Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2013 | Page 93

eagerly. I gave talks and I learned about
HIV/AIDS – I really was on a learning
curve for several years.
But during that time I began to get quite
frustrated; I wanted to be more hands-on.
So in 2007 I created my own campaign,
called the SING campaign. I’m wearing
a T-shirt that says ‘HIV Positive’ because
I’m part of that campaigning process. The
issue of HIV/AIDS is very much affected
by stigma, silence, shame and fear, and
this stigma is one of the reasons we don’t
read about it more often; it’s a hard issue
for people to face. They’d rather put it on
the shelf.
So, first of all, I began to speak about the
issue. In the role of advocate, I’m a UN

where the money should best go.
I see them more as partners than
advisers. Sometimes I’ve come across
organizations that I was impressed with,
and they have subsequently come on
board through me. And they do the due
diligence.
The SING campaign is separate, although
some money from the foundation goes
to it. The SING campaign focuses
exclusively on HIV/AIDS, whereas the
foundation gives to some other things.
The campaign involves making films,
going to places, finding the stories,
finding the people who are being affected
and bringing these things to the notice of
people who don’t know.

and have a sense of where they’re going
– and keep a relationship going.
I think that’s important. What’s more
valuable to an organization? You can
give them a donation for six months or a
year, but if you can give them something
that will last for maybe three, you’ve got
a seed that will grow and maybe will take
them on to the next stage.
You have to find the ways of spending the
money that are the most effective. That
depends on each project – each one is
unique – and each person that is giving
has got a different view on things. But I
lo ok for something sustainable, with a
view to what can be achieved, and then
I can go back and see what has been
done and whether I need to continue
support. So I would say, it’s important to
stay involved with what you’re doing.

Can you tell me about the Circle?

AL About four years ago, when I was
working with Oxfam, I had an idea for
something called the Circle. I’ve been in
countries where women have absolutely
nothing, and I come back to my own
country and see how well off I am,
and most of us are: we have access to
clean water, sanitation, healthcare and
education. We have a democratic system
and can vote. We’ve inherited many things
from our grandmothers who fought in the
Suffragette movement for the privileges
that we take for granted. So I thought if
I could bring women together to discuss
issues that are pertinent to women in the
developing world, perhaps we could
make connections and partnerships
between us all.
What does the Circle do?

AIDS Goodwill Ambassador, I work with
Oxfam in the same capacity, I’m a Scottish
Envoy for the Scottish Parliament, and
I’m an Envoy for London. All these things
are under the umbrella of HIV/AIDS; that
is what I’m really passionately engaged
in. I also began to raise money by giving
concerts, and I put it into a foundation,
called the Annie Lennox Foundation, in
order to formalize how that money was
spent.

Do you receive any help or advice
with the foundation?

AL I work with Comic Relief in the UK;
we have regular meetings to consider

How does this bear on your work with
mothers2mothers?
Can you say a bit more about how you
decide what projects to support? Do
you stay involved with the organizations
afterwards?
AL Most of the organizations we support
have some kind of connection to each
other, some kind of continuity or thread.
I like to know that they’re going to be
an investment, not just a bottomless pit.
Ideally, I like to see them for myself. I
would encourage any philanthropist to
actually see the projects themselves and
meet the people that are running them
CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW

Magazine Final.indd 91

AL It started with a small dinner to say:
‘this is how I feel about things and I’d like
to get together with like-minded women
that feel they want to get engaged.’ It’s an
inspirational tool, it’s a connective tool. I
don’t like the word ‘network’, but following
that evening people sometimes meet
each other who ordinarily might not and
great things can arise from that.
We form little circles, maybe through a
project. For example, two of the women
there were very high-powered lawyers,
and they didn’t know each other. From
that link, they formed the Lawyer’s Circle.
They encouraged women lawyers to
get together and figure out what their
contribution could be, through an Oxfam
project. They have gone on various trips
to talk with female lawyers in Africa and
discuss what is happening in terms
91
2013/07/29 10:48 AM