It was no award ceremony that brought together George Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel at Capitol Mall, Washington D.C, on April 30. No international sporting event that attracted Olympic gold medal speed-skater Joey Cheek, and former NBA star Manute Bol; no religious convention that united a Boston rabbi with Washington's archbishop. Five members of Congress were arrested in support of this event two days earlier. And yet less than a handful of my British contemporaries could tell you what occasion warranted the presence of such highly acclaimed personalities.

"Darfur? Are you sure you don't mean Dartmoor?" So began the conversation with my university housemate. An estimated 400,000 people murdered and more than 2 million displaced by government militia partaking in a programme of violent ethnic cleansing in the Sudan since 2003? No, I was certainly not talking about the stretch of Devon moorland.

On April 30, over 75,000 Americans descended upon the Washington National Mall to protest for increased US support to stop the genocide, now in its third year, which has been taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan. Rather than conclusive figures, these numbers only serve to mark the impending desperation of a situation that Western countries have been painfully slow to react to. The sad irony of Bush's promise: "Not on my watch," 12 years on from the Rwandan crisis, may not be as sad as the truth that it has been on our watch. We citizens of the world have watched history repeat itself, fellow humans perishing in dire conditions at the hands of wicked persecutors. If this picture capture's your attention, the internet will provide no shortage of further information on the first humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. British readers particularly will likely be shocked at the significance of this information, and the shamefully limited publicity that Darfur has received by influential bodies in the UK.

In his recent comment piece for the Guardian, Max Hastings called the US a "foreign knowledge desert" where Americans "even clever and ambitious ones" are largely ignorant of European and international affairs. Hastings insists that Americans require "cultural irrigation" in order that that their future foreign policies may come to be based on wider relevant experiences. To some extent Hastings' accusations have proved true, on occasions warranting international mockery of Americans at large, but his criticism seems unreasonable in light of recent campaign successes to draw attention to the Darfur catastrophe. Hastings has obviously not followed the campaign efforts of American schools and colleges regarding the Darfur catastrophe.

I was fortunate enough to spend last year studying abroad at UCLA in California where I myself first (embarrassingly) became aware of the crisis in Darfur. I was approached on my way to class by a member of the student- led Darfur Action Committee who regarded my absolute ignorance on the matter with what can only be described as stunned curiosity. Selling green rubber bracelets at $2 a piece, similar to the yellow ones endorsed by Lance Armstrong, students of the committee were fighting to promote awareness about the atrocities in the Sudan and raise money for the Genocide Intervention Fund. I became familiar with the issue and the groups' hard work and soon after, attended a talk on campus, hosted by John Prendergast, special adviser to the president of the International Crisis Group. I was surprised to see so many residents from the local community attending the event at a college campus, making an effort to get involved and show their support both to the students' work and to the crisis at hand. I had never witnessed such community interaction at my university back in the UK. I was then impressed to see Ryan Gosling, lead actor from the 'Notebook,' and several other movie industry associates taking their seats. Gosling would wear a 'Save Darfur' t-shirt to the MTV movie awards months after. But I was absolutely amazed when Academy- Award winner Don Cheadle walked through the door- two days after winning an Oscar for his 'Hotel Rwanda' performance, and amid apologies that he was expected to be absent due to reconstructive knee surgery. If Don's knee surgery could wait so that he could speak at this Darfur activism event, I reasoned I could certainly spare the time away from my evening's partying. "It's just going to take as much noise as you can make in as many ways as you can make it," he said to the small room of avid enthusiasts.

With fresh vigour the committee would continue to find new ways to promote awareness of the conflicted region. As part of a week long effort, "Crisis in Darfur: A Week of Awareness, A Call to Action," the team set up a mock refugee camp on campus to educate students about the poor conditions that displaced victims faced. Finally on March 16 of this year, due to the hard work of these students, the University of California became the first major public university to vote in a unanimous decision to divest from companies with financial holdings in Sudan where profits were believed to be helping to support the corrupted regime. The students and activists who continue to work to save Darfur deserve to be praised every day for fighting to for the lives of people whom to so many westerners are simply unknown.

But my experiences at UCLA are not isolated. As I have followed American Darfur advocacy, I have been astounded at the involvement of American students, and pop culture organisations doing their part to make a difference. MTVu, a college branch of the well renowned media company, dedicates a significant section of their website to campus activism offering Darfur advocacy support and resources. In their recently announced 'Darfur Activism Awards,' the Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) group of Georgetown University received a hefty $40,000 with which to continue their efforts, while runners- up Human Rights Awareness on Campus at the University of Florida got an agreeable $10,000 for their future projects. MTVu awarded their 2006 Honorary Degree award to UCLA's Baylee DeCastro who initiated the Darfur Action Committee and fought to divest those funds mentioned already. "It's an issue that doesn't require much convincing in terms of the moral imperative," she says to the graduating class of 2006.

American youth advocacy for Darfur has stretched far beyond colleges too. High schools across the country have joined in campaigning, many with their own action committees while others are formally educated through class lessons and activities. DeCastro says she has always believed that students could make a difference because previous student movements had- she quotes the American civil rights and anti-war movements. "All movements where students were at the forefront, students have made meaningful changes."

Moreover, when it comes to campaigning in style, Americans are champions at pulling out all the stops. From badges, lawn signs and posters to emblazoned clothing, pillows for your house and t-shirts for your dog, consumerism has never looked more attractive and beneficial. Customers purchasing 'Save Darfur' items are able to make their contribution, receive an agreeable product in return and utilize it in a public forum to promote awareness and gain support with which to pressurise the government. American has certainly cottoned onto something that is all too easily mocked. In an age of consumer paradise where pop culture rules the roost, the public and particularly the country is successfully reaching its public youth in new and 'cool' ways.

Since returning to the UK, I have been stunned and disappointed to find a drought of awareness about this atrocity. Not one of my three housemates had heard about the Washington rally; their knowledge of Darfur was a little more than a vague recognition of the name. Among other students I have spoken to, some have asked me repeatedly to pronounce 'Darfur,' thinking that they must be mishearing, while one suggested looking it up on Wikipedia to tell me more. My younger sister who attends one of the top private girls schools in the country and is keen follower of British politics had not heard of the Darfur genocide, and didn't think many of her friends were likely to have either. This is not to direct blame at students disinterested in current affairs, but rather to consider the broad lack of coverage and discussion of the crisis in national news outlets here albeit the nondescript news stories (I draw exemption here to the BBC online whose coverage of the situation is extensive). Students who are following the news daily are likely to encounter very little about the African genocide.

And why should they? British political and economic concern with Darfur has been minimal, and it is no secret to acknowledge that reporting of African news by the both the British and international press is largely minimal and infrequent and has certainly declined in recent years. There has never been a worse time for the 'lost continent' as it continues to be ignored on an international scale. It was only on the 26th of April gone by that Jack Straw 'expressed concern' about the three year carnage in the region. "I call on all sides to stop fighting and to work in good faith for a settlement within the AU's deadline of the end of April." A vague statement of support, and little promise of any help from America's strongest ally. The British government has lately encountered far too many scandals at home to worry about the dying masses of Africa. As for student activism, while many worthy groups grace British university campuses, I have been unable to locate any specifically promoting Darfur awareness, and have seen no advocacy regarding the genocide around my own campus. Searching the National Union of Students (NUS) website also returned abysmal results. Indeed, Hastings and other critics of America need carefully consider the drought in their own backyard before passing judgement on the pastures of others. Where are our footballers, tv personalities and soapstars, and why aren't they helping to raise awareness about what the UN has dubbed the world's worst humanitarian crisis? Have the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide already been wiped from the minds of the British public? Or do we as a nation just care so little about lives we cannot or do not see?

On Friday 5th of May, under pressure from the US government, and following the Washington rally, the Sudanese government and two of the main Darfur rebel factions signed a peace agreement to end three years of fighting. Change is starting to happen, but the agreement is only in its early stages and there will no doubt be a long and complicated battle ahead to solve this disaster of drastic proportions. For the Darfur Action Committee and thousands of campaigning American youths however, when that day comes, they will rightly be able to answer their children and grandchildren with pride that they stood up and made a difference.

If you have read to the end of this article, these final lines are a plea to your compassion and humanity. Start a letter writing campaign, create a committee, make your voice heard or if you are unable to, give aid, buy a t-shirt, promote awareness and get involved. Show the world that the British public and its student body are not apathetic and won't tolerate such crimes against humanity. For if nothing else, the words of Winston Churchill portray this tragedy in its most unredeeming light. "The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is."

Watch Baylee DeCastro's acceptance speech on MTVu

For more information about the situation in Darfur: www.savedarfur.org