Our next gathering

Ahead of the Rio+20 World Summit, join us for an informal discussion on international efforts to tackle poverty and climate change. We will be at Catcher in the Rye (Finchley Central) on Wednesday 6th June from 8pm. Hope to see you there!

Someone else's problem?

We did it with smoking, seat belts and drink drinking - its time we made excessive waste equally socially unacceptable...

"Trashed - No Place For Waste looks at the risks to the food chain and the environment through pollution of our air, land and sea by waste.

The film reveals surprising truths about very immediate and potent dangers to our health. It is a global conversation from Iceland to Indonesia between the film star Jeremy Irons and scientists, politicians and ordinary individuals whose health and livelihoods have been fundamentally affected by waste pollution.

Visually and emotionally the film is both horrific and beautiful: an interplay of human interest and political wake-up call. But it ends on a message of hope: showing how the risks to our survival can easily be averted through sustainable approaches that provide far more employment than the current 'waste industry."

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/trashed/

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

The world I want to see

Last Wednesday, some of us went along to a panel discussion inspired by the forthcoming Rio+20 World Summit. The speakers - including Caroline Spelman MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Rt Rev Peter Price, Bishop of Bath and Wells - were asked to speak on the subject of 'the world I want to see' and then engaged in a lively Q&A session. Sara, Lizzie and Sam were tweeting avidly, so you can find more by looking up the #FaithinRio hashtag on Twitter.

First to speak was Caroline Spelman MP, who began with a review of what has and hasn't been achieved since the original Rio World Summit in 1992:

"[The original Rio Earth Summit]was a turning point in the way the world looks at the links between the environment, development, and the economy. There has been progress on poverty alleviation, with significant improvements in access to water, education and healthcare in all regions of the world. Many businesses have embraced sustainability issues, and renewable energy has grown substantially.

Yet substantial challenges remain. Approx 1.4 billion people around the world still live in extreme poverty and those who were the poorest 20 years ago are still the poorest now. Environmental degradation continues, and sustainability has not been integrated fully into economic decision making."

Spelman highlighted that in just three year's time there will be an extra one billion mouths to feed. By 2030, DEFRA forecasts that water, food and energy will all be stressed. Each of these are potential flashpoints for conflict as well as sources of suffering. We do not have the luxury of time; we need Rio+20 to hasten change that benefits the most disadvantaged. But growth should be about more than just raising GDP, she said; well being and quality of life should also be indicators of success. For these reasons, the minister pledged that the UK would to push for a meaning set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be agreed in Rio.

DEFRA have posted her whole speech on their website, so you can read what she said in full if you are interested.

Next up was Steve Waygood of Aviva who spoke on the need for better corporate social responsibility within the global business community. He said that consumer power was an important way for the masses to shape the behaviours of the multinationals, but since

"90% of the data on business responsibility is missing [from public scrutiny]"

holding businesses to account and making informed investments is hard. To solve this, Aviva are leading a broad coalition of businesses and other stakeholders to pushing for corporate accountability and sustainability. At Rio+20 they will be seeking agreement on a transparency framework to that will reveal the true state of an organisation's corporate sustainability. As Waygood himself put it: 

"Corporations should deploy their vast resources to improve lives, not just profit margins. Paying tax is just the start."

Third in the line up was Nanette, a lady working with CAFOD in the Philippines. She spoke about the importance of meaningful collaboration between communities, local government and local church to effect sustainable development, identifying that:

"ordinary people, anointed leaders and elected leaders need to take on responsibility and accountability."

She was especially keen to stress that sustainable growth must be socially just; Rio+20 must not be about developed countries making decisions about developing countries without their say or involvement. In the same way, she argued that while the Green Economy held great promise for the development of underdeveloped parts of the world, to deliver change that benefits local communities and not just shareholders, those green technologies should be in the hands of local communities, not the multinational corporations.

The presentations closed with a rousing statement from the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who spoke with great passion, challenging Christians to stand against poverty, the arms trade and the military industrial complex. He encouraged those present not to fritter away their potential but rather to spend their lives doing something that changes the world. After all:

"We can't just have a concern for poverty," he said, "we have to act to end it."

Watch the Bishop's speech in full:

Throughout the presentations and the Q&A that followed, we were reminded that the impact of climate change is not a future problem; for many in the developing world it is a real problem today. It was clear that amid financial meltdown in Europe, ongoing conflict in the Middle East and political scandals at home, keeping sustainable global development and the ambitions of Rio+20 high on the public agenda is going to be a struggle. Struggle we must however, for as Caroline Spelman identified in her closing statement, the charge we have is to leave the planet in a better condition that we received it.

An extra chance to change the world

Have you been enjoying the sudden summer?

There are five Wednesdays this month, so there is no JM meeting this week, meaning that you have an extra opportunity to make a difference in your own way. How are you going to use your spare Wednesday to make the world a better place? You could invite your neighbours over for a BBQ to build community in your street, or someone from Justice Matters that you would like to get to know better, you could write to your MP about an issue close to your heart, or you could get together with others and pray for each other and the world.

Whatever you choose to do, don't let the evening come and go without thought - be intentional about your time (even if its intentionally relaxing with friends). As the prophet Ferris said, "Life is pretty short - if you don't stop and look around in a while, you might miss it."

We are especially excited about our third Wednesday session this month, when we will he hosting a guest speaker from anti-trafficking organisation, International Justice Mission. Please highlight the date in your diaries (20th June) and invite your friends to join us for what promises to be an excellent and thought-provoking evening. We will kick off promptly at 8pm, so do come along from 7:30pm to get your coffee and cake in ahead of the main event.

Our next gathering will be 6th June for an informal discussion on a subject as yet unconfirmed. Details to follow shortly.


Enjoy the weather and the Jubilee celebrations - see you next week!

Doing good does you good

The Mental Health Foundation have produced a pocket guide to show the positive impact that helping others can have on your own mental health, including some practical tips and suggestions to help you get started and a diary to keep track of how you’re getting on.

Our favourite tips are 'share your umbrella' and 'help a stanger with a buggy'. Which of the 11 are your favourite? See how many you can do on this sunny day!

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page

Volunteering opportunity

Besom are looking for volunteers to help deliver furniture to those in need on Saturday mornings in June. Want to get involved? Email besominbarnet@yahoo.co.uk for more.

Shared from Justice Matters Facebook Page

Bank on something better

Just found this great website which empowers customers to move their money based on info about the ethics of major banks - check it out!

"Move Your Money UK is a national campaign to spread the message that we can help to build a better banking system. We aim to provide people with the information and confidence they need to make decisions on the types of financial institutions they want to support."

http://www.moveyourmoney.org.uk/

Shared from the Justice Matters Facebook Page