Which lovely MNers can come and serve tea to the great and the good at the Party Conferences this year?

[KateMumsnet]

Hello Everyone

We're joining up with the White Ribbon Alliance to put on another Mum's Cafe at two party conferences this year, in order to highlight Maternal and Newborn Health. Horrifyingly, a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth nearly every minute - and 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries.

The Cafe will be very like the one we pulled off with such aplomb at the Houses of Parliament in March, when Carrie spoke so brilliantly to an audience of assorted politicos, activists and the lovely Annie Lennox. Then, some gorgeous Mumsnetters dressed up in fine retro style, pouring tea for thirsty attendees to universal acclaim - and that's exactly what we plan again.

This time non-Londoners will get a look in, with the Labour Conference event taking place on Tuesday 28th of September in Manchester, and the Conservative one the following Tuesday 5th in Birmingham. If you're wondering what happened to the LibDem event, I'm assured that this was all planned much earlier in the year, when the political landscape was rather, ahem, different.

So who's up for dressing up in a pinny, a headscarf and some retro red lippie, and spending an hour or so pouring tea to the great and the good in support of a very good cause? Scroll down our campaign page to see a photo of what, precisely, we're asking of you!

One issue to highlight - the WRA are hoping to start both Mum's Cafes pretty darn early - at about 9am . This is because there is more chance of grabbing the grandees at this hour - so let us know if you can make it then, but also if you could make it, but not that early!

I find the idea of being waited on by pregnant women a bit odd. I mean you're already lugging a whole other person about without having to wait on some politician who's probably never even washed his own socks before.

I thought the pregnant MNers would be nice (if possible) because it'll bring back a twinge in any woman who's been pregnant and any man whose wife/DP has had kids. It's easy to feel that "those" pregnant women are a long way off etc - real pregnant women in the here and now saying "oi, these women are just like me, their babies are like your babies, do something about it" would be good.

Maybe SamCam could pop by with little Lanhydrock? (sorry)

i think the waiting on idea is being ignored now by me at least JJS :o (

over here to sign a petition about maternal health

Thanks

So at the moment the campaign ideas are:
*no flowery pinnies etc (too demeaning)
*pregnant MN-ers dressed in black (for mortality, is that?)
*pregnant MN-ers dressed in white
*MPs to serve MN-ers tea
*Male MN-ers to serve tea
*Teenage boys to serve tea (the ones from Teensnet, right?)
*Stand around on the sidelines, typing, whilst women in the developing world continue to die

Where are the good ideas for supporting this important cause then, if the cafe is out?

PS I like the cafe, so I am absolved of the responsibility for coming up with any more

Mnhq listens! Hurrah.

How about a silent display of solidarity with mnrs in all White and all black, while the mps serve themselves tea ?

LOL @ the idea of a chorus of disapproving monochorme mumsnetters silently brandishing petitions at MPs drinking tea.

"Stand around on the sidelines, typing, whilst women in the developing world continue to die"

That's seriously quite offensive, mrsbaldwin -- to equate non-participation in a fancy-dress PR stunt with a lack of concern with developing-world maternal mortality. I'm sure there is plenty of activism among MNers. They don't have to do it on MN terms.

(Just ditch the fancy dress and the tea lady schtick and give the WRA event a bit of publicity on MN would work for me.)

Whilst muttering "Get your own feckin' tea"

PopeBenedict - just pointing out, in an attention-grabbing sort of way, that actually, at the moment, there's nothing going on bar some online posturing, is there? It has to cross over into RL to have any effect. There was a cafe proposal. Now there's no proposal. KateMN has apparently gone off to speak to WRA. But why does she - or they - have to do all the hard work? There is an opportunity at party conference season to lobby in some way re maternal mortality in the developing world. What is MN actually going to do? Anything? Nothing? Elephants linked to an online petition .. well, that's something, although frankly the tea-pouring would get closer to George Osborne and pals.

...which a massive 4 people have signed so far mrsbaldwin so get yourself over there!

I do agree with you to some extent, but have doubts re: being taken seriously. If I thought it would work I would probably come dressed as a jam roly poly.

People have made alternative suggestions, myself included (and thank you to those who said they thought it was a good idea by the way :) ) and presumably KateMN is in discussion with the WRA to this effect in order to formulate an alternative proposal, as per her post.
As she hasn't returned to ask anything else of us as yet, then what kind of hard work do you think we should be getting on with?

Apologies Mumi but I can't find your alternative suggestion (maybe my search thing is not bringing up all your posts or something?). What is it?

The cafe is the WRA's idea. They've used it before, with their own people and also with some MN-ers pouring tea (this was the Annie Lennox event).

Now (it appears) they have come to MN and said 'we thought we'd run this again at 2010 party conferences as it seemed to be a success before and would some MN-ers like to come?'

Last time, there was quite a positive MN response and maybe 6-10 of us showed up on the day. This time there has been this thread and KateMN has gone back to WRA, presumably to say 'look, WRA - MN-ers, for whatever reason, seemed to like this cafe thing last time, but don't now, so if you want to do it during party conference season you will have to team up with someone else (Netmums?) ... or maybe you have another suggestion that MN-ers will like better, what is it?

In the meantime, could this thread not help KateMN out a bit (this is the hard work)?

Question: if there is a way that MN-ers can help get the message on maternal mortality across to MPs and activists during party conferences, what is it?

I agree mrsb, suggestions would be better than criticism.

To me, it looks like the only thing that has changed is the suggestion of dressing up, did that happen last time? Or more importantly, was it mentioned on here last time?

Blimey. Just had a nose at this - thought I'd come back to my grumpy page 1 post to find myself massively flamed for being a killjoy!

Grumpypants - do you have a suggestion for a campaign tactic?

This is a very serious subject and merits, IME, a more serious approach that will make MPs and others stop and think. I suggest something shocking like a large counter which adds a number every minute, that sort of thing - by the end of the conference that is a lot of women who have died in pg/childbirth-related complications. I don't know how long a party conference is - 5 days? If so, that's 7,200 deaths during the time the conference is on, and I think that relating any activity to real numbers of victims is a shocking way to drive the message home.

7200 deaths cor blimey - yes that does start to bring it home, doesn't it? The Mumsnet clock over the entrance?

Just bloody TALK to them.
Get the thousands of women on MN to sign a petition.
Pester US to do it.
Stand in silence pregnant women and FREAK THEM OUT. Get T-shirts with something shocking printed on it; "Will it be me?" or whatever..

Just don't be subservient little women asking the men to please help us helpless simpering women.

You are EQUAL to them.

YY I like the t-shirt idea.

IMO, and perhaps especially in the current climate, jollying them along with tea and cake is going to achieve precisely nothing. You practically have to duck as Osbourne's sword sweeps past or they'll cut your flippin head off, so cuts to the international aid budget, despite what they've said about ringfencing it, have to be a possibility. Quite apart from the feminist objections, that is my main objection - it doesn't appear to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves.

T-shirts - 'I would be dead if ....? slogan.

Annie Lennox had a good T-shirt last time 'HIV positive' I think it said, but the graphic in such a way to suggest being positive about HIV rather than labelling people.

Petition here please don your wimple pinny and sign.

To be fair online petitions don't usually carry much (if any) weight. But, if thousands of Mumsnetters names could be on one petition, given MNs profile, it might help.

Silent stern looking pregnant women wearing t-shirts saying "A woman and child have died while you were reading this".