I was reading Third Sector yesterday and came across an article arguing that so far organisations and coalition efforts like MAKE POVERTY HISTORY or GCAaP have failed to create real impact with their campaigns for a fairer global economy, according to the chief executive of BOND, the umbrella body for the UK's international development charities.

Nick Roseveare told an international audience at a meeting called "G-20 and the Third Sector" that international aid organisations had been promoting the right message over the past 20 years but campaigns such as MAKE POVERTY HISTORY in 2005, Jubilee Debt Campaign in 1999 / 2000 and even back to moments surrounding the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992 had not had the intended influence on policy-makers.

"We wouldn't be where we are if some of the messages about a more just global economy had got more traction," he said.

"We would be foolish not to have to think about how we can do better in the future. We have to develop a set of core messages, not just flash-in-the-pan moments that are repeated to world leaders until they are acted upon."

While I agree that there is significant room for growth and development within these campaigns we should not ignore the successes of these ‘flash-in-the-pan moments’ in building a wider awareness of key issues within the general public. As we develop new tools and methods to engage with our audiences we can learn how better to exploit this awareness and build more sustained pressure on those in positions of power to make real changes.

The past few months we have seen huge campaign attention centred around the G-20 summit, and last Saturday saw 35,000 march through the centre of London, an unprecedented alliance of 160 unions, development, faith and climate change groups, asking the G-20 leaders to heed their call for a new economy based on the fair distribution of wealth, decent jobs for all and a low carbon future. This is a rather different vision to yesterday's nine-page official Summit Communiqué which detailed a $1.1 trillion injection of financial aid into the global economy, tougher-than-expected measures to tighten financial regulation including a clampdown on tax havens and a few key words like sustainable and green once in a while but not the sort of changes for the developing world which had been hoped.

While this marks progress on some critical issues (for example a $50 billion support package for the world's poorest countries) there were many missed opportunities, especially with regards to building a green economy, and I remain heavily sceptical about the wisdom behind giving more money and powers to the IMF - a body which has shown itself to be a failure in previous crises. It also continues to impose damaging conditions on countries which turn to it for help. However, at least the summit outwardly seems to have avoided a movement towards protectionism which could have been even more damaging for the developing world.

So, some of the credit for these small victories should surely be allocated to campaigns like Make Poverty History and Put People First along with continued lobbying from organisations like ONE and Oxfam and actions from supporters of those organistions. However along with the drive to generate a more consistent and regular way for politicians to be aware of public feelings (maybe through new projects growing from Move On, Get Up! and Avaaz) we must also work to ensure they know we are watching them. They must not fail to deliver their promises, nor shy away from tough decisions when times are hard. As we move forwards to look at the next major campaigning opportunity: the UN Copenhagen climate conference, it will be good to see how things develop.

It is after all only through trying all sorts of activity - lobbying, big public moments, grass roots activity and coordinated global movements - that we can learn how to most successfully build our advocacy networks, make our messages ‘stick’ and put the pressure on the world’s leaders to make those fundamental changes the world desperately needs.