Fairtrade Fortnight (March 1-14) marks the 10th birthday of the Fairtrade Mark - the independent consumer label, awarded by the Fairtrade Foundation that guarantees producers in developing countries a fair deal.
To celebrate, Global Connections is organising events in schools and youth groups in Pembrokeshire. These start a week before the official start date of Fairtrade Fortnight and include workshops in half-a-dozen local schools and after-school clubs around the county.
These will have two elements. Firstly, education officer Janie Pridham will be doing a half-day awareness-raising workshop on fair trade and trade justice issues. This will be followed up by another half-day workshop led by community artist Pauline Le Britton, of Sand Palace Arts. This will involve the children making a Fairtrade chocolate box, which they will also decorate with the appropriate Fairtrade logos. The work of the children will then be entered into a competition, with the winner being announced at an event at the Queen's Hall, Narberth, on March 11.
Tuesday, March 2, will see a Fairtrade coffee morning from 10 am - 12.30 pm, with Fairtrade stalls, and this will be held at the Global Connections World Studies, Resource and Training Centre, Eastgate Centre in Pembroke. This will be run in conjunction with local Fair Traders from a local church group and the Pembroke Women's Institute who will be providing home-baked cakes for sale. The morning will also include a guest speaker and there will be the option of viewing trade justice videos from a large selection available from the resource centre.
"Ten years ago the first three products with the Fairtrade Mark appeared on shop shelves. Now there are more than 180, and demand is growing all the time. We want to celebrate the birthday of the Fairtrade Mark by the committed involvement of the Global Connections staff in collaboration with other community groups," said Chris Urack, adult and community officer. Other community groups involved in Fairtrade include SPAN, the WI and Fair Trade stallholders in the community.
Fairtrade Fortnight is the annual two-week campaign co-ordinated by the Fairtrade Foundation. This year's theme, A Taste for Life, is a celebration of quality - both quality of life for the producers made possible through Fairtrade, and the quality of the products for consumers.
"Once people start buying Fairtrade, they get hooked - and it is more shoppers regularly choosing Fairtrade that will enable more producers to participate in this unique system," said Janie Pridham, education officer, who will be liaising with the schools in the chocolate competition.
In week two of Fairtrade Fortnight on Thursday, March 11, from 2 pm, there is free entry to a Fairtrade exhibition with stalls being held by Global Connections in association with SPAN arts at the Queen's Hall, Narberth. This event will look at the concept of fair trade and how we can all help to address the imbalance between the rich and poor countries.
The event will include a walk-in resource display, Fairtrade representation by Harvest Stores, Nomads and a Body Shop representative, all displaying their wares and being able to answer questions. There will also be an ongoing video presentation which will run until 6 pm. Then, from 7.30 pm, the evening event takes over and this will include at least two guest speakers, one being a local advocate of Fairtrade from Pembroke and the other an Oxfam Fairtrade campaigner.
Participants will be treated to a complimentary glass of Fairtrade wine and locally sourced snacks will be on sale. The results of the chocolate competition will be announced following the speakers and there will be a quiz for everyone who wishes to take part.
The evening will culminate with a live music session with Pembrokeshire's most dynamic semi-acoustic band, The Buzzards, until 11 pm. Entrance fee for the evening event is £5 or £4 concession, with tickets available from SPAN on 01834 869323.
Global Connections are indebted to the Co-op, Oxfam, Tradecraft, Fairtrade Foundation and SPAN for their support in Fairtrade Fortnight and to DFID who provide them with core funding. For information on any of the events mentioned, contact Nicky on 01646 687800.