Have your artwork featured across the Bollocks to Poverty website. All you have to do is use your artistic powers to create a banner illustrating the issue of climate change.

This year we're launching a climate change campaign called FOOD vs. DUST, because time is running out to stop extreme climate change. It already causes 300,000 deaths a year and poor people have been hit hardest by climate change although they have done the least to cause it. Unpredictable weather means people cannot grow the food they need to survive. For millions climate change means hunger and poverty.

If you'd like to create an artwork banner illustrating this issue the please download the brief here.

and send your artwork to bollocks@actionaid.org.uk We'll pick our favourite banners and feature them across the site over the summer and autumn.

Today's development news: http://delicious.com/actionaiduk

Yesterday someone posted a comment on our MySpace site which said:

“to be honest in this day in age there shouldnt even be any poverty. so its obvious that geldof and all the bullshitters havent done anything apart from make themselves rich. so in all fairness i dont care anymore about 3rd world charities because they have proved to do NOTHING.”

While I don’t agree, I still think this person’s got a pretty good point. There are some days when I feel like the battle against poverty is just too big for us to fight.  Like when I found out that the number of people going hungry in the world has just passed the 1 billion mark. But then someone said to me, “what if people weren’t doing anything to stop hunger? then it would probably have passed the 2 billion mark!” and these aren’t just numbers we’re talking about, they’re people, so every one less person who doesn’t go hungry as a result of something we do is a real victory.

I think the problem is partly that the media focus on problems and rarely on successes, and my god do they love a celebrity story! The sad fact is that charities don’t have much hope getting global poverty featured in the news without some kind of celebrity endorsement. And while some of these celebrities are genuinely committed to the cause (look at ole Joanna Lumley and her campaign to help Gurkha’s!) some of them seem to be more interested in looking good. But at the end of the day charities are just trying to get information about really important issues to the public – which can be hard when the media are more interested in Jordan and Peter’s break up!

I’m really lucky, because I work for ActionAid I get to hear and see how charities make a difference to people’s lives every day. Like Judith, who’s 25 and lives in Kenya. With ActionAid’s support she’s been able to teach young people in her community about HIV and provide safe sex education and condoms. Now HIV infection rates, STDs and teenage pregnancy have gone down in her community. http://www.actionaid.org.uk/101587/HIV_and_AIDS.html

Or Hamida, who’s 18 and lives in Afghanistan. 15 of her relatives were killed I one day, but with ActionAid’s help she is learning to be a tailor and put the past behind her. http://www.actionaid.org.uk/101584/conflict_and_emergencies.html

Most of the people doing all the hard work and actually making a real difference are the people living in poverty themselves. We give people the training, support or money they need to change their own lives for the better. And we employ local people to give that training and support, because they’re the best people for the job and it provides employment opportunities. So I know charities don’t “do nothing”. It’s important to remember that charities aren’t just a load of people sitting in offices or celebrities on the telly. Charities like ActionAid are a partnership between people who are better off and thousand of people around the world living in poverty. Together we are making a difference. The problems will always be big, and progress can be slow, but I don’t think that’s a reason to give up. If we give up, things will only get worse.

Today’s development news: http://delicious.com/actionaiduk

The mercury is creeping up at ActionAid towers and table-top fans are being closely guarded, their lucky owners keeping an eye out for sweaty passers by, scavenging for unattended ones.  If you're also couped up in an office, factory, bar or even worse, a kitchen, we sympathise.  When proper heat hits the UK we all want to be outside enjoying it, knowing the clouds will soon be back.
 
But work doesn't have to be hot.  Right now you could be working it alongside people like Gavin, Adam, Kate, Sarah and Hayley who are all putting on Bollocks to Poverty events for ActionAid. They are cycling, metalling, partying and gigging to raise money and awareness for us, and one of them could be taking up residence with us as our Tour Ambassador for the rest of the year.  They could be coming to the festivals with us, meeting bands backstage and blogging about it, before organising our amazing Christmas party to say thanks to all our event organisers.  See what they are planning and vote for your favourite here.

There's still time for you to enter and grab the prize yourself.  You just need to hold your event before the 10th August.  So get started here and show us you've got what it takes to join the Bollocks to Poverty team.  You could find yourself at a festival surrounded by music fans instead of the taple-top kind. 

Today's development headlines: http://www.delicious.com/actionaiduk

Friday was PoverTee Day! which meant people up and down the country ignored clothing protocol and wore rebellious t-shirts. I spent all day wearing my cherished Bollocks to Poverty t-shirt (although I've got to admit that doesn't really count as breaking the rules around here!.

And a lot of staff in the office went out and did collections at some of London's key tube stations - raising a whopping £8,000!! Everyone was really fired up when they got back, with stories of all the nice people who gave money.

Didn't get around to wearing your t-shirt or taking part? Well don't fear, everyday can be PoverTee day! You can still get your hands on one of our rather lovely Bollocks to Poverty t-shirts - for a mere £10! and wear it whenever the hell you like.

All the money raised goes towards vital projects like irrigation programmes for struggling farmers in Ethiopia or emergency food aid during droughts in Kenya.

And of course, as ever, today's development news for you…

Tomorrow is Povertee Day. If you don't know already it's all about ripping up your suit / school uniform / usual clobber and splashing a logo across a your chest. It's all in aid of raising vital awareness and funds for ActionAid to help fight poverty across the world.

It's a pretty easy ask. We're not asking you to run a marathon or write a 5 page letter to Gordon about the state of the world and what he should do about it. No we're merely asking that you and your friends wear a T-shirt on Friday. Think of it as a dress down or non uniform day.

And why not throw in a slogan announcing how you really feel. How about shouting something like: "Bollocks to Poverty" for example. And If you'll be donning the wellies for Glastonbury why not "camp" it up in a nice pink Bollocks to Poverty t-shirt?Also look out for an XXXXXXXXXXL T-shirt that is tearing up and down the country terrorising schools as it goes.

And as a treat there are also naked photos of the swimmer Mark Foster supporting Povertee Day here.

We've got a few Bollocks to Poverty tees being sold online here so make sure you get your mitts on one now. Of course I can't say it'll get there by tomorrow but remember, a t-shirt can be for life not just Povertee Day. After all, there is always next year's Povertee Day to prepare for.
As always here is today's development news headlines: http://delicious.com/actionaiduk

A bit pathetically, what with being on a digital team, it took me a while to get into twitter. Like most people on twitter I was mainly getting excited about tweeting celebrities and racking up followers.

But the recent turmoil in Iran has made me rethink the whole thing. Sites like twitter have given protestors in Iran the chance to get their voices heard. 20 years ago a platform like this was unimaginable. What we're starting to see is people in desperate situations having the means to reach out and personally speak to you about what's happening. Thats huge.

For ActionAid this can only be a good thing. A massive part of ActionAid's mission is about connecting people around the world, through child sponsorship for example, and through projects like the Activista network. ActionAid has always believed that we shouldn't be speaking on anyone's behalf, that we should be helping people living in poverty to get heard. I think that massive change will be possible when people living in poverty and conflict can talk directly with you and me.

So if you're not on it already, sign up to twitter, its amazing what you can learn on there that has nothing to do with Lilly Allen or Stephen Fry. And don't forget to follow us!  @ActionAid_Team

Heres a little article which quotes some of the most powerful tweets from Iran.

The rest of today's development news is on http://delicious.com/actionaiduk