FINISH THE RACE ACTION GUIDE 2013 CHURCH EDITION
01 WHAT AUSTRALIA NEEDS TO DO IN ORDER TO In the year 2000, Australia along with 188 other nations signed the Millennium Declaration which says: We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty. In doing so, we agreed to help achieve eight Millennium Development Goals which together aim to halve the incidence and worst effects of extreme poverty by 2015. To do our fair share towards meeting these goals, we need to increase effective, life-saving aid to 70 cents in every $100 of national income by 2020 and ensure that we tackle corruption and tax avoidance that robs poor countries of the resources they need to tackle poverty. By running a Finish the Race event in your church, you are helping to highlight the needs of the world s poorest people and to call on the Australian government to ensure that Australia finishes well in the run up to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline. Finish the Race events are flexible and could be a 10-minute action (as part of an existing program) to a larger event of an hour or so. EVENT SUMMARY There are three core elements that should be part of every event: 1 Show the Finish the Race presentation. This is a powerful, compelling, and uplifting presentation that highlights progress the world has made against poverty and shows what Australia needs to do to accelerate that progress. It is designed to be stand-alone if needed, but it is preferable for someone to deliver the presentation in person, which comes with speaker s notes. 2 Take a group photo to share with us and with your federal politician. By taking a photo of your group with the Halve Poverty by 2015 banner or posters, as well as any personal messages you want to display, you show how many people are committed to the cause of ending extreme poverty. 3 Invite participants to sign the petition. The Movement to End Poverty petition is a joint action of the Micah Challenge & Make Poverty History coalitions, for all Australians who believe we can end extreme poverty. Names added to the petition will appear in a public mosaic of signatories. All you need to know to plan your event with these core elements is outlined in this guide and we encourage you to be creative.
PLANNING YOUR EVENT 1. Plan early GATHER A TEAM TOGETHER Your team will help you plan and promote the event. SET A DATE WELL IN ADVANCE Consult with your pastor(s) and/or elders to get their support. REGISTER THE EVENT Once you have set a date, please fill out the event registration form on the website at: www.finish2015.com.au/events This information is important for us to track the progress of the campaign and to make sure that politicians recognise the level of support for these issues in their communities. On the form, you will be asked to indicate whether the event is private or open to the public. All public events will be loaded on to the Finish the Race interactive online map: www.finish2015.com.au/events so that anyone in your electorate who wants to support the cause can join in. If you would like support from a Micah Challenge speaker, please complete the speaker request section on the event registration form. We will do our best to meet this request, but we cannot guarantee a speaker for your event. Download and print or order any physical resources you require (banners, posters, hard copy petition forms) at: Be sure to order them at least 3 weeks before your event to allow time for postage. IDEA Invite your MP (optional) This is a great way to build or strengthen a relationship with your MP. If you decide to invite him or her, you can find out which Federal MP represents your church s area at: http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch. To find contact details and more information about his or her background visit: www.aph.gov.au/senators_and_members, email and/or phone your MP to invite him or her well in advance. You may need to negotiate the date of your event to fit your MP s schedule. Please let us know if you do decide to invite your MP to help us keep track of how many invitations each MP receives. 2. Promote the event within your church PLAN THE PROGRAM All the materials you need for giving an educational presentation are available to order and download at: In the weeks prior to your event, play the Finish the Race video clip in your service and small groups. Download the video from: Share the date and details in your weekly emails/bulletins and on social networks. Invite local media to cover the event if appropriate. 02
3. At the event SHOW THE FINISH THE RACE PRESENTATION As well as showing the presentation, be creative. Ideas to consider: Share news about community development projects supported by your church, or people s personal experiences of living and working in poor countries. Include justice-related worship music as part of the gathering. Put up images, statistics and stories as posters around the room. Have people write prayers or reflections in response to the presentation. WAYS TO BE CREATIVE WITH YOUR PHOTO... Have the group form a message, such as Halve Poverty in printed letters or with body shapes. Have the group pose in creative ways that highlight the halve poverty idea. For example, half the group wearing black and half wearing white or half lying down and half standing. Set up the photo as an action shot of ripping or running through a poster or banner that says Poverty on it (maybe including a before and after shot as well). TAKE A GROUP PHOTO **Please include posters or banners which say Halve poverty by 2015 in the photo to reinforce the message. These can be ordered at: Gather the group and take a photo, with the Halve Poverty by 2015 banner and posters prominently displayed, as well as any other personal messages you want to convey. Let the group know that you will be sharing this photo with us and your federal politician. The collective power of thousands of groups and individuals sending these photos to politicians will be something our nation s leaders can t ignore. 03
SIGN THE PETITION Invite everyone at the event to sign the Movement to End Poverty petition which is supported by community groups, aid and development organisations, schools, churches, religious communities and individuals. It can be signed digitally, via SMS, or in hard copy format. SMS HARD COPY Alternatively, you can use the text to sign function. Simply ask people to sms their first and last names, and post code to 0427 615 565. Hardcopy petition forms can be downloaded from: Give time for people to sign them during your service and gather them during the event to maximise numbers. Please post completed petitions to us at: Micah Challenge Level 2 / 134 William St, Potts Point NSW 2011 The petition calls on the Government to increase our giving to aid to 0.7% of Gross National Income by 2020. 4. After the event CONTACT YOUR FEDERAL POLITICIAN HOW TO SIGN THE PETITION: The petition is a mosaic image representing the Movement to End Poverty. The pieces of the mosaic ONLINE are formed by the names of the people who sign. The petition can be projected on a screen with people using smart phones to sign it in real-time during your event. A live counter indicates how many people have signed. The petition can be signed at www.finish2015.com.au/petition Show your Federal Member of Parliament (MP) how many people care by emailing or posting your group photo(s). The more photos and messages your MP receives from your electorate, the easier it will be for him or her to speak up in Parliament in support of the campaign. Use the template letter/email provided at but make sure you add your own message. (Continued on next page>>) If you would like to host a petition widget on your own website please email us at info@micahchallenge.org.au 04
Ask your MP to show their support for ending extreme poverty by: Making a speech in Parliament indicating support for the MDGs and our policy asks. Ask them to mention the Finish the Race campaign and your event in their speech. Speech notes are available at A guide to contacting your local media which includes sample articles to send before and after the event, as well as contact details for your local media outlets, is available at USE SOCIAL MEDIA Including an article indicating support for the MDGs in their electorate newsletter. Speaking up inside their party in support of more and better aid and country-by-country reporting for multinational companies. @micah_challenge #finishtherace #endpoverty #halvepovertyby2015 If you re not sure which electorate your church is in, or who your Federal MP is, go to http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch and enter your suburb or town in the search panel. Or, contact Micah Challenge on info@micahchallenge.org.au or call us on (02) 9356 8500. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MEDIA Local papers are always looking for stories of local people taking action that makes a difference. If you invited your local paper to cover the event, they may send someone to get some details and a photo. If they were not present, write an article about the event and send it to them straight away. Make sure you include a photo. # Make sure you make the most of social media in the lead up to, during and after the event. If you decide to create an event on Facebook, let us know so we can link to it from the event map on our website. Post photos of your event on our Facebook Page: /micahchallengeaustralia so we can share them on social media and encourage others to take action. Tag your Federal MP in your Twitter posts. If you don t hear anything for a couple of days, give them a call to follow up. Ask if they received your story and see if they need any more information. Make sure you also send a story and picture to your denominational publication as this is a great way to raise awareness among other churches. LET US KNOW HOW IT WENT Tell us how your event went. This is important so we can tell the politicians about what is happening across the whole country and so we can encourage others with your story: Fill in the event feedback form on our website at: www.finish2015.com/events Email us your halve poverty action photo(s) to: info@micahchallenge.org.au 05
5. Join with others in your electorate Your event makes up a vital piece of a larger puzzle. We encourage you and your church to get connected with other things happening in your electorate and lend your support. There is a key volunteer working with Micah Challenge to help coordinate campaigning in your electorate. She/he will be able to give you the full picture of action in your area and details about: The public event in your electorate Your community leader will be planning an event that brings supporters in your electorate together for collective action. This might be a media stunt, a race to the MP s office, or a community forum. Encourage people in your church to get involved in the public event as a follow up to your own event. Awareness-raising - Raise awareness of issues related to poverty and the difference that effective aid can make in the broader community. We have designed an engaging postcard that outlines the difference Australian aid makes. Help your Community Leader get one postcard in every letterbox in your electorate by taking responsibility for an area surrounding your church. Order the required number of postcards from the Micah Challenge office using the resource order form on the website (). We will notify your Community Leader that you have ordered cards and ask them to contact you with regard to distribution. Contact the Micah Challenge office if you would like to get in touch with the Community Leader in your electorate for more information on any public events that are planned, or to offer support with awareness-raising. 6. Optional extras TRAINING - If you want to better understand how advocacy (and your event) help create change in our world, take our online training course on leading change in your community at: www.micahchallengetraining.org.au RESOURCES - Use education resources in small groups and assemblies as a lead in or follow up to your event. Devote a sermon series unit to issues of poverty and justice. Encourage small groups to use the resources. Involve the groups in planning a service about justice. Encourage groups to get involved in the public event as a way of putting faith into action. You can download additional church resources at. Please contact us with any further questions (02) 9356 8500 info@micahchallenge.org.au www.finish2015.com.au www.micahchallenge.org.au 06
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