So you want to make a difference to the world? You're bored of your books, fed up with politicians, and the only "party" you're interested in is at the union bar. Around a table of beers, you and your friends vow to do something. This year, with the focus on Africa and Make Poverty History, you heartily join the G8 protests in Edinburgh and buy a ticket to Live 8. You are at the front of the crowd, waving your banner and calling for more aid and debt relief. But is that enough? In this issue, Richard Dowden explains that these are not the only answer to Africa's problems, and that help is needed more directly, on the ground at local level. On page v, a variety of people explain why they are so moved by Africa, having spent years working on and researching these issues. This is where the emphasis in political studies is moving: to real work experience through which skills are developed and can be used for the benefit of others. And this doesn't apply only to Africa. The same can be said not just of other countries, but of other subjects, too. Ellie Levenson (page x) looks at the benefits of combining a politics course with practical training in journalism. It is clear that it is impossible to study or think of politics in isolation. The line between the arts and politics is, for example, a fine one. Artist John Keane (page vi) and playwright David Edgar (page viii) insist that while they may not save the world, their work encourages people to look at political events in a different light. That's not to say that there is no place for classroom study. Academic research is still essential in working to change the world's attitudes. But let's not be satisfied just to sit and read everyone else's contributions.

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