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AFRICA: If Music Be the Food of Development, Play On

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Jun 10 2005 (IPS) - Forget religious fads, fast cars or the latest summer accessory. For many international celebrities the ultimate fashion must-have has become the ‘Make Poverty History’ wristband.

Superstars are signing up to the anti-poverty initiative in droves. But can celebrities really give the fight against global poverty the push it needs, or is the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign only an excuse to wear a trendy wristband and feel good about yourself?

Celebrities have always involved themselves in good causes. Any list would have to include Audrey Hepburn, who worked with the United Nations International Children’s Fund (Unicef) from 1988 until her death in 1993, and even earlier Humphrey Bogart who led a 1947 group that protested the U.S. government’s probe of communism in Hollywood. But more recent years have seen a marked increase in celebrity involvement.

This year has been hailed as the year for development and Africa, and celebrities have been quick to grab their slice of the action.

Between shooting their latest film or recording their new album, rock stars, actors and models are making time to back the ‘Global Call to Action against Poverty’ that aims to push richer western governments to boost aid and to offer better trade deals to poorer countries.

Whether it is British model Kate Moss appearing in television advertisements for the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign, or former Irish rock star Sir Bob Geldof rallying the good people of Europe to Edinburgh for a rally in the run-up to this year’s G8 summit, it does seem that such efforts are slowly paying off as the message is taken up by powerful politicians unable to ignore the media circus that inevitably follows the famous.

Geldof is undeniably the most shining example of pop power. After raising more than 44.7 million euros (54.5 million dollars) for Ethiopia in 1985 through the Live Aid concert, it seems Geldof has not lost his power of persuasion.

Earlier this year he convinced British Prime Minister Tony Blair to set up the Commission for Africa that has recommended radical steps governments can take to support the development of Africa. Blair, realising that he is on to a good thing, evidently has quite an ear for the rather outspoken Geldof.

With just weeks to go before the Group of Eight leaders meeting in Gleneagles in Scotland July 6-8, the celebrity momentum is growing. It would be impossible for those G8 leaders from the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy to ignore the global Live 8 aid concert happening just days before their own gathering.

Geldof says Live 8 will be a visible, and audible, message of people support to a cause that many of the G8 leaders are seen as disregarding, and that it will turn up the heat on leaders in other countries where aid campaigns have been lower on the public agenda.

Geldof has on his side willing celebrities such as Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney and Madonna to perform at the five simultaneous concerts to be held in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia July 2.

But while some pop stars prefer to stick to what they know best, others have gone further to beat politicians at their own game.

Irish rock band U2’s lead singer Bono, a dedicated lobbyist for the world’s poor people and those stricken with AIDS, took his anti-poverty message to Brussels Thursday this week to appeal to European Union (EU) leaders to cancel debts, double aid and make trade fair for the world’s poorest nations.

After talking to Bono, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso admitted that “one chat with the rock star was worth more column inches than countless political meetings.”

While some celebrities are making personal appearances, others have put pen to paper.

Last week celebrities including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, model Claudia Schiffer, and actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt sent letters to the G8 finance ministers urging them to fight for more debt relief and help for the world’s poorest nations ahead of a finance ministers meeting in London (Jun. 11)..

Bono says he is motivated by megalomania. “A sense of what is possible. People are dying for the most stupid of reasons. I have been in hospitals in Malawi where people are queuing up to die three in a bed – things you think you would never see in your life,” he told media representatives in Brussels Thursday.

He said a push for African debt relief and tackling hunger, poverty and HIV/Aids was “a winnable war” and not “wide-eyed, misty-eyed Irish nonsense”.

Many development experts say such ambition and commitment from celebrities is invaluable to the fight against poverty.

“Celebrities are helpful in spreading the message and getting public attention, particularly because the media is jumping at their moves,” Sven Grimm, research fellow at the London-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a leading think-tank on international development and humanitarian issues told IPS. “Celebrities can help to attract attention of a wider audience, and if they are pop stars, this might particularly help with some of the younger age groups.”

But Grimm warns that when it comes to more detailed strategies to foster development, one-off media coverage and celebrity appeals help only so far.

“Celebrities can only push an issue on the agenda, and media agendas have a short life. Development is a long process with many aspects which go beyond the 2005 agenda, and any expectations of quick-fixes might therefore be disappointed. Nevertheless, the campaign creates momentum to build on.”

While Grimm predicts that public attention will ebb again in 2006, he remains optimistic that in the meantime a few much needed decisions might have been implemented, and that a “few more bright minds might have been reached by the campaign to work on sustainable development in the longer run.”

Barbara Kwateng, spokesperson for the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which is part of the ‘Global Call to Action against Poverty’, hopes celebrity involvement will have a long-term impact on the fight against poverty.

“I believe that celebrities will awaken the interest and support of these issues beyond 2005 and will produce sustained pressure by being there,” she told IPS. “I am confident that their work will contribute beyond this year and their impact will run and run, not only for our generation but also for future generations.”