WorldVoice Annual Report - 2010

WorldVoice Annual Report FY10 November 2010

Table of Contents

Contents

Page

Letter from the WorldVoice Team

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What is WorldVoice?

4

About the WorldVoice Panel

5

Climate Change

6

Human Trafficking and Ethical Consumption

8

Australian Government Aid

10

M t Maternal l & Child H Health lth

12

General Poverty

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What’s Next?

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Contact Us

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Have your say today…and change tomorrow.

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Letter from the WorldVoice Team On behalf of the WorldVoice team, we want to thank you for your ongoing commitment as a WorldVoice panel member. Together with thousands of other Australians, you are making a difference in the lives of the world’s poorest people.

We hope your first year of participation on the WorldVoice panel has been exciting and informative.

We’re We re already hard at work planning new surveys for next year year, on topics such as emergency relief, relief water and sanitation, and primary education.

At WorldVoice we know every individual effort counts. We are grateful for the time and effort you spend sharing your thoughts and taking action on the issues. As we move into 2011, we are excited to continue to hear what you have to say and to see what the WorldVoice panel will achieve in the global fight against poverty.

David, Jane, and Belinda WorldVoice Team

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What is WorldVoice?

“It’s unbelievable that we have to even tackle these issues in the 21st century. I don't think Australians and people from other 'developed' countries know how lucky they are. Thanks for giving them a voice.” – WorldVoice Panellist Speaking out for those living in poverty – those whose voices are so rarely heard – is an important and powerful part of World Vision’s work. WorldVoice provides an opportunity for all Australians to use their voices together. When combined with World Vision’s strong research, policy work and development experience, these opinions offer support for sustainable change for children, families and communities living in poverty.

WorldVoice is an easy and free way to help create change for those living in poverty: panel members simply share their thoughts on important global issues through regular online surveys. The collated results of the surveys are then used, along with other information, in discussions with decision-makers and the general public to bring about change, change and in the media to promote understanding of the issues. issues This could include conferences and forums on poverty-related issues.

In FY10, the WorldVoice team conducted five surveys to capture the opinions of Australians on issues related to poverty and injustice. This year, we focused on climate change, human trafficking, government aid, maternal and child health, and general issues relating to poverty. The combined responses formed one part of a united voice, illustrating what issues really matter to Australians thinking globally. A summary of h survey results l is i contained i d in i this hi report; further f h results l are available il bl on the h WorldVoice W ldV i website. bi the Have your say today…and change tomorrow.

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About the WorldVoice Panel “Surveys usually annoy me but this was informative and eye opening. It is good to be reminded of what many people live with everyday and be reminded that I can do something to help. Thank you.” – WorldVoice Panellist In FY10, nearly 5,000 Australians joined the WorldVoice panel and shared their thoughts on a variety of poverty-related issues. The panel is representative of the Australian population in terms of age and state of residence. residence There is a gender skew skew, as females are over-represented. over-represented Recruitment campaigns in FY11 will aim to grow the male population of the panel.

Approximately 4% of WorldVoice panel members are staff at World Vision, and 22% are current supporters of World Vision (those who give financially to World Vision’s projects).

Our goal is to have 20,000 Australians registered for the WorldVoice panel by this time next year. It’s a l f goall – and lofty d it’s ’ one you can hhelp l us achieve. h SSee page 17 ffor information f about b how h you can spread d the word about WorldVoice and help the panel grow in size and influence.

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Climate Change What you said...

“I think some Australian money could be spent educating Australians about how climate change is an issue of international justice.” – WorldVoice Panellist Which of the following would you expect to be the potential impacts of climate change on the world’s poorest people?

You feel that climate change is taking place (96% say it is ‘definitely’ definitely or ‘probably’ probably taking place), and is likely to have wideranging impacts on those living in poverty

Increased drought

95%

Increased flooding

91%

Reduced crop production

95%

Increased food prices Increased risk of disease

91% 86%

Given that the world’s poorest people are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, what are you willing to do in the next five years?

95%

91%

86%

2% Provide funds Reduce your to help people own personal impact

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Influence decision makers

You are willing to do something about climate change g – ggive money, y make changes in your own life, influence others

None of the above

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Climate Change How your voice made an impact We are pleased to report that you’re not alone in your opinions on climate change – this is an issue that concerns a large proportion of the Australian public. In April 2010, 68% of Australians were concerned about climate change1 and 76% agreed that it was important for Australia to take strong action to address climate change1.

World Vision is in the process of developing a campaign to advocate for long-term change which supports the health and wellbeing of people and the planet into the future.

In March 2010, 72% of people agreed that Australia should take action to reduce carbon emissions even without a global climate change agreement2. Using your voice, we advocate to the Australian Government and policy makers to ensure that the government: • takes leadership on the global stage and contributes to the fulfilment of a fair climate change deal; • drives d a domestic d climate l change h policy l that h results l in increased d benefits b f for f poor people; l and d • supports the poorest and most vulnerable communities in developing countries to thrive in the face of climate change.

1Auspoll

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tracking research, Climate Benchmark Report, April 2010 2Lowy Institute Poll, March 2010

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Human Trafficking & Ethical Consumption What you said...

“I believe we do have a responsibility to help those less fortunate. They need help to become healthier, better educated and most importantly protected [from] child labour and human trafficking.” – WorldVoice Panellist How well informed do you feel about which manufacturers do or do not use forced or child labour?

No response 5%

Very well 0% Fairlyy well 6%

Human trafficking is a bigger problem than you realised (61% said it was more widespread than you thought) and you do not feel very informed about the issue

Not at all 25% Not well informed 64%

What actions are you prepared to take in the future to help address the use of child labour in the chocolate industry?

Now that you are better informed, you are prepared to take a variety of actions to help reduce the use of child labour in chocolate production

81%

68%

65% 47% 0%

Purchase ethical chocolate

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76%

Sign a p petition

Support 'Don't Trade Lives'

Find out more

Support orgs. None of the workingg to above address the issue

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Human Trafficking & Ethical Consumption How your voice made an impact In collaboration with the Don’t Trade Lives campaign, we’ve improved the lives of thousands of people suffering from exploitation by influencing chocolate industry practices and commitments: • Cadbury’s announcement that their most popular chocolate bar (Dairy Milk) will be Fairtrade certified from April 2010 is proof of the power of people working together. This decision has tripled the amount of Fairtrade cocoa available in Australia and is directly impacting 39,000 people, l 60% off whom h are children! hild !

• Arnott’s has publicly acknowledged that the worst forms of child labour and human trafficking are issues in the cocoa industry. In late October 2010, Arnott’s announced that it will source ethical cocoa that has not been made with the use of child labour for all of its chocolate-based chocolate based products, products including the iconic Tim Tam biscuit.

• Green & Black’s is transitioning its entire product range to the Fairtrade label.

• M Mars announced d it would ld certify tif its it entire ti cocoa supply l through th h the th Rainforest Alliance scheme by 2020.

The campaign p g has expanded p into Asia! Don’t Trade Lives is: • influencing governments in the region to recognise trafficking for labour exploitation and to enforce policies to prevent trafficking and protect victims; and • empowering youth and communities to influence government and private sector action on trafficking.

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Australian Government Aid What you said...

“Commit to the promise you [the Australian Government] made in 2000. Australia needs to be giving 0.7% of GNI by 2015 – let’s make this happen and put an end to extreme poverty!” – WorldVoice Panellist How much of each $100 of Australian Government budget do you estimate was spent on overseas aid last year? How much should be spent?

You overwhelmingly feel the Australian Government should pprovide overseas aid (99% support this), and you don’t think we are giving enough

40%

33% 22%

26% 15%

12% 3% Less than $1 $1 to $5

21% 3%

$5 to $10

Was spent

26%

More than $10 $

No idea

Should be spent

It is estimated that all people in the world could have education, health care and food if developed countries contributed $7 per person per week1. Currently Australia contributes $3.30. Would you support the government giving $7 per week per Australian?

Don't No, should know be less 9% 6% No, should be more 4%

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Yes 81%

You would support doubling the amount of overseas aid from the current $3.30 (at the time of the survey) to $7.00 $7 00 per person, as recommended by the UN Millennium Project

1 UN

Millennium Project 2005 Investing in Development, p.251

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Australian Government Aid How your voice made an impact During the 2010 Federal election, our politicians couldn’t ignore the demands of you and thousands of other Australians. All over the country, people called for Australia to do our part and increase our spending to 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI), which will help us on the road to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and halving global poverty by 2015.

In recent months the Coalition joined the Labor party in firmly committing to spend 00.5% 5% of GNI on overseas aid by 2015. Both parties also gave their strongest statements to date about lifting this to 0.7% of GNI when possible after 2015. We continue to work with the Australian Government on further improving the targeting and quality of aid.

Government spending on overseas aid is linked to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The biggest problems facing international development and the achievement of the MDGs currently l are: • pressure on highly indebted donor governments to not meet their aid promises, • weakness in aid coordination by many donors, and nations.

• failure to build a fairer trading environment for all nations World Vision is continuing to focus on these issues in Australia and internationally and is also working to improve the governance systems in developing countries.

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Maternal and Child Health What you said...

“I think that if more people were made aware of the simple and affordable solutions to maternal and child mortality issue then a greater effort would be made to fix this.” – WorldVoice Panellist Is child mortality and maternal mortality more or less extensive than you thought?

29% 28%

19% Maternal mortality

25%

Somewhat more extensive Much more extensive

About half of you found maternal and child mortality to be more extensive than you first thought. Most (97%) did not know the two biggest factors that contribute to child mortality

Child mortality

How much do you agree/disagree with the following statements people have made about maternal health and child mortality?

You think that maternal and child mortality are big issues in the world today and Australians can do something about them

Child mortality is too big a problem for Australians to do anything about.

73%

22%

Maternal health is too big a problem for Australians to do anything about. about

71%

23%

I'm not convinced that child mortality is really a big issue in the world today.

I'm not convinced that maternal mortality is really a big issue in the world today.

Strongly Disagree

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81% 77%

12% 15%

Disagree

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Maternal and Child Health How your voice made an impact This year, the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, launched a global strategy to accelerate progress on women’s and children’s health. World Vision went into action, calling on the Australian Government to formally pledge its support to the strategy and take a lead role in its implementation.

Our arguments were strengthened by the voices of our supporters, many of whom had responded to our WorldVoice survey or signed our e-card and overwhelmingly expressed the view that our government has a responsibility to deliver on its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitments commitments.

We are pleased to report federal Labor has placed the MDGs at the centre of Australia’s aid program and has identified maternal and child health as a priority.

WorldVoice participants were vocal in their view that the Australian Government should provide more funding to address maternal and child health issues in developing countries.

With just four years left to achieve the MDGs, World Vision’s Child Health Now campaign willll step up efforts ff to llobby bb the h A Australian l Government G to increase health aid in priority countries with the highest child and maternal mortality rates. What we want is for Australia to increase the portion of our aid budget allocated to health to $1 in $5 by 2012 (currently it’s it s $1 in $7). $7) This investment would help improve access to simple and cost-effective solutions that are known to be effective in combating child and maternal mortality, such as bed nets, exclusive breastfeeding, skilled birth attendants, immunisation, access to clean water and improved sanitation.

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General Poverty What you said...

“I am really passionate in helping to eradicate poverty and I believe that if more people were aware of the injustices then the MDGs and other poverty eradicating initiatives would progress efficiently.” – WorldVoice Panellist What do you think is the top issue facing the world today?

The top issues facing the world today are quite i varied i d – climate li change, h poverty iin the developing world, greed, social justice, and pollution

Climate change

25%

Poverty in dev. world

23%

Greed

15%

Social justice/equity P ll ti Pollution

12% 5%

Imagine you have $100 to give to charity. How would you distribute your $100 among charities helping people, animals, or the environment? $60.67

$24.50 $14.74

People

Animals

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You would overwhelmingly prefer to provide financial support to charities that help people people, rather than the environment or animals

Environment

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General Poverty How your voice made an impact The results from this general survey provided us with a deeper understanding of what is most important to our panellists in terms of overseas aid and their priorities for helping those in developing countries. We are continually striving to gain insights into what matters to you. This in turn provides us with new ideas to consider and ways to challenge ourselves.

Given that this survey was just completed last month, we haven’t been able to use the results to their full potential yet. However, we look forward to using these latest results in various ways, particularly when reviewing our current programs and in the process of designing and developing new ones. The results from this survey have confirmed that we are in fact, on the right track with addressing most forms of poverty, and we’re so pleased to have your input in that journey.

IIn this h survey, you also l gave us some feedback f db k on your experience as a WorldVoice panel member.You told us that you joined the panel because you wanted to help World Vision in talks with the media media, corporations corporations, governments, governments and the general public. You told us that you’re receiving the right number of surveys, and you feel like you’re an active part of the campaign against poverty.Your input will help us create an even better WorldVoice experience for you next year.

Have your say today…and change tomorrow.

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What’s Next?

If climate change is your cup of tea...

Do something about it! Purchase ‘green’ products such as energy-efficient light bulbs or locally-grown produce. Cut down on your carbon footprint: carpool or use public transport more often.You can make change by adopting personal behaviours that will sustain the health and wellbeing of people and the planet into the future. Also check out One Earth, where you can learn more about climate change and sign up to One Earth News: http://www.worldvision.com.au/ourwork/solutions/OneEarth.aspx http://www worldvision com au/ourwork/solutions/OneEarth aspx If you hate human trafficking or Fairtrade tickles your fancy...

Demand ethical chocolate by only buying fairtrade certified products. Encourage your supermarket to use ethical hi l cocoa in i their h i home h bbrand d choccy. h SSend d a message to K Kevin i R Rudd dd (Mi (Minister i ffor Foreign F i Affairs), Aff i ) check out the ethical chocolate buying guide, or get more info on CALL+RESPONSE, an acclaimed rockumentary shining a spotlight on slavery, all at Don’t Trade Lives: http://www.donttradelives.com.au.

If you’re gaga about government aid...

Time and again we hear that the most influential advocacy for change comes from people in the local electorate. Contact your local federal MP and start a conversation about the importance of Australia keeping its promises to help achieve the MDGs. MDGs You don’t don t need to know everything – it it’ss important that your MP hears you are interested in the issue and want to know what they are doing about it. Not sure who your MP is? The Australian Electoral Commission lets you search by postcode and will give you the p pp g Get tips p for writingg to or callingg your y name and contact details of yyour MP: http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch.

MP here: http://www.worldvision.com.au/Act/InspireInfluence.aspx.

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What’s Next? (continued) If you’re mad about maternal health or crazy about child mortality...

Get your creative juices flowing! Organise a stunt or photo shoot to help raise awareness about child mortality. Take a look at this simple yet amazing stunt by World Vision’s youth movement,Vision Generation, in Tasmania on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x45Zd4MTmTQ. Remember to send us photos or video footage so we can post it on Facebook! Our contact details are at the end of this report report.You can also join people from all over the world in signing a global petition to make maternal and child health a political priority. There’s a link on the Child Health Now website: http://www.worldvision.com.au/OurWork/Solutions/ChildHealthNow.aspx.

If poverty t is i your passion... i MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY is the largest anti-poverty movement in history. Similar to WorldVoice, it’s not a fundraising campaign. It’s a coalition of more than 60 member organisations who are working together to tackle global poverty. Join the campaign, learn more about the cause, see the power of social media being used in the fight against global poverty, and sign up for email updates about the latest events (including secret ones!) at the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY website: http://www.makepovertyhistory.com.au/.

If you’re wild about WorldVoice...

Tell your friends to join the panel – at WorldVoice, we believe ‘the more, the merrier’! If you know of g like to use their voice to help p ppeople p livingg in poverty, p y have them sign g upp on other Australians who might our website: http://www.worldvision.com.au/worldvoice.

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Contact Us

WorldVoice World Vision Australia National Office 1 Vision Drive Burwood East,VIC 3151 Australia ABN 28 004 778 081 Questions? Visit our website at http://www.worldvision.com.au/worldvoice Or contact the World Vision Australia Supporter Service Team: Telephone 13 32 40 Email service@worldvision.com.au Internet http://www.worldvision.com.au

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