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Press Release

7 November 2004

Government minister welcomes Live Aid anniversary DVD

Live Aid DVD box-set

Image courtesy of Live Aid/Warner

Gareth Thomas, the minister for International Development, today welcomed the launch on the 20th Anniversary DVD of the Live Aid concert.

He said, “The Live Aid concert twenty years ago was one of the most memorable and important cultural events of the 1980s. It was a positive response to the terrible images of famine in Ethiopia and it allowed ordinary people to do something about what they were seeing on their tv screens. 

Rough Guide to a Better World

Gareth Thomas also announced the publication of the “Rough Guide to a Better World”, a new booklet produced by the Department for International Development (DFID) and The Rough Guides. 

He stated: "I hope the 'Rough Guide to a Better World' will also help to raise awareness of the issues affecting the poorest around the world and show people in the UK what they can do to make their lives better.”

The Rough Guide to a Better World will be available free at Post Offices from 29 November and will be about what practical things people could do to help combat poverty around the world. It includes advice on smarter ways of giving money to charity, ethical tourism and buying fair-trade goods from your local supermarket – all of which make life better for the world’s poor. 

Links


Notes to Editors

  1. The 20th Anniversary Live Aid DVD is launched on Sunday 07 November at Kensington Odeon at 6pm. Bob Geldof and Midge Ure will be attending.
  2. The official launch of The Rough Guide to a Better World is on Monday 15 November at Portcullis House. If you would like to attend please contact the DFID press office at the number given below. Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DFID will be at the launch.
  3. DFID has contributed £960,000 towards the publication of two million copies. The Post Office has agreed to distribute free copies throughout the country – 20 in the smallest branches and 800 in the largest. 
  4. DFID is the UK Government department responsible for promoting sustainable development and reducing poverty. The central focus of the Government’s policy is a commitment to the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. These seek to:
    a. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
    b. Achieve universal primary education
    c. Promote gender equality and empower women
    d. Reduce child mortality
    e. Improve maternal health
    f. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
    g. Ensure environmental sustainability
    h. Develop a global partnership for development
  5. For more information please contact the DFID press office on 020 7023 0600 or e-mail pressoffice@dfid.gov.uk