Live Aid 'is reinforcing bleak view of Africa's legacy

Live Aid, Bob Geldof's seminal charity event for Ethiopian famine victims, has left Britons with a negative stereotypical view of the developing world that subconsciously renders us arrogant and patronising, researchers have concluded.

They suggest the "Live Aid legacy" has had a profound influence on the nation's psyche, so that when the word "Africa" is uttered many of us automatically envisage war, starvation and grinding poverty.

Research for Voluntary Service Overseas among Britons and visitors to Britain from developing countries showsthe images from Sir Bob's campaign 16 years ago have become so ingrained in people's memories that more positive images printed and broadcast since have failed to make an impression.

Selina Fox, the author of The Live Aid Legacy, said: "We are not making any criticism of Live Aid – it was very important and very special. But it has resulted in a stereotyping of people from the developing world in a way that is almost always negative and doom laden.

"We aren't saying there aren't wars or poverty, but we are saying that our failure to understand that that is only part of the picture is having a serious effect on our relationships with those countries."

VSO liaised with Sir Bob after the polling of more than 1,000 people last November. Ms Fox said he agreed that his legacy needed to be discussed and was supportive of the research. Some of the findings make disturbing reading.

"Eighty per cent of the British public strongly associate the developing world with doom-laden images of famine, disaster and Western aid," the report says. "Sixteen years on from Live Aid, these images still maintain a powerful grip on the British psyche.

"Stereotypes of deprivation and poverty, with images of Western aid, can lead to an impression that people in the developing world are helpless victims. Seventy-four per cent of the British public believes that these countries 'depend on the money and knowledge of the West to progress'."

The popular view, according to the report, is that we are the "powerful givers" while Third World countries are "grateful receivers", a view that makes us consider ourselves superior to them and less likely to take anything positive from their customs and cultures.

"The potential benefits from breaking down the stereotypes ... are profound. At a personal level, it opens up an opportunity to reassess individual priorities and accepted cultural norms. At a UK level, according greater understanding and respect for cultures other than our own can only improve race relations and cultural richness. At a global level, it demands a necessary engagement with global politics and the impact of UK policies on developing countries. In the context of 11 September, can we afford not to?"

VSO conceived the idea for the report before 11 September. It needs at least 1,000 new volunteers a year and wanted to find a way to show working in developing countries could be a beneficial experience. "Many of our volunteers feel they have gained more than they have given," Ms Fox said.