 Our world, your move - Global 2009 Campaign
The year 2009 marks a series of significant milestones for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. To mark these anniversaries, and to profile the Movement, a three-year Red Cross and Red Crescent global campaign was announced on 5 December, 2008. The campaign is meant as a call to action, to persuade people from all walks of life to engage in humanitarian action, under a simple, compelling slogan: “Our world. Your move.”
What is the 2009 campaign?
“Our world. Your move” is an image building and advocacy campaign of the Red Cross Red Crescent and is intended for the general public, decision makers, media and governments. The International Federation is working closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and they continue to make themselves available to all National Societies to help them in their planning for the coming year. We are a large and varied Movement, yet, we are unified by a common need to act.
The universal call of the 2009 campaign is action - it is the single element that will link our campaigns from local community based efforts to the global level.
What is a call to action?
For some societies, it will be the humanitarian consequences of climate change, for others it will be food security or victims of war, others still may choose blood services or health and care. As this is a global campaign taking place at national levels all over the world, each National Society is being encouraged to identify their core humanitarian challenge as their call to action. The campaign has been designed so that it can fit into existing plans, and to help National societies meet the needs of their beneficiaries.
When is the IFRC launching the campaign?
World Volunteer Day, 5 December, was felt as an ideal date to announce that 2009 will be the year of the Red Cross Red Crescent. This global campaign is going to launch on 8 May 2009. It is hoped that on that date the IFRC, ICRC, and National Societies will all launch their campaigns. These efforts will be linked together through a series of media based initiatives, the campaign website, and the common slogan and visual that will link all of our efforts together.
What are the key dates to remember?
Here is a list of key dates, for your planning:
| 5 December 2008 | World Volunteer Day. the IFRC will announce 2009 as the year of the Red Cross Red Crescent. |
| March | IFRC and ICRC will launch the campaign website, first to the National Societies and then the general public. |
| 4-8 May | The 90 year anniversary of the secretariat will take place in the lead-up to the World Red Cross Red Crescent Day global launch. |
| 23-28 June | The youth meeting, and commemorative events marking the battle of Solferino, will take place in Italy and conclude in Geneva. |
| 12 August | 60 year anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.
| | November | General Assembly in Nairobi |
Where does this campaign start from?
The Campaign is owned by the entire Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and thus the IFRC and the ICRC will work together to coordinate efforts from their delegations, zones and offices all over the world. All 186 National Societies are encouraged to take part in activities throughout 2009. To ensure that this campaign can be accessible to everyone, working in close partnership with the ICRC, the International Federation is creating a website dedicated to the campaign. This site will serve as the link between national, global, local and individual efforts to support the call to action. This website will allow National Societies to post content or link to their existing websites and will also be open to the general public to allow them to share their voice. Because it is a Red Cross Red Crescent effort, this campaign will exists everywhere our National Societies are engaging in activities.
2009 is our year: let’s work to bring all people together under a common and universal call for action. It is our world and we can move it together.
For further information about the Campaign, visit the website. | 
