The World Comes to Scotland

15/09/2009 16:38:00

International development charity VSO will be at the forefront of a number of events that are part of this year’s Take One Action Film Festival, which kicks off this Thursday with a special event for schools and the Scottish premier of Madonna’s I Am Because We Are, a portrayal of life in Malawi.  The events take place at 10.00 and 20.20 at the Edinburgh Filmhouse.

Set in Malawi and produced and narrated by Madonna, I Am Because We Are explores the meaning of dignity in a culture torn apart by poverty and HIV.  It takes in some of the extremes of social deprivation, but ultimately considers the restorative power of people working together.

The school event will be followed by a learning event led by the VSO Active Communities team and the evening event will include a discussion between the audience and speakers who include former editor of The Herald and returned VSO volunteer Charles McGhee, artist Wendy Ball, VSO’s Head of HIV and AIDS Alan Smith and Agnes Holmes from The Africa Centre.

VSO tackles global poverty through volunteers who share their skills and enthusiasm in some of the world’s poorest countries.  Its Active Communities programme helps individuals to raise awareness of development issues and tackle prejudice and misunderstanding about other people and culture within their own local area. 

Take One Action, which is organised by former VSO volunteer Simon Bateson, runs from the 17th to 26th September 2009 and will showcase more than 20 of the most acclaimed new international films on global and environmental justice themes. The festival uses cinema as a forum for social and political engagement, each screening is accompanied by an audience-led discussion with directors or leading speakers from the worlds of development, politics and the media.

Commenting on VSO’s support for the festival, Susanne Darcy from VSO Scotland said: “Take One Action is an exciting opportunity for children and adults alike to find out more about life in developing countries and to dig deeper into the issues we usually only see fleetingly in our newspapers and on TV.  The festival, which will bring people together to learn and be inspired in an informal and social setting, sums up the spirit of VSO’s Active Communities programme and Simon Bateson is an example of how our returned volunteers keep on tackling the issues behind poverty and injustice long after they return home.”

A screening of I Am Because We Are will also take place at 18.00 on Monday 21st September at the Glasgow Film Theatre and will include a discussion with Chair of The Scotland Malawi Partnership, Dr Peter West OBE, CEO of Malawian Initiative for National Development Malawi Ngwira and Agnes Holmes.

VSO is also sponsoring the screening of Born into Brothels on Tuesday 22nd September at the Edinburgh Filmhouse, which is a film that explores the life of the children of sex workers in Kolkata, India. 

The film festival precedes a number of VSO events scheduled to take place in Scotland this autumn, including two Meet VSO information events taking place in Edinburgh and Glasgow on the 20th and 21st October and an Active Communities HIV and AIDS workshop in Edinburgh on 31st October.  VSO will also be running taster sessions for the DFID Global Schools Partnerships, a programme that forges links between schools on the 22nd September in Edinburgh and the 24th September in Glasgow. 

For full festival programme details and information about related discussions visit www.takeoneaction.org.uk

For further information about VSO’s work and to find out more about the autumn events visit www.vso.org.uk/takeoneaction
 
-ends-

For further information or to arrange an interview with a VSO spokesperson or volunteer please contact Rachel Trayner or Catherine Raynor on 020 8780 7265 / 7343 or email rachel.trayner@vso.org.uk / catherine.raynor@vso.org.uk

Editor's notes

· As a VSO volunteer you are provided with flights, accommodation and an allowance to cover basic costs.  UK public sector professionals volunteering for between six months and two years are entitled to claim pension contributions providing they return to the public sector for a minimum of six months on their return to the UK

· An average initial application of interest to VSO takes just 20 minutes to complete - please call 0208 780 7500 or log on to www.vso.org.uk for more details

· VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers.  Since 1958 over 33,000 volunteers have worked in over 120 countries.  Today there over 1600 international volunteers working in 42 countries around the world.

· VSO recruits volunteers from a wide range of professional backgrounds.  The strongest need is for experienced managers, professionals with experience of working in primary education, advocacy, communications and marketing specialists and doctors and midwives.  VSO can use financial professionals where they have strong planning or management expertise.

· VSO needs to raise £10 million each year in the UK in order to continue its vital work: working through volunteers to fight poverty in some of the world's poorest communities