Global Weekly Update September 3, 2012

Top Action: Full Court Press on Global Partnership for Education Letter. It Closes September 10!

We currently have 50 representative signers. Will you help us get the last 20 to reach our goal of 70?

RESULTS is supporting USAID’s efforts to get 15 million kids in school by 2015 and Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) goal of getting 25 million kids in school by 2014. This means that we can put more than 25 million kids in school if we support both efforts in the coming years. For us, these are the two ways to reach those 61 million children who need and deserve an education.

The US has the resources to support both USAID’s and GPE’s work. USAID requested $573 million to carry out their education plan in 2013. Both the House and the Senate have put $800 million in there spending bills for 2013. This means that we can accomplish USAID’s goals and also invest $125 million in GPE in 2013. And this is exactly what Rep. Schakowsky and others are requesting. Both Democrats and Republicans support GPE, so ask all Reps. to sign.

Ask your representative to sign on to Rep. Schakowsky’s sign-on letter to Secretary of State Clinton. Given the deadline, call and email the foreign policy aide every day until you get an answer. There is a lot of noise in DC right now with conventions and elections, so we will have to be extra diligent to be heard over the noise.

• Find a laser talk here that will help you make your call. Use the Capitol Switchboard number: (202) 224-3121. Ask to speak to the foreign policy aide.
• Use our online action alert to take action, and share it with others in your community.
• Use our August Action Sheet on the Global Partnership for Education, which offers details and support.
• Find a current list of signers on our blog.

We are committed to getting 70 signatures. Please remain persistent. Thank you for your hard work!

This Saturday, September 8 National Conference Call on Education for All! Join Other Activists Around the Country. 

Ask your group members to put the date aside to meet up with the group for the 2 pm ET call this Saturday, September 8. Build in a potluck and time to socialize and take action.

Our guest speaker will be Katie Malouf Bous, Policy Advisor for Oxfam International. Katie’s work focuses on global advocacy with an emphasis on expanding access to quality basic education for all children, and universal, equitable health care in developing countries with a particular focus on the international financial institutions. Her background includes serving as Advocacy and Campaigns Associate at Oxfam International as well as working in the Washington Office on Latin America. She works closely with RESULTS on our Education For All advocacy and will offer some particularly helpful insights. We’ll be working on global education for the coming two months, so you want to be on this call to be ready for this critical advocacy.

Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call to join a great hour of inspiration and information.

From Broken Promise to Public Success:  A September Webinar on the World Bank’s 2010 Pledge to Basic Education

Did you know that the World Bank has actually turned a 2010 pledge to increase support to basic education into a decrease in global education funding?  Join us on September 12 for a webinar to find out how the World Bank took a 180-degree turn, yet is still claiming success!? You can’t make this stuff up.

Join Tony Baker, RESULTS’ Education for All Campaign Manager, on September 12 at 9 pm ET for this valuable webinar. He’ll explore what has happened and what you can do to set the record straight so that children across the world can have a quality education.

To join the meeting from your computer or mobile device, click or copy and paste this URL into your browser: 
https://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/f2988286/17249590

To join the audio portion of this meeting, choose your dial-in method: Toll and international dial-in: +1 (775) 996-3560, toll-free: (800) 741-4032, or Skype the contact “fuzemeeting.” When prompted, enter the room number 796141. 

For more information on our comprehensive Education for All fall campaign push (which includes work on the Education for All Act, influencing Secretary of State Clinton, and holding the World Bank accountable for its pledge), listen to an August recording of our recent Education for All campaigns call. 

Fall Fundraising Rolls On In the Pacific Northwest

Please contact Beth Wilson if you know people in Alaska or Washington State who would like to attend a RESULTS event, as we have many exciting events in those areas coming up in the next month. Please help us promote them if you know anyone in these cities! They are guaranteed to inform, delight, and yield wonderful support for our on-going work together.

• Seattle, WA – Sept 15, 5:00 – 7 pm. House party with Dr. Chris Dunford, Freedom from Hunger. Contact Karen Gielen. 
• Bremerton/Kitsap, WA – Sept 16 Luncheon event with Dr. Chris Dunford, Freedom from Hunger. Contact Beth Wilson. 
• Anchorage, AK – Sept 21 House party with John Hatch, Founder of FINCA. Contact Roger Hudson & Mary Martin. 
• Sitka, AK – Sept 22 Dinner event with John Hatch, Founder of FINCA. Contact Michele Friedman. 
• Tacoma, WA – Sept 26 Dinner event with Kolleen Bouchane, Director of the ACTION Project. Contact Phyllis Bjorkman. 

Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people. 

    – Harry Emerson Fosdick

1. Coming Soon: World AIDS Day grant applications. Stay tuned.

2. September 5 (9 pm ET) and 21 (1 pm ET): RESULTS Introductory Calls. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262

3. September 8, 2 pm ET: National Conference Call: Focus on our fall Education For All emphasis. Dial (888) 409-6709 a few minutes before the call.

4. September 12, 9 pm ET: Webinar on the World Bank and Education for All. See Weekly Update for full details on how to join.  

5. September 17, 8 pm ET: Global Free Agents Call. Join this call if you are an activist in a town where there is no RESULTS group (yet). Contact Lisa Marchal for more information. Dial (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587 (RESULTS) to join the call.

6. October 3 (9 pm ET) and 19 (1 pm ET): RESULTS Introductory Calls. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262

Click for a printable Weekly Update.