The Disasters Emergency Committee has now called an appeal for the survivors of the terrible 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar which has devastated many areas of the country. Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds are still missing. Many more have no access to the safe shelter, clean water, food and medical care they need to survive.
Countless roads and buildings have been destroyed, including hospitals, schools and water supplies. Network and power lines are down. People are cut off from vital services.
Myanmar was already facing a severe humanitarian crisis with a third of the population in need of humanitarian aid. Now the situation is catastrophic.
We will holding a street collection on the Isle of Man this weekend and are keen to hear from anyone who can help, even for an hour or so. Please get in touch with Wendy either by emailing info@owciom.org or calling 310191. Thank you.
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After a round of exciting in-school heats, we can now reveal all five finalists for this year’s One World Charity Challenge competition which tasks Year 12 students with researching, advocating for and presenting on a small charity working overseas.
We’re delighted to announce that the teams representing Action Village India (QE2 High School), Gumboots (Ballakermeen High School) and Livingstone Tanzania Trust (King William’s College) will join the teams representing Seed Madagascar (Castle Rushen High School) and Street Child (St Ninian’s High School) for the Grand Finals on 26th March.
Congratulations to all the finalists and commisserations to the other teams – the competitions were extremely close in some cases, and there were some great and enthusiastic presentations which were thoroughly enjoyed by the judges.
We hope everyone who has taken part has enjoyed their learning experience and the chance to practice useful transferable skills. Also insight into how ordinary people can be motivated to make a difference to the lives of others – we can all be part of positive change in this world!
Each of the charities represented by teams who didn’t go through to the finals will receive a £100 donation from the Charity Challenge programme from a prize fund generously donated by the Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust and Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust among others. In this very uncertain time for international development funding, we’re sure those donations will be put to good use.
This year’s annual Global Village event will take place on Tynwald Day Monday 7th July and applications for a stall are now open.
The Global Village is a celebration of the different cultures represented in the Isle of Man as well as a showcase for local organisations and groups involved in international and sustainable development.
Based in the arbortem at St Johns, just down from Tynwald Hill, the Global Village is a great family day out – and it’s free for visitors and stallholders to attend. Follow the links for the relevant forms and event Terms and Conditions.
We are delighted to host, along with Isle of Man Friends of the Earth, a talk from James Levelle – explorer, filmmaker and environmentalist – as he recounts his exploits travelling from the UK to a climate change conference in Chile without using fossil fuel, collecting messages along the way from young voices to present to conference attendees.
In a voyage filled with adventure and unexpected twists and turns – not least the cancellation of the conference mid-journey – James reflects on our relationship with nature, and on the need for young people to have their say on global issues which directly affect their future.
An award-winning cinematographer, James has filmed around the world – from documenting child labour in India’s cotton fields and deadly pirate fisherman off the coast of Sierra Leone to exposing the criminal trade in tiger skins and bone and the multi-million pound illegal logging industry in Southeast Asia.
These intense filmmaking adventures opened his eyes to the power of film and its extraordinary potential to change people’s perspectives.
Since then, James has worked in some of the world’s most extreme environments directing and presenting some of adventure TV’s most groundbreaking and successful shows such as Alaska: Gold Rush, Free Ride: South America, Primal Survivor: Amazon and Race For The Future.
The talk will be held at Erin Arts Centre at 7.30pm on Thursday 3rd April. It’s free to attend but tickets must be booked in advance to secure a seat. Please either use this link or get in touch with the Erin Arts Centre directly.
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We are delighted to host another exhibition from photographer Vincent Tremeau, this time reflecting on the experience of refugees and displaced people around the world.
In Exile is a stunning collection of images that give a glimpse into the lives of those fleeing conflict and oppression. UN figures from 2023 reveal 117.3 million people (1 in every 69) had been forcibly displaced at that time including 43.4 million refugees and 68.3 million people internally displaced in their own countries. This was estimated to have risen to more than 120 million people by April 2024.
For Vincent, the project is ultimately about a question of identity: “What defines who we are?” he asks. “Is it the experiences we encounter, the choices we make, or the paths we are compelled to follow when circumstances strip us of control?
“For many, exile is not a choice but a necessity – a consequence of crisis, conflict, or survival. Through my lens, I seek to understand this complex existence between identity and displacement. I strive to look for some answers through those forced to leave their homes, sharing their resilience, pain, and hope with the world.”
Wendy Shimmin, One World Centre Coordinator, with Airport Director Geoff Pugh at the launch of the display
The exhibition is on show at the Isle of Man Airport, a venue that is particularly apt.
“For most of us here, travel is a choice we make, especially when and where we go to,” said Wendy Shimmin, One World Centre Coordinator.
“But for the millions of people around the world who are refugees or displaced, there is no such choice. They leave their homes only to seek safety and sanctuary, too often finding themselves stuck in limbo in refugee camps, dependent on aid and with only dreams of experiencing a normal life.
“It is hard for us to imagine the impact such events have on so many families and Vincent’s photographs bring home the reality of the situation but also the resilience of the people in this situation.”
The display is free to visit and is in the atrium on the first floor of the airport. It is expected to be on show until early March. The exhibition follows the hugely successful showing of One Day I Will, also by Vincent Tremeau, last year.
We’ve recently been marking Global Learning Fortnight – two weeks when we talk about what we are doing all year long as a development education and global learning charity!
The theme for this year was Connecting People for an Inclusive Planet and we put together some information about how the One World Centre and other local organisations are putting this into action through the projects we all run.
We’re always looking for new ideas on how to connect people in the Isle of Man with others around the globe to make the world a fairer and more sustainable place. Let us know if you have any ideas you’d like to share.
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Join us for another of our Mighty Movies – films with a global perspective.
This time we are showing Five Years North, a documentary that follows the experiences of a young Guatamelan boy who arrives undocumented in New York and his struggles to live, study and work.We also see the situation through the eyes of Judy, a first generation immigrant from Cuba who works for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
As usual, the film will be screened free of charge at Henry Bloom Noble Douglas City Library and will start at 7pm on Thursday 28th November. No booking required, just come along.
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How good is your general knowledge? Our “All Around the World” themed quiz night will get the brain ticking while raising funds for our work in raising awareness of global issues – and encouraging a positive response.
The event takes place at Bar George in Douglas on Thursday 7th November, 7pm for a 7.15pm start. Our guest quizmaster is Andrew Langan-Newton.
This is a key fundraising event for us this year (all proceeds will go to the prize fund of our One World Charity Challenge project) so please come along if you can – and encourage friends, colleagues and family to take part too. The tickets are just £7 donation per person, and you can have up to five people in a team. There will be prizes for the winners and we’ll also have a raffle.
Please email or call Wendy on 310191 to reserve tickets.
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Back by popular demand after a short presentation at one of our events earlier in the year, Ken Corlett will share more of his stories during his time as a UN Human Rights investigator on Thursday 24th October (United Nations Day) at the Erin Arts Centre.
A former detective with extensive experience in the investigation of serious breaches of international humanitarian law, Ken was seconded to the United Nations firstly as a war crimes investigator in Bosnia-Herzegovina (the former Yugoslavia). He later investigated political killings in Lebanon and was the Chief Investigator for UNRWA, the agency responsible for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.
As violent conflicts continue to ravage communities around the world, Ken will explain both the importance and the challenges of bringing those responsible for human rights abuses to justice.
We have today launched a new poster campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery and exploitation in the Isle of Man.
It is the latest development in the One World Centre’s ongoing project around modern slavery which began when the charity invited modern slavery consultant Robin Brierley to give a talk to the general public and Members of Tynwald in 2022.
The posters highlight the telltale signs of exploitation and encourage anyone affected or concerned about others to seek help by calling the Isle of Man Safeguarding telephone numbers provided (686179 for children’s services and 685969 for adult services) or to use the anonymous Isle of Man Crimestoppers hotline (0800 555 111).
Launching the campaign One World Centre Coordinator Wendy Shimmin said,“The term modern slavery is not very well understood. It encompasses many different types of exploitation including “county lines” where young people are recruited into ferrying drugs or the proceeds of crime, sexual exploitation, people trafficking and domestic servitude.
“Although we all think of the Isle of Man as a small and safe place to live, we know there is a risk of exploitation taking place in any community. Our campaign aims to raise awareness and signpost any vulnerable people – or those concerned about others – to sources of help.
“We can all be vigilant to the signs and we hope that local businesses and organisations will support us by displaying our posters in public areas so they get the maximum visibility.”
For more information and to get copies of the posters please contact us or call 310191. The poster campaign has been funded with the support of the Isle of Man Government’s International Development Education and Awareness Raising grant.
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The One World Centre (Isle of Man) is a development education charity with a mission to educate for a fair and sustainable world for everyone. Manx Registered Charity No. 1192.
