Now, with Coldplay’s support, we’ve made a great music video to highlight the problem of land grabs.

Why “out of place”? To echo the displacement of land grabs: big land deals that put people and their possessions out of place, forcing them from the place they call home. You ran away with the idea: vacuuming trees, jamming in the street, dining in elevators and even eatng in the ocean!

Why photos and videos? Because Coldplay donated us an exclusive acoustic version of their song, In My Place, and their music video director, Mat Whitecross, helped create a music video using your submissions.

What’s the point? To send a message to the World Bank. The Bank influences how land is bought and sold on a global scale. It has the power to step in and play a vital role in stopping land injustice. Recently the Bank has acknowledged it has a part to play in tackling land grabs. Now, just before the Bank’s Spring meetings, we’re using your creative ideas, and Coldplay’s music, to tell them to make good on their word.

Let the World Bank know the world is watching: watch the video, share it, and tweet @WorldBank now.

More of your “In My Place” submissions

We’ve asked you to star in an exclusive video for Coldplay’s acoustic version of “In My Place”, and help Oxfam fight the injustice of land grabs.

The photos and videos you’ve sent in for so far have been amazing. We’re so pleased with all the inventive ideas you’ve had.

With just a few days to go, there are a few shots and scenes we’d really like to see:

• Most importantly: people singing along to the song. Don’t worry, we won’t use your vocals (though we’re sure your singing is beautiful)! We’ll just lipsync you to the song.
• We’ve got videos from more than 45 countries – can you show us where you are? We know there are Coldplay fans and Oxfam supporters in the middle east, in Africa, in Latin America. Show us landmarks, scenery and places you’re proud of. (Here’s a great example.) That way, we can show that there are people around the world standing up against land grabs.
• It’s really useful to have two versions of each video: one up close, and a wider shot that shows us exactly where you are.

We’ve seen you recreate bedrooms, showers, dining rooms, kitchens, living rooms, studies, gardens and even toilets. You’ve eaten, brushed your teeth, watched TV, cooked, washed, ironed, read and exercised in the strangest places.

If you’re still seeking inspiration, why not shoot something at the funfair, on a rooftop, showing an epic landscape, in a shantytown, underwater, on a boat, on a roundabout, in a shopping mall, at school, at hospital, on a farm, on a ski lift, at the beach, at the zoo, by a waterfall, under a waterfall!, in a plane, in the doctor’s waiting room, in a lift, in a museum, on safari, at the pyramids, in the rainforest, at the arctic, in the snow or on the ice, in the desert, at the beach, up a mountain, in a field.

Or somewhere moving: a train, bus, bike, car – skydiving, parachuting.

Or just be completely weird: how about a person in an elephant suit hanging off a lamppost? Your only limit is your imagination!

Send in your photos and videos by Tuesday 2 April.

1. Keep it simple. A simple idea filmed in an interesting place or an interesting way can be brilliant.

2. Send us everything you’ve got – include lots of different shots so we can choose the best ones to illustrate your idea.

3. Give us a sense of where you are in the world. If you go to an interesting location to film, show it to us!

4. Why not show us your preparations? Film yourselves setting up and getting ready. And if you have a comedy moment, share it with us.

5. Sing along! We know you know the words. If you don’t want to share your beautiful voice, give us your best attempt at miming.

6. Please don’t add the #stoplandgrabs hashtag over your video. Show it within the picture in an inventive way if you can, but it’s not vital.

7. Try to give us lots of wide shots and/or close ups.

8. Moving the camera around is fine – but please try to keep it still in each angle for a few seconds before moving on.

9. If you compress/export your video before you send it to us, please keep the original file. If we use your video we might ask you for it.

10. Have fun!

Get involved and star in a music video for Coldplay now.

Oxfam ambassadors Coldplay have donated an acoustic version of their track ‘In My Place’  for a new Oxfam campaign video.

A pioneering film project. Inspired by Coldplay. Shot by you. Dedicated to people all over the world affected by the injustice of land grabs.

Supported by

At FILMCLUB we think that what we see on film
profoundly affects how we see ourselves and
each other, that’s why we run clubs in over
7000 UK schools.

I have had some amazing adventures and seen many different corners of the world from Seattle to Sydney, I’ve loved every minute of it. But I couldn’t have done it alone, not without the 1220 volunteers, 7 different Oxfams across the world and you guys, the thousands of Coldplay fans. So as I say goodbye I thought I would give you some highlights of my time on the road, through my tired feet.

But before I do I want to say THANK YOU!

Thank you to each and every one of you who took action with the Coldplay tour. Working with you online and offline and sharing our GROW vision was inspiring to see! Keep up the good work Coldplayers!!

30th July: Boston; After a night of talking to Coldplay fans about GROW I walked through the crowd and stood to watch Coldplay sing Paradise, with confetti all around my feet.

31st July: Chautauqua Lake:  Today drove to Chautauqua lake, New York, to take a pit stop during the day and used my feet to learn how to wake board in the lake.

August: Detroit: I woke up in Detroit where I came across a whole group of fans who also do stuff with their feet too. Well their shoes at least. These fans had done an amazing job of painting their shoes to match the Mylo Xyloto album cover.

Summertime: Manhattan:  I woke up from our overnight bus journey to walk over the highline and alongside the Hudson River in Manhattan.

August: New Jersey: I was walked the ground of the Izod Center (american spelling especially for you Americans) in New Jersey. A second home for the band and what an amazing gig it was!

August: St Paul: My tiny feet (size 3 UK) went on a bike ride (obviously I was still attached) and rode down the Mississippi River in St Paul.

November: Brisbane: This is where my adventures ended. In Brisbane

Yes all these adventures plus the 62 shows that I walked through 124 hours of dancing to Coldplay songs at the show. I think I might need a new pair of shoes!

So onto new adventures for me, complete with a new pair of shoes that I get for Christmas (please Santa). But again thank you and congratulations to you all for being amazing Coldplayers and campaigners!!! Keep up the good work!!

Lots of Brit style love, Rachel xoxox

My first memory was walking into what I thought was a huge arena in Edmonton. I was wrong though as this was quite small compared to Stade de France which has a capacity of 80,000 people!  All the crew were busy running around in their own worlds creating the stage, rigging the lights and doing a sound check. It was daunting to say the least! Then I found my own little friend (my tour case), we had an instant connection and became best buddies, well at least I relied on my case, as my new home for the months ahead. My tour case was a treasure cave packed full of Oxfam delights with t-shirts, food costumes, badges and stickers. Such delights that went on to feed the minds of Coldplay fans and speak the GROW word throughout the world.

But of course those badges didn’t give themselves out and over the past 9 months I’ve met over 1200 Oxfam volunteers across 16 different countries, all with amazing stories and an overwhelming passion for social justice and Coldplay. Yeah you guys were the ones that kept me going after weeks of gigs where I would walk outside the venue, slightly shrivelled and battered from bus road trips and showering in venues, to find 20 smiling, excited faces, who would ignite me again for a night of campaigning and partying to the band. Thank you guys!

Such energy from our amazing Oxfam campaigners around the world meant that we were able to sign up over 33,000 people at the Coldplay gigs to join the GROW campaign. Were you one of those people who got fruity with our volunteers dressed as fruit? If you miss your photo from the night you can catch it here on the Oxfam on Tour Facebook gallery.

For all those people who signed up you made our campaign a huge success. In the US and UK we had campaigning wins, as Coldplay fans told US government to reform the food aid sent overseas and the UK government to support small scale farmers to lead the way in providing food for our future population. So congratulations everyone! Our voices are being heard throughout the world!

But don’t worry if you fell off the Oxfam on Tour wagon and haven’t been following us since you signed up at the gigs then you can grant us a Christmas wish and do something to change your foodie ways, check out the previous blogs to find out how.

So I guess there is to say is THANK YOU;

THANK YOU to everyone for joining Oxfam in creating change in the food system and ensuring that people don’t go hungry anymore

THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped me along the way and spoke to so many of Coldplay’s fans

THANK YOU to all the Coldplay crew for your help on the road and putting on food costumes to fight food injustice

THANK YOU to Coldplay for giving Oxfam the opportunity to be on the road with you and for supporting us throughout the world!!

Now stay tuned for Oxfam on Tour’s year in pictures to be released on Christmas Day. Will you be in our year of pictures?

Meeting every week, sharing experiences and learning campaigning skills, Erica, Yolande, Barb, Tina, Tim, Rena and Agus are the Melbourne GROW team.

Together they are a group of Oxfam supporters committed to campaigning for a future where everyone has enough to eat. As sadly, 1 in 8 people go to bed hungry every night. That’s a total of 870 million people going hungry. At Oxfam, we fight poverty and injustice. Giving poor people the tools to help themselves is a big part of this. Especially, when it comes to people putting enough food for their families. 

So every Thursday for the last 6 weeks, the team has come together to the Oxfam office in Melbourne for workshops on the issues surrounding food and how we can gain a fairer food system. Impressively, after each week, this exciting bunch of all-star campaigners are putting knowledge into  practice by engaging their friends and the public in campaigning activities and in turn are helping change the world. They’re activities have been inspiring in volumes with them running events such as, asking friends and family to sign postcards calling on Australia PM, Julia Gillard to play an active in role in tackling global hunger, putting Oxfam seedlings around Melbourne business district for GROW week and holding their own campaign dinners and picnics on World Food Day for people to share a meal and talk about ways to fix the broken food system.

Just last week, the GROW team were engaging with Coldplay supporters to help Oxfam stop poor people being kicked off their land in dodgy land grabs. Dressed up as a taco, a big pea, corn and carrots, the GROW team and their friends signed up more than 1000 Coldplay supporters to help stop land grabs.

Exciting stuff, yea? So if this sounds like something you want to get involved in then  contact your local Oxfam staff member.

So now I guessing you want to know what it’s like to be so involved with Oxfam, well Oxfam Australia volunteer Patrick Cooper gives us an insight into the ultimate Aussie Coldplay experience.

If you can imagine 50000 people, an enormous stadium, the biggest band in the world, crazy lights, pyrotechnics… and people dressed as carrots and tacos, then you can only begin to imagine the weekend of concerts that Coldplay invited Oxfam to in Sydney.

Coldplay, as most of you would be aware, are one of Oxfam’s greatest and most influential supporters globally, and were lovely enough to invite along some of Sydney’s most vibrant Oxfam volunteers, to spread the message of the GROW campaign, with the theme of the night educating the masses about Land Grabs. It was a partnership between Oxfam in Australia and Oxfam UK, to bring to light this contemporary issue of social and environmental injustice.

As one of the volunteers myself, it was such a fantastic experience, to see the amount of people in the crowd that were wanting to learn more about this issue and sign the petition that will be sent to the World Bank in April, to hopefully place a freeze on lending for six months and allow positive action to be taken. A big help for us out there pounding the pavement, was that any mention of Coldplay’s support for the campaign immediately had people interested and willing to support. I guess it is true that Coldplay fans are socially aware, hopeful of change and willing to support anything Chris Martin puts his name too.

In my opinion, all the volunteers got immersed in the cause and had a great time themselves, with an abundance of smiles and some even taking their support to the next level by dressing as carrots, bananas, tacos and tomatoes. The crowd loved this aspect, because let’s be honest who doesn’t want to have their photo taken with a taco?? People were not only signing a petition, they were learning fun facts, to later impress their friends with, about the important work of the GROW campaign (did you know that bananas are grown in 130 countries across the tropics, with 90% produced and consumed by small scale farmers who currently need support to grow locally).

I think the evening was a great success for Oxfam, all the volunteers were motivated to educate and spread the word about the issue of Land Grabs to thousands of people in Sydney, the crowd got to have fun and join the global community of activists on social media with some fun snaps and of course to finish the evening off with the visual and audible spectacular that is a Coldplay concert was something very special and memorable for all of us volunteers!!! Let’s hope they come back again soon.

Let me start by saying wow and thank you! Wow because we had over 50 entries for our OOTfashion contest all of which were amazing and so creative in their Coldplay inspired ways. The entries came from all over the world from Brazil and Wales to the Philippines and New Zealand.

For me it was amazing to see that we have active Oxfam followers all over the world. So thank you to each and every one of you for spreading the word and entering our contest. You truly are a global movement and can’t be stopped!!

So down to the topic in hand… The Winner!!

After much time spent deliberating over our 10 ten. Coldplay’s wardrobe assistant finally made a decision.

And the winner of a Coldplay signed t-shirt is……………….

@ZoeBambi

For her glow in the dark dress.

“It captures the MX vibe and would look great under black lights” commented CP’s wardrobe assistant.

Well done @ZoeBambi. You’re t-shirt will be with you shortly.

The winner will be announced tomorrow after the show. Good luck!!