as I can, but unfortunately, recently, I have been forced to outsource my job writing operation to a little 10-year-old Indonesian boy. …I’ve brought one of his blood splattered notebooks. Most of his material is observational stuff, you know, what its like to be a little 10-year-old Indonesian boy: ‘What’s up with the guy hitting me with a big stick? What’s going on there?’”

A long time political satirist, Oliver explains where this focus came from in an interview with Cool’Eh Magazine: “I guess with stand-up you end up gravitating towards talking about things that you care about… As globalization tightens its grip around the equator and squeezes, there is so much to write about. I’ve found that as I’ve become increasingly disenfranchised with party politics, I’ve become more interested in the wider issues which I no longer trust politicians to address.”

Want to write for us, or help with our research? Find out more about contributing.

Radiohead Joins Child Labor Awareness Campaign

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:05:11 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

With a 20-year history of raising awareness for human rights and environmental causes, Radiohead is no stranger to the activist scene. And now, in partnership with MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking), the band has released the “All I Am” video to bring child labor practices into the spotlight.

“It’s cool that MTV is taking this up, because normally, this is something I only get to talk to people about who are considered ‘extreme left-wing’ or whatever, but it’s good it’s hitting the mainstream, because I don’t consider it a left-wing issue; I consider it a political-stability issue,” he told MTV UK. “I think if [the campaign] does one good thing, it would be to make this concept of slavery — which is what it is — less taboo. If they can make it something that is OK for us to talk about, and for politicians in the West to actually accept that this is an issue, well, then we’re doing a good thing.”

There are currently more than 2.5 million men, women and children who are forced, defrauded or coerced into various forms of labor or prostitution. Radiohead recommends checking out Amnesty International, Witness and The The Fair Trade Resource Network to learn more.

“I think it’s important for everyone in the West or on High Street to understand the consequences of our economic activity. You must be aware of the level of exploitation that’s going on,” Yorke said. “It’s part of our Western life, and one we should accept responsibility for. There’s no such thing as a free lunch or a free ticket to another country.”

Watch video of Thom Yorke speaking on the topic of child labor at Think MTV.

David Walliams Splashes Out For Charity

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:15:16 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British comedian David Walliams has completed his second epic charity swim… and swallowed some water at the same time.

“Swimming and throwing up… it shouldn’t really go together,” said the star of Little Britain. “It was really tough.”

The 36-year-old swam across the Strait of Gibraltar, from Spain to Morocco, with Olympic rower James Cracknell. The event was part of Cracknell’s 10 day “Swim To Africa” adventure, which raised money for Sport Relief.

Cracknell’s trip started from Dover on February 27, when he rowed across the English Channel in atrocious weather conditions. This was followed by cycling 1,400 miles through France and Spain.

The final leg of the trip was the 12-mile swim, and having Walliams along was a boost for Cracknell’s morale. Walliams is certainly no stranger to swimming long distances – in 2006 he swam the English Channel and raised $2 million for Sport Relief in the process.

“I can’t believe David volunteered to do that after having done the Channel,” said Cracknell. “[The swim] was horrible.”

But Walliams had his own way of dealing with the cramp-inducing swim, and hummed Elton John songs to himself to keep his mind off the sharks that seemed to circle around the pair.

“I was singing to try and get me through it,” he said. “I was singing Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word and Your Song. When you’re in the water, if you start thinking about where you are, you think ‘I want this to be over.’ But if you think about nice things like Elton John songs, it kind of passes the time. I found it really tough. About two hours in I started to get seasick. The sea was really rough and I swallowed a lot of seawater. I started feeling really nauseous and throwing up. I got really demoralized so I had to talk to myself and say ‘you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to do it.”

The pair completed the swim in four and a half hours.

A Game, A Dress, And A Brawl For Charity

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:29:30 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A special surprise for Look to the Stars readers

Be sure to visit Look To The Stars tomorrow, Wednesday March 12, to read our exclusive interview with Leeza Gibbons as she tells us a little about the causes that are closest to her heart.

Between a Rock and a hard place

It’s a case of a bad boy wanting to be good with singer Kid Rock. The Devil Without A Cause looks like he is turning over a new leaf, and is returning to the Waffle House restaurant where he was arrested last year – but this time it’s for charity.

The 37-year-old was charged with battery after a brawl in Duluth, Georgia, in October. But the musician has now decided to make amends by greeting fans and signing autographs at the scene of the crime as part of a fundraiser for a local homeless shelter, Nicholas House.

“For a while now, we’ve been working with Kid Rock’s management to try and turn a negative into a positive,” said Waffle House spokesperson Pat Warner. “We’re hoping to raise some money for a worthwhile charity.”

The event will occur later today, March 11.

Tennis for charity in the desert

Another event taking place today is the fourth annual K-Swiss Desert Smash Charity Tennis and Golf event being held at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs. The event benefits the Coachella Valley chapter of Variety – The Children’s Charity and features a special tennis match between 2008 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic.

Other celebrities expected to attend include Bush frontman (and husband of Gwen Stefani) Gavin Rossdale, Borat star Ken Davitian, and David Spade.

Theron shares her threads for charity

Another star in the mood for giving is the stunning Charlize Theron, who is auctioning off the first red carpet gown she was ever given to wear by a designer.

No, the dress isn’t made from red carpet – it’s actually a one-of-a-kind silk dress designed exclusively for the actress’ debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 by Narciso Rodriguez.

All of the proceeds from the auction, which can be accessed through Theron’s eBay page, will go to the Charlize Theron African Outreach Project, a mobile clinic that serves more than 3000 high school students in Theron’s home country of South Africa. The project was launched in 2007 in association with the Entertainment Industry Foundation to create a safer, healthier, and better life for families in South Africa, especially those touched by the effect of HIV/AIDS.

The auction runs until March 13, and the bids have already gone over $1,000.

Other auctions running on eBay Giving Works right now include the chance to have lunch with JAG and Bruce Almighty star Catherine Bell in LA. The auction runs until March 17, and proceeds go to Communities in Schools, nation’s largest dropout prevention organization. The original Hannah Montana, Miley Ray Cyrus, is also holding an auction right now. The young star is selling an autographed chair, with proceeds to go to Variety – The Children’s Charity.

Leona Lewis – a star on the rise

Another star with an interest in South Africa at the moment is singer Leona Lewis. The 22-year-old X Factor winner is currently enjoying a meteoric rise to fame, with her album Spirit holding the record for the fastest selling debut album ever released in the UK. And now the young star has witnessed the extent of the AIDS pandemic during a recent trip to South Africa.

Lewis has just returned from a 3-day trip to Johannesburg with Sport Relief, an initiative of Comic Relief, in which she raised awareness of the plight of AIDS orphans and sufferers. But it was all almost too much for the singer, who describes in her diary how she broke down while visiting some of the worst cases.

“Some of the horrors I have seen will never leave me,“ she said. “It’s amazing to see the great work that Sport Relief does firsthand and the difference they make, their projects and centres keep communities going and give them something to be proud and positive about.”

In response to her trip, Lewis has just announced that the stunning purple gown she wore for her performance at last month’s Brit Awards will be auctioned on eBay, with all proceeds going to Sport Relief.

“It’s been a great pleasure for me to work with Leona Lewis right from the start,” said Roberto Cavalli, who designed the dress. “She has an incredible voice, beautiful eyes, and a fresh and positive attitude. I’m happy that a dress I have created for her for an important occasion is now being auctioned for a charity. It’s a sign of her great generosity and I’m proud that the name Roberto Cavalli is linked to it.”

As if all of that is not enough, the singer is also donating the proceeds from her new double A-side single, Footprints In The Sand/Better In Time, to the charity.

Orlando Bloom Visits Nepal

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:25:30 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actor and heartthrob Orlando Bloom has just returned from a trip to Nepal, where he visited several UNICEF programs working to help the impoverished nation and its children.

The 31-year-old star of “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” spent four days touring the western districts of Kaski and Chitwan, as well as visiting Lumbini, birthplace of Lord Buddha.

During the trip, Bloom had his forehead smeared red with “tika” and was presented with the traditional garlands of flowers, which he wore around his neck. He spoke with young mothers at the Sayapatri Community Organization in the village of Dibyanagar, and learnt about the ways that UNICEF works to promote safe hygiene and sanitation practices in the country.

Nepal, with an estimated population of 29 million, is currently recovering from a decade-long civil war that left 13,000 people dead. The conflict hampered the delivery of basic services to many of the more remote villages, and malnutrition became rampant, accounting for over 60% of child deaths. Even today, 48% of children are grossly underweight, maternal mortality is high, and many people suffer needlessly from treatable medical conditions. As of six years ago, only 84% of children received a formal education, but thanks to work by UNICEF and the Himalayan Trust, that figure is now closer to 100%.

“Previously, only 25% of the households were taking iodized salt [to prevent iodine deficiency disorders such as goiter],” said Chali Subedi, who facilitates over the village of Kalika. “The figure has now increased to 38%. Similarly, women’s workloads have decreased from 17 hours per day to 14 hours a day.”

Bloom also spent time with over three dozen blind children who attend a special school in the village of Pokhara, deep in the Pumdi Bhumdi hills, and learned about their studies, ambitions, and the world in which they live.

“I may be disabled, and might need assistance from others for everything I do,” said 10th-grader Sujan Dhakal. “Yet the world I see for myself is one where I can be of assistance to others and work for the betterment of my society and country.”

Bloom joined the students in recording a UNICEF-supported radio program entitled “Saathi Sanga Manka Kura” (Talking With My Best Friend). The drama dealt with the plight of a group of girls in a hostel with no female warden, and Bloom played a guest who offers advice to the girls.

“Talk about your problems,” he said during the program. “There’s no need to feel shy. It’s always good to talk about issues that concern you.”

Sir Edmund Hillary - The Passing Of A Legend

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:12:07 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Sir Edmund Hillary – adventurer, explorer, and philanthropist – has died of a heart attack, age 88.

The thing I will always remember about Sir Ed is his hands. They were huge, the size of frying pans. Every time I met him, his face would break into a grin that seemed to light up the room, his eyes would smile, and he would wrap one of those huge hands around mine. It was like a blanket enveloping a pea. But he was a big man. At 188cm, Sir Ed never failed to tower over everyone in the room.

But he never wanted to stand out from the crowd. Sir Edmund Hillary, conqueror of Everest, the third person to reach the South Pole by land, was incredibly humble.

“I like to think that I am a very ordinary New Zealander, not terribly bright perhaps, but determined and practical in what I do,” he once said.

Hillary never starred in a movie, he never released a song. Yet he was probably the most famous and well-respected person ever to come out of New Zealand. Born just outside of Auckland, the country’s biggest city, Hillary began his professional life as a beekeeper, as part of the family business. But a trip to the mountains that run up the southern land like a backbone gave him a love of the outdoors that would eventually lead to bigger things. A stint in the Royal New Zealand Air Force in World War II, in which he was badly burned (“I realized what it was like to feel like bacon,” he once told me), was followed by three trips to the Himalayas in Nepal.

His close friend and famous British climber, Eric Shipton, selected Hillary to be part of the 1953 expedition to Everest. However, when Shipton was replaced by John Hunt, Hillary nearly backed out of the trip. But with dogged determination, he stayed. And on May 29, 1953, Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa climbing partner, became the first people to stand on top of the highest peak in the world.

“Awe, wonder, humility, pride, exaltation – these surely ought to be the confused emotions of the first men to stand on the highest peak on earth, after so many others had failed,” he said in High Adventure, his book about the achievement. “But my dominant reactions were relief and surprise. Relief because the long grind was over and the unattainable had been attained. And surprise because it had happened to me, old Ed Hillary, the beekeeper, once the star pupil of Tuakau District School, but no great shakes at Auckland Grammar and a no-hoper at university – first to the top of Everest! I just didn’t believe it.”

A knighthood from the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth followed, much to Hillary’s horror: “It was a tremendous honor, of course, but I had never really approved of titles and couldn’t really imagine myself possessing one… I could see myself walking down Broadway, Papakura [his hometown in New Zealand], in my tattered overalls and the seat out of my pants, and I thought ‘That’s gone forever. I’ll have to buy a new pair of overalls now’.”

In a lasting testament to his humbleness, Hillary always maintained that he and Tenzing – who died in 1986 – reached the summit together, despite repeated questioning over who actually stepped on top first. However, in later life, Hillary did finally admit that he stepped onto the summit a few steps ahead of Tenzing, but he always insisted that the pair did it as a team, and to single out one or other of them was inherently wrong.

Back in New Zealand, Hillary married Louise Rose, and they later had three children, Belinda, Sarah and Peter. Sir Ed then continued a life of climbing and adventure, which included involvement in the 1958 British Trans-Antarctic expedition lead by Sir Vivien Fuchs. Hillary’s job was to use three small tractors to lay a supply trail for Fuchs’ party, but in a controversial decision he raced to the pole himself and reached it before Fuchs. He was the first person to reach the South Pole over land since Amundsen and Scott. Antarctica always remained a special place for Sir Ed, and he visited the frozen continent for the last time in 2005. Both he and his son, Peter, have campaigned extensively for better environmental laws in Antarctica over the years, a topic that I discussed at length with Peter in 1999.

But it was his continuing work with the native Sherpa people in Nepal that Sir Ed wants to be remembered for. The Sherpas had long been used by explorers as porters in the Himalayas, but they remained uneducated and their living conditions were primitive. Many had no access to clean water, and others suffered from debilitating yet treatable medical conditions.

“It was impossible not to see that they lacked all the things we regard as essential in life,” said Hillary. “They didn’t have any schools, and they didn’t have any medical care or anything of this nature. I suddenly decided that instead of just talking about it, why didn’t I try and do something about it.”

In 1960, Hillary established the Himalayan Trust, a non-profit organization designed to ease poverty in remote Nepalese villages. Since then, the Trust has increased its fold to include reforestation programs, cultural preservation, and emergency relief work.

Over the years, the Trust has built 3 hospitals, 13 health clinics, and 30 schools for the Sherpa people. They have provided training for teachers, and have been involved in the construction of bridges, water resources, and airstrips. Every year until the 1990s, Hillary would lead groups of volunteers to the Himalayas, and thousands of Nepalis now owe their education and health to his generosity. Six months of every year were spent outside New Zealand, on the fundraising trail.

In Nepal, Hillary is seen as a god, and his passing has been especially hard for those who have worked closely with him on his projects.

“He was a hero and a leader for us,” said Bhoomi Lama of the Nepal Mountaineering Association in Katmandu. “He did a lot for the people of the Everest region and will always remain in our hearts.”

And it is work Hillary does not want to stop after his death.

“When I kick the bucket… of all the things I would like to be kept going, the things I would really feel had some continuing activity, would unquestionably be my Sherpa schools.”

Hillary’s work with the Sherpas helped him to get back on his feet after the death of his wife and youngest daughter in a plane crash in the Himalayas in 1975, and in 1989 he married June Mulgrew, widow of fellow climber and explorer, Peter Mulgrew. He was also a special ambassador for UNICEF to promote Nepalese aid, and continued to advocate for tougher environmental laws in the Himalayas.

The native Maori people of New Zealand have a phrase they say when a well-respected person passes away – “Ka hinga te totara i te wao nui a Taane engari Mate atu he teeteekura, Whakaete mai he teeteekua … A mighty totara tree has fallen in Tane’s forest.” Sir Edmund Hillary may have been the mightiest totara tree of them all.

He will be sadly missed by the people of Nepal, New Zealand, and adventurers everywhere.

“In some ways I believe I epitomize the average New Zealander. I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination… and I rather like to succeed.”

Bono's Fishy T-Shirt Benefits African Farmers

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:41:01 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Bono has designed a new T-shirt for charity, joining a host of other celebrities in an on-going and major charity campaign.

The 47-year-old singer from U2 is the 25th artist to design a shirt for Hard Rock Café’s Signature Series clothing line, an initiative started in 1990 as a way for musicians to raise money for charities of their choice. Sales from the shirts have raised over $6 million for a variety of causes.

Bono’s creation, available for $26 from the Hard Rock website, features his stylized drawing of a fish soaring past the moon, and is adorned with the words “Fish Can Fly”, as well as his signature. 15% of the proceeds will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Conservation Cotton initiative – a scheme designed to lift African farmers out of poverty by providing education on proper land management, organic cotton growing techniques, and wildlife conservation. The shirts will also support the trade for aid ethos of EDUN, the conscious consumerism fashion label founded by Bono and his wife in 2005, by being made from 100% African cotton and manufactured by African garment workers.

Other artists to have designed shirts for the initiative in the past include Green Day, who raised money for Amnesty International’s Campaign To Save Darfur, Shakira who chose to benefit Pies Descalzos, Ozzy Osbourne for the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program, Bruce Springsteen for World Hunger Year, Eric Clapton for the Crossroads Centre, Peter Gabriel for Witness, Sting and Elton John for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Michael Stipe for Artists for a New South Africa, Don Henley for the Walden Woods Project, John Mellencamp for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation, and Stevie Nicks for the Special Olympics. Carlos Santana and Aerosmith have also contributed designs. Many of these shirts are still available from the Hard Rock website.

Bono’s “Fish Can Fly” is more than just a phrase – it is a message that tomorrow can be better than today.

Colin Firth - Pride And Philanthropy

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:53:28 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

“Fame hasn’t got much use to anybody really, except for getting upgraded tables in restaurants.”

These are the words of British actor Colin Firth, who believes more celebrities should use their stardom to highlight good causes.

At Look To The Stars, we believe it is important to highlight the work that celebrities carry out to support charities and good causes. It is all too easy to be cynical and think to yourself that the stars only use their so called “good work” to bolster public opinion and their own fame, but the more you dive into the topic, the more you find that this just is not true. Firth is a perfect example of someone who, in his own words, “puts my money where my mouth is” and prefers to get involved with issues he believes are worthwhile.

“I think you can have a profile and you can also use it as a tool,” said the 47-year-old actor. “One is increasingly aware that there are too many people trying to get heard in the world, and there are all too many people who are heard too easily but have absolutely nothing to say. If you can try to be a vessel for [those without a voice], then I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

Born in Hampshire, England, Firth has become the benchmark for the perfect English Gentleman in modern film, and is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mr Darcy in Jane Austin’s Pride And Prejudice. It seems that for almost every role he takes on, from the almost tragically over-mothered Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones Diary to love struck writer Jamie Bennett in Love Actually, female movie-goers fall over themselves to look up into his smoldering eyes.

But Firth is not the kind of actor who is scared to get his hands dirty out in the real world. A passionate supporter of Oxfam and its Make Trade Fair initiative, Firth has both feet planted firmly on the ground.

“I suppose what attracts me to Oxfam is that I trust them,” said the actor. “I have been helping Oxfam out a little bit for about 5 or 6 years now. Oxfam is a household name in England. You grow up with Oxfam. It’s a very, very big fixture in life. Basically, they are not a charity in the conventional sense of the word – they are not just about raising money and throwing it at problems. It’s about actually trying to raise the awareness that we are very much connected with some of the stuff that goes on in far-away places.”

Firth, who divides his time between London and Italy, is also extremely vocal in his support of Amnesty International. Early in 2007, the actor intervened in the deportation of a Congolese nurse from Britain. Firth, whose mother is the president of an asylum-seekers support group, firmly believes that people should not be deported from a country if there is a strong chance they will be murdered when they reach their destination.

“To me, it’s just basic civilization to help people,” he said during the court case involving the nurse. “I find it incredibly painful to see how we dismiss the most desperate people in our society… it makes me furious.”

Along with his wife, Livia, Firth also produced a film called “In Prison My Whole Life” to highlight the plight of prisoners on death row in America.

Firth is a supporter of Survival International, and in 2003 openly condemned the Botswana government for evicting Gana and Gwi bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

In 2006, Firth won the title of Campaigner of the Year, an honor voted by the senior editors of The Economist and advisors drawn from the European Union community. The award was primarily for the work Firth has done with Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign, in which the actor engaged in meetings with politicians from all around the world, including the head of the World Trade Organization.

His involvement in the initiative led the star to found Café Progreso, a chain of fair trade co-operative cafes in London. Profits from the sale of coffee in the cafes are shared directly with farmers in coffee growing regions.

“The failure so far of the governments of so many of the world’s most powerful countries, in the face of such egregious unfairness, to make the slightest progress on the issue of fair trade is hard to explain,” said the actor, who also lobbied against Starbucks on behalf of Ethiopian coffee farmers to own the trademarks of their own specialty coffees.

Café Progreso has now led Firth to open Eco Age, an eco-friendly shop in Chiswick, London. The store, lit and heated by sunlight, is fully self-sustainable and offers shoppers the chance to buy commodities that are completely environmentally friendly.

“It’s all about rethinking our habits,” said Firth just before the shop opened to the public. “A huge number of people support the idea of eco-living, but don’t know what to do next.”

Firth’s three-storey shop offers a huge array of eco items, ranging from a bamboo computer to recycled pencils, solar mobile phone and MP3 chargers, natural paint and wallpaper, environmental kitchen appliances, Estonian Christmas decorations, and coat hangers recycled from old chairs.

The venture sits well alongside Firth’s other work, which includes being patron of Out Of The Blue, a theatre that provides the opportunity for disabled and non-disabled young people in the south of England to perform onstage together. But although he occupies himself with philanthropic work, Firth still worries the public may soon suffer from what he calls “celebrity aid work fatigue”.

“I’m not against the idea of celebrities using what they have to raise awareness, “ he said recently. “But you have to be very circumspect about how you employ it.”

Colin Firth’s next movie, “St. Trinian’s”, will be released in England on December 21.

It's Never Too Crowded For Charity

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:35:18 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Half of the band is American, yet they originated in Australia, and the lead singer is a New Zealander. Veteran pop band Crowded House can truly be considered as one of the most international music groups ever to grace the airwaves. And even though they are currently halfway through a world tour to promote their latest album, they still find time to be part of a new collaborative CD to raise money for Oxfam.

“The Cake Sale” ([CD] /[MP3]) is a new record featuring a loose and expansive collective of musicians and writers, including Crowded House founding member Nick Seymore, who have combined to create a 9 song CD of previously unreleased recordings. Profits from the album, which also features Nina Persson from The Cardigans, Damien Rice, and Snow Patrol, will go to Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign, as well as to their overseas program work. It was released in Britain in September, where it has already raised almost $300,000, and was made available in the US on October 16.

Crowded House formed in 1984, as a result of the demise of an earlier band called Split Enz. Ex-Enz singer/songwriter Neil Finn, and drummer Paul Hester, joined bass player Nick Seymore to form the new band, then travelled to Los Angeles. There they were signed to Capital Records. Over the next 12 years, the band released four albums, and garnered a loyal fan base with a strong repertoire of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, “Weather With You”, and “Four Seasons In One Day”.

In 1996, the band called it a day, and played a final Farewell To The World concert to 120,000 people in front of the Sydney Opera House. Proceeds from what many regard as one of the most emotional gigs ever all went to the Sydney Children’s Hospital.

The following years saw the members of the group pursue new musical directions. Finn released two solo albums, and also travelled to Africa with Oxfam, a trip that resulted in him becoming an Oxfam Ambassador. In 2005, he was part of Oxfam’s Big Noise program, an international petition of more than 10 million signatures which called on decision makers to change unfair global trade rules so that people in developing countries have the chance to work their way out of poverty. He has since been part of a number of concerts to raise money for Oxfam, and also took time time entice his fellow New Zealanders to be a part of Oxjam in October 2007.

“You can do something,” said 49 year old Finn. “You can use your voice and tell the world that we won’t stand for people living in poverty any more. It’s not just about charity, it’s about justice. So stand up. Get singing, get playing. Make as much noise as you can and support Oxjam.”

Finn, who was awarded an OBE in 1993 for services to New Zealand music, also supports other charities in his native country, often contributing to celebrity auctions. One of the most popular of these is the annual auction held for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust, New Zealand’s only dedicated music therapy centre catering for special needs children. In 2005, the hand-written lyrics to his most popular songs raised $15,000 for the charity.

In February 2007, Neil Finn played a charity show for Scope, England’s largest organization for people living with cerebral palsy. The concert was held at Stowe School in Wales, and also featured Aussie rocker, Jimmy Barnes. The event was followed by a celebrity auction featuring items donated by Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Elton John, and Australian cricketer, Shane Warne.

2007 also saw the reforming of Crowded House as a band, with the release of their new album, “Time On Earth”. The album, dedicated to the memory of drummer Paul Hester, went straight to the top of the charts in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and was in the top twenty in many parts of Europe. One of the first gigs the band played together to promote the album was Hyde Park Calling, a benefit concert festival held in London on June 23 and 24. Organized in conjunction with Hard Rock Cafe, it was the first concert in the second annual Ambassadors of Rock Tour, a global concert series featuring top artists and bands, benefitting charities worldwide. The London concert, which also featured Peter Gabriel, Chris Cornell, and Aerosmith, raised funds for the Nordoff-Robbins Foundation, a charitable organization that provides music therapy to autistic children, and Global Angels, a charity that acts as an umbrella fundraising mechanism for children’s projects throughout the world.

A few weeks later, Crowded House played at the Live Earth concert in Sydney, closing the show in memorable fashion, despite a power failure that meant most of their set was played in the dark.

“It feels right to us that the band should re-emerge at this time,” said Finn before the Live Earth concert. “We aim to make this show as vital and spirited as what has come before.”

More information about “The Cake Sale” album, which Hot Press describes as being “the album other charity records aspire to be”, can be found at www.thecakesale.com, and the official Crowded House website can be viewed at www.crowdedhouse.com.

Bono, DATA to Receive Liberty Medal via Webcast

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:02:12 -0000

U2 singer and activist Bono and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), the advocacy organization he co-founded to combat poverty and disease in Africa, are scheduled to receive the 2007 Liberty Medal today to at 7:00 p.m. at the National Constitution Center in Historic Philadelphia.

The National Constitution Center, in partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and WPVI-TV, will webcast the 2007 Liberty Medal ceremony live, making the event available to a worldwide audience for the first time.

“We are thrilled to provide global access to the 2007 Liberty Medal ceremony,” says National Constitution Center President and CEO Joseph M. Torsella. “This year’s recipients serve as inspirational examples of the power of citizens to elevate important issues to the world stage. The global reach of this webcast allows us to generate greater awareness of Bono’s and DATA’s exceptional contributions, and to support those that strive to ensure ‘the blessings of liberty’ throughout the world.”

The webcast will feature a special introduction by National Constitution Center Chairman, President George H.W. Bush. The live webcast will be streamed on www.libertymedal.org beginning at 7:00 p.m. EDT; a condensed version of the ceremony will be available later that night on www.constitutioncenter.org and www.gophila.com/libertymedal, and will be available for viewing through October.

The prestigious Liberty Medal, and its accompanying $100,000 prize, will recognize Bono and DATA’s groundbreaking work in raising awareness about and spurring a global response to the crisis of AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa.

Established in 1988 by We the People 2000 to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the Liberty Medal annually honors an individual or an organization from anywhere in the world that has “demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance or deprivation.” Since 2006, the National Constitution Center has administered the Liberty Medal, which includes the annual presentation of the award and a host of supplemental programs and activities designed to extend the Medal’s reach throughout the year.

The National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch St. on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the ideas and values it represents. The Center serves as a museum, an education center, and a forum for debate on constitutional issues. The museum dramatically tells the story of the Constitution from Revolutionary times to the present through more than 100 interactive, multimedia exhibits, film, photographs, text, sculpture and artifacts, and features a powerful, award-winning theatrical performance, “Freedom Rising”. The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as the hub for national constitutional education. For more information, call 215.409.6700 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org.

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