Owain James is the Global coordinator for the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) a Non-Governmental Organisation that campaigns for the right to education

Right to education

The right to education is a universal entitlement to education, a right that is recognized as a human right. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to...

. He was president of the NUS from 2000-2002

Career

James graduated from the University of Warwick

University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...

 in 1998. He was elected as President of the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom between 2000-02.
After NUS, James worked for Oxfam

Oxfam

Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...

 as their Education Campaign Manager and then their Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...

 Campaign Manager. James was Campaign Manager for the Make Poverty History

Make Poverty History

Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...

 White Band campaign and manager of Global Call to Action Against Poverty

Global Call to Action Against Poverty

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty is a growing worldwide alliance consisting of national coalitions of campaigns to end poverty....

., the international arm of Make Poverty History.

Global Campaign for Education

In 2006, James was appointed Coordinator for the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). The GCE's stated mission is to make sure that governments act now to deliver the right of every girl, boy, woman and man to a free quality public education.

1Goal

Owain is now also running a new campaign around the 2010 World Cup called 1 Goal. 1 Goal is a campaign seizing the power of football to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. 1GOAL is an initiative of the football strand of the Class of 2015 and is run by the Global Campaign for Education to mobilise support to hold world leaders to these promises for 2015.

The campaign has captured unprecedented support and political will across the world. 1GOAL is supported by the football world and its governing body, FIFA. 1GOAL supporters and ambassadors include a multitude of global football stars, celebrities and world leaders, all working to achieve the shared vision of education for all.

On October 6th 2009, the 1GOAL campaign was officially launched in a satellite-linked ceremony led by the 2010 FIFA World Cup host, South Africa President Jacob Zuma, Her Majesty Rania Al-Abdullah, Queen of Jordan, President of Ghana John Atta Mills, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, President of Spain, Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General and Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President.