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Jon Snow Interviews... Richard Curtis |
when is this on?
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 In this series of conversations marking the Year of the Volunteer 2005 Jon Snow gets to grips with what motivates some extraordinary people to give that little bit more time and energy to others. We hope this series of interviews will change the way you think, challenge how you choose to give your time or at the very least give you some inspiration.
In the final interview of the series Jon Snow meets one of the country’s most successful comedy writers and directors, co-founder of Comic Relief and a driving force behind the Make Poverty History campaign – Richard Curtis. Don’t miss The Jon Snow Interviews exclusively here on your Community Channel.
Richard Curtis is no stranger to using his influence to support campaigns and issues of personal importance, having co-founded one of the most successful fundraising initiatives in the country – Comic Relief. But now the creator of ‘Blackadder’, ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ and ‘Notting Hill’ has gone one step further and committed an entire year to working on a national campaign to stamp out global poverty. Moving away from the epic fundraising events that have characterised his previous efforts, Curtis is turning his influence on the decision-makers and politicians who can make the fundamental changes the campaign is demanding. So what inspires and motivates the man to give up the movie and television world entirely for a whole year?
"Well I’d been doing Comic Relief for 20 years, and very strongly believed in that side of it. In the fact that if people give money that they’re helping individuals, that it’s a person to person hand over of resources. But for about the last two I’ve been thinking ‘is this the best way for me to spend 6 months?’ because Bob Geldof once told me that he made more money over a cup of tea with Mitterand than he did in the whole of Band Aid and Live Aid."
With the 20th anniversary of these groundbreaking fundraisers coinciding with Britain’s presidency of the G8 and the 5th anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals, Curtis and others saw this year as an appropriate opportunity to get real commitments from the world’s most powerful nations. They launched the Make Poverty History campaign as a way to apply pressure for meaningful change on various fronts, including more and better aid to developing countries; changes in trade conditions that keep millions in extreme poverty; and debt relief for the poorest nations.
So does this new perspective mean Curtis has turned his back on the mass-appeal fundraising events that have characterised his previous work? Absolutely not says Curtis: "I won’t give it up because I completely believe in individual charity. I completely believe in the opportunity to hand over ten of my pounds to somebody somewhere else. It’s always driven me completely mad that I would be walking through a street in Africa and somebody would say ‘can I have ten quid?’ and I would have to say ‘look I’m sorry mate but I actually am sorting this out politically. Don’t worry, your grandchildren won’t be in the same situation, if it all goes fine we’ll be ok but I’ll keep my ten quid’"
Curtis first recognised his position within the entertainment industry could be used to make a positive change during a visit to Ethiopia, organised by the development agency Oxfam. Realising that the people making the most difference were those who were employing their personal skills to practical uses, Curtis returned to London with a plan to use his contacts and abilities in the world of television comedy to make a real difference, and Comic Relief was born.
This interview gives a real insight into the man behind one of the most loved and important fundraising initiatives in the country, and why he felt compelled to volunteer his name, time and considerable skills for a brand new political campaign to fight the causes of poverty. Don’t miss this remarkable series of interviews, right here on your Community Channel.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 April 2006 )
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