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Oxfam International logo
Oxfam International logo

Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. [1]

The Oxfam International Secretariat leads, facilitates and supports collaboration between the Oxfam affiliates to make bigger Oxfam Internationals impact on poverty and injustice through advocacy campaigns, development programs and emergency response.

Oxfam was originally founded in England in 1942 as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief by a group of Quakers, social activists, and Oxford academics;[2] this is now Oxfam Great Britain, still based in Oxford, UK. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A Famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by Starvation becomes increasingly common Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It was one of a number of local committees formed in support of the National Famine Relief Committee. Their mission was to persuade the UK government to allow food relief through the Allied blockade for the starving citizens of Nazi-occupied Greece. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The first overseas Oxfam was founded in Canada in 1963. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The committee changed its name to its telegraph address, OXFAM, in 1965. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar.

Contents

History and beginnings

For more information, see oxfamamerica.org/whoweare/welcome_to_oxfam/oxfam_history.

The original Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, from which Oxfam takes its name, was a group of concerned citizens such as Canon Theodore Richard Milford (1896–1987), Professor Gilbert Murray and his wife Lady Mary, Cecil Jackson-Cole and Sir Alan Pim. A Famine is a phenomenon in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by Starvation becomes increasingly common A canon (from the Latin canonicus, itself derived from the Greek κανωνικος 'relating to a rule' is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) George Gilbert Aimé Murray ( January 2, 1866 &ndash May 20 1957) was a British classical scholar and Public intellectual

Oxfam's work

Oxfam clothing and shoe bank
Oxfam clothing and shoe bank

Though Oxfam's initial concern was the provision of food to relieve famine, over the years Oxfam has developed strategies to combat the causes of famine. In addition to food and medicine Oxfam also provides tools to enable people to become self-supporting and opens markets of international trade where crafts and produce from poorer regions of the world can be sold at a fair price to benefit the producer.

Oxfam's program has three main points of focus: development work, which tries to lift communities out of poverty with long-term, sustainable solutions based on their needs; humanitarian work, assisting those immediately affected by conflict and natural disasters (which often leads in to longer-term development work), especially in the field of water and sanitation; and lobbyist, advocacy and popular campaigning, trying to affect policy decisions on the causes of conflict at local, national, and international levels. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. Sanitation is the hygienic means of preventing human contact from the hazards of wastes to promote health Lobbying includes all attempts to influence Legislators and officials whether by other legislators constituents or organized groups Advocacy Advocacy is the pursuit of influencing outcomes –including public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political economic and social systems

Oxfam works on trade justice, fair trade, education, debt and aid, livelihoods, health, HIV/AIDS, gender equality, conflict (campaigning for an international arms trade treaty) and natural disasters, democracy and human rights, and climate change. Make Trade Fair is a campaign organized by Oxfam International to promote Trade justice and Fair trade among governments institutions and multinational Fair trade is an organized Social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency Debt is that which is owed usually referencing Assets owed but the term can cover other obligations Aid (from the french word aide, also known as international aid, overseas aid, or foreign aid, especially in the United States) is The standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these goods and services are distributed within a population Health is a state of complete physical mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity Human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV) is a Lentivirus (a member of the Retrovirus family that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of Needs values and interests A natural disaster is the consequence of a Natural hazard (eg Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences

Shops

Oxfam shop on Drury Lane in Covent Garden, London.
Oxfam shop on Drury Lane in Covent Garden, London. Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

The first permanent Oxfam gift shop opened in February 1948 on the ground floor of 17 Broad Street, Oxford, England, a lease on which building had been taken by the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (later Oxfam) the previous November. Today Oxfam operates approximately 750 shops throughout Britain as well as a number in other countries. Over 70 of the organization's shops in the UK are specialist Oxfam bookshops, making them the largest retailer of second-hand books in the United Kingdom. Oxfam is the largest retailer of second hand Books in Europe, selling around 12 million per year Oxfam Canada sold off its Bridgehead fair trade business, which in 2000 became the Bridgehead Coffee chain which continues to promote fair trade coffee and related products. Founded in 1981 in Toronto by Oxfam, Bridgehead is a small Fair trade Coffeehouse chain which now has nine outlets in Ottawa, Canada

Oxfam shops also sell fair trade products from developing communities around the world. Fair trade is an organized Social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability

Fundraising

Oxfam has a number of successful fundraising channels in addition to its shops. Over half a million people in the UK make a regular financial contribution towards its work, and vital funds are received from gifts left to the organization in people's wills. Many London Marathon competitors run to raise money for Oxfam, and Oxfam also receives funds in return for providing and organizing volunteer stewards at festivals such as Glastonbury. The London Marathon is a popular road marathon that has been held each year in London since 1981 usually in April For the classical music and theatre festivals co-founded by Rutland Boughton between 1914 and 1926 see Glastonbury Festival (1914-1925 The In conjunction with the Gurkha Welfare Trust, Oxfam also runs several Trailwalker events in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Japan. The Gurkha Welfare Trust is a British charity, established in 1969 Trailwalker (or Oxfam Trailwalker) is an event organised by Oxfam in various locations across the globe including Hong Kong, Australia Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

Criticism

On 26 October 2006, Oxfam accused Starbucks of asking the National Coffee Association to block a trademark application from Ethiopia for two of the country's coffee beans, Sidamo and Harar. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Starbucks Corporation ( is an international Coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle Washington. They claim this could result in denying Ethiopian coffee farmers potential annual earnings of up to £47m. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency

Robert Nelson, the head of the NCA, added that his organization initiated the opposition for economic reasons, "For the U. S. industry to exist, we must have an economically stable coffee industry in the producing world. . . This particular scheme is going to hurt the Ethiopian coffee farmers economically. " The NCA claims the Ethiopian government was being badly advised and this move could price them out of the market. [3]

Facing more than 90,000 letters of concern, Starbucks placed pamphlets in its stores accusing Oxfam of "misleading behavior" and insisting that its "campaign need[s] to stop. " On 7 November, The Economist derided Oxfam's "simplistic" stance and Ethiopia's "economically illiterate" government, arguing that Starbucks' (and Illy's) standards-based approach would ultimately benefit farmers more. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat The Economist is an English-language weekly news and International affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London For the French commune see Illy Champagne-Ardenne illy is a Brand of Coffee produced in Trieste, Italy [4]

Nonetheless, on 20 June 2007 representatives of the Government of Ethiopia and senior leaders from Starbucks Coffee Company announced that they had concluded an agreement regarding distribution, marketing and licensing that recognizes the importance and integrity of Ethiopia’s speciality coffee designations. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [5]

Oxfam Great Britain has been strongly criticised by other NGOs for becoming too close to Tony Blair's New Labour Government in the UK. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to [6]

In 2005, the website "New Internationalist" described Oxfam as a "Big International Non-Government Organisation (BINGO). Big International Non-Government Organisation ( BINGO) is a Backronym applied to large International non-governmental organizations These are typically organizations " The website criticises such organizations for being undemocratic whilst wielding enormous financial and economic clout. [7]

On 28 April 2007 two academics in Melbourne, Australia representing a right-wing think tank lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accusing Oxfam of misleading or deceptive conduct under the Trade Practices Act in its promotion of Fairtrade coffee. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 In Politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that uphold traditional values and/or authorities A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC is an independent authority of the Government of Australia. The Trade Practices Act 1974 is an act of the Parliament of Australia. [8] The academics claimed that high certification costs and low wages for workers undermine claims that Fairtrade helps to lift producers out of poverty. These claims were subsequently dismissed by the Commission. [9]

In 2003, Oxfam Belgium produced a poster with a picture of a dripping blood orange. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The poster read, "Israeli fruits have a bitter taste. . . reject the occupation of Palestine, don't buy Israeli fruits and vegetables. The are the territories captured by Israel from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967 consisting of the West "[10] Oxfam was widely criticized because of the poster’s perceived anti-Israel political message and its allusion to traditional, antisemitic blood libel rhetoric. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility Blood libels are sensationalized allegations that a person or group engages in Human sacrifice, often accompanied by the claim that the Blood of victims is used in Following publicity and pressure from the NGO Monitor, Oxfam removed the poster from their web site and Ian Anderson, the chairman of Oxfam International, issued a letter of apology. NGO Monitor ( Non-governmental Organization Monitor) is a Non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem whose stated objective is to "end to The name Ian Anderson may refer to In music: Ian Anderson (musician, head of the rock band Jethro Tull Ian A However, Oxfam maintained its support for a boycott of products grown in the West Bank and Gaza. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. [11] Oxfam was criticized for its policy of what has been termed "selective morality. "[12]

References

  1. ^ Statement from the Oxfam website.
  2. ^ How Oxfam America Began. Oxfam America. Retrieved on 2008-04-16. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom  “In 1942, a group of Quaker intellectuals, social activists, and Oxford academics”
  3. ^ BBC News, Starbucks in Ethiopia coffee row, accessed 26 October 2006
  4. ^ Oxfam vs. Starbucks: And this time, Oxfam may be wrong
  5. ^ Joint Statement: Starbucks and Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) Partner to Promote Ethiopia’s Coffee and Benefit the Country’s Coffee Farmers
  6. ^ New Statesman
  7. ^ The Big Charity Bonanza
  8. ^ Overington, Caroline. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. "Oxfam coffee 'harms' poor farmers", The Australian, April 28, 2007. . Retrieved on 2007-04-28. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title  
  9. ^ Not free, but fair: Oxfam cleared of coffee chicanery, quoted from The Age, 2007-06-28. The Age is a Broadsheet daily Newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854
  10. ^ Oxfam Belgium produces political poster, NGO Monitor Digest, 2003-06-24.
  11. ^ Oxfam's Apology, NGO Monitor, 2003-07-16. NGO Monitor ( Non-governmental Organization Monitor) is a Non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem whose stated objective is to "end to
  12. ^ Israeli goods produced in the Occupied Territories: The position of Oxfam, Belgium, NGO Monitor, 2003-08-04.

See also

External links

National Oxfam websites

Campaigns

Resources and Materials

Further reading

Dictionary

Oxfam

-proper noun

  1. Oxfam International, a UK-based charity.
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