G8 UK Presidency
Sarah and Jack - IF campaign bloggers
Sarah Robinson and Jack Monroe came to the G8 as bloggers for the IF campaign. The IF campaign is a coalition of charities coming together with the message that there is enough food in the world for everyone - if we deal with underlying issues like trade, tax accountability and fair land ownership.
Sarah:
"I’m here for the IF campaign and for Mumsnet – and I suppose on behalf of mothers everywhere.
I do think the G8 is important because the G8 leaders have to power to do something to change the fact that 3 million children die from malnutrition every year – as a mother, I believe that every one of those 3 million children was as precious and deserving of a chance at life as my own two boys.
The IF campaign are calling on the G8 countries to support women in developing countries to be able to feed their children, to support small scale farmers – who are often women – and to clamp down on tax dodging, which will help tackle the issue of hunger around the world.
What’s it been like? It’s been a mixture of hanging around and exciting moments. Talking to the press, writing articles – but generally it's quite overwhelming for me – this is not something I would normally do! But it’s an honour to be here for the IF campaign and for Mumsnet."
Jack:
“I’m a 25 year old single mother and blogger from Southend on Sea and I’m here with the Enough Food IF campaign. I’m hoping the G8 leaders make policies that will tackle the underpinning issues that cause world hunger and hunger in the UK – things that you might not think are related to hunger like tax havens, land grabs, budget accountability.
I think that summits like this are important. Myself, I wasn’t really very clued up about politics up until about a year ago, when I started to look into local and then national politics. I think events like this are important because they are an opportunity for people to come together and get their heads together.
It’s been quite surreal so far, these are people you normally see on television, on Prime Minister’s Questions or on the news and then they’re suddenly walking past you and you think, if I could have five minutes with that person maybe I could influence a policy and change the world. It’s quite grounding - you feel you’ve got one chance to make a difference."
Photo: Olivia O'Sullivan/DFID
Sarah and Jack - IF campaign bloggers
Sarah Robinson and Jack Monroe came to the G8 as bloggers for the IF campaign. The IF campaign is a coalition of charities coming together with the message that there is enough food in the world for everyone - if we deal with underlying issues like trade, tax accountability and fair land ownership.
Sarah:
"I’m here for the IF campaign and for Mumsnet – and I suppose on behalf of mothers everywhere.
I do think the G8 is important because the G8 leaders have to power to do something to change the fact that 3 million children die from malnutrition every year – as a mother, I believe that every one of those 3 million children was as precious and deserving of a chance at life as my own two boys.
The IF campaign are calling on the G8 countries to support women in developing countries to be able to feed their children, to support small scale farmers – who are often women – and to clamp down on tax dodging, which will help tackle the issue of hunger around the world.
What’s it been like? It’s been a mixture of hanging around and exciting moments. Talking to the press, writing articles – but generally it's quite overwhelming for me – this is not something I would normally do! But it’s an honour to be here for the IF campaign and for Mumsnet."
Jack:
“I’m a 25 year old single mother and blogger from Southend on Sea and I’m here with the Enough Food IF campaign. I’m hoping the G8 leaders make policies that will tackle the underpinning issues that cause world hunger and hunger in the UK – things that you might not think are related to hunger like tax havens, land grabs, budget accountability.
I think that summits like this are important. Myself, I wasn’t really very clued up about politics up until about a year ago, when I started to look into local and then national politics. I think events like this are important because they are an opportunity for people to come together and get their heads together.
It’s been quite surreal so far, these are people you normally see on television, on Prime Minister’s Questions or on the news and then they’re suddenly walking past you and you think, if I could have five minutes with that person maybe I could influence a policy and change the world. It’s quite grounding - you feel you’ve got one chance to make a difference."
Photo: Olivia O'Sullivan/DFID