Category: Past Events Published Date
Date: 14 Mar 2008
Title: THE GREAT AFRICAN TRADE SCANDAL
Speakers Dr. Robert Beckford & Charles Abugre (Christian Aid)
Event Details:
With the Name of God, All-Merciful, Most Merciful
The City Circle invites you to "THE GREAT AFRICAN TRADE SCANDAL," a film presentation and talk in association with Christian Aid.
Last year, with Christian Aid's support, academic and theologian Dr. Robert Beckford travelled to Ghana to find out why, after 50 years of independence, a country so rich in natural resources remains trapped in poverty.
His journey, documented in the film, "The Great African Scandal," exposes the story behind some of the rice, chocolate and gold sold on our high streets, and discovers how unfair economic policies are crippling farmers and locking their families into a life of deprivation. Come and find out how damaging conditions attached to World Bank and IMF loans have forced Ghana to open its markets to foreign produce and prevented the government from supporting its own farmers. Local farmers used to supply almost 50 per cent of their domestic market, but as rice imports have flooded in, especially from the USA, local rice farmers have seen their market share collapse, with disastrous consequences for the farmers themselves.
DR. ROBERT BECKFORD is an academic, theologian and film-maker. His published books include "Jesus is Dread," "Dread and Pentecostal" and "God and the Gangs." Robert's documentaries include the critically-acclaimed, "God is Black" and "Who Wrote the Bible" (Channel 4, 2004), "Gospel Truth" and "The Empire Pays Back" (2005). Currently teaching at Oxford Brookes University, Robert is still finding time to write and is turning his writing skills to playwriting.
CHARLES ABUGRE has been Head of Global Policy and Advocacy at Christian Aid since September 2004. Born in Ghana, his passion for economic justice has led him to hold positions in Uganda, The Netherlands and Malaysia, before teaching at the University of Wales in Swansea until 2004. He was Director of ISODEC in Ghana from 1994 and coordinator for African Secretariat of the Third World Network until 2001. He is currently a member of the Third World Network International Board as well as sitting on the Civil Society Advisory committee of the Administrator of the UNDP. His areas of interest include Public Finance, international financial institutions and the general area of poverty policy.
CHRISTIAN AID is the UK's largest Christian relief organisation. It was set up after World War Two by the British Council of Churches and is currently sponsored by 41 UK churches. It operates around the world in 50 countries and its aims include: to stand with the world?s poorest people to bring poverty and injustice to an end - regardless of faith or ethnicity; to make change happen - both on the ground and in the plush offices of powerful international institutions; to work through local organisations to deliver direct, practical benefits, and to campaign to challenge the causes of poverty.
For more information, visit http://www.surefish.co.uk - the ethically-minded online magazine from Christian Aid, http://www.christianaid.org.uk.
Free entrance. All welcome.
For event enquiries please contact us on 07980 834340 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.