French campaigners attempt to save European food aid programme

A group of French organisations launched an online campaign on Monday in an attempt to save the European food aid programme for the most deprived (PEAD), which is expected to end in 2013. The campaign encourages netizens to film themselves with empty plates and post the videos on the internet.

2013 will be the last year that the PEAD will run in this form. Funded by the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), the European food aid program for the most deprived in its current form is set to be replaced by a different scheme, which according to a representative for the French Red Cross will only provide half of the aid needed.

In an attempt to prevent its closure, the French Red Cross and other non-profit organisations such as the Secours populaire and Les Restos du coeurdecided to act and launch the Airfood Project, which calls on netizens to film themselves while "performing an Airfood session" and "share the video". It also calls on Twitter users to directly reach out to European decision makers on the micro-blogging site.

A teaser of the project was released last Thursday and their first online ad campaign was posted on their Youtube Channel on Monday. The video calls on internet users to "say yes to the European food aid" and to "join the movement and become an air fooder".

It features groups of people pretending to eat. At the end of their meal, they are seen brandishing signs saying "In one year, 18 million Europeans won't be pretending" and “say no to the elimination of European food aid".

Members of the Airfood Project say the closure of the PEAD "would endanger the survival of millions of recipients."

(NewsPoint)