Fairtrade Mad!

Last week saw Aber People & Planet host the first UWA Fairtrade Forum, held in the Joint in the Students Union. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness on campus of the push to attain Fairtrade status, giving a concrete goal to frame efforts to increase consumption and awareness of Fairtrade products and the need for Fairtrade.

Speakers included Ben Gray, current Guild president, Sam Lumb, Guild president-elect, Silje Vold, Fairtrade campaigner at People & Planet, and Mark Richardson, the Wales Fairtrade Country campaign national coordinator and Tom Marshall, from Aber People & Planet (from right to left). Each spoke for a few minutes about the Fairtrade University campaign from their perspective, before the floor was thrown open to questions - including the relative benefits of Fairtrade, what it would mean in operational terms for the Guild and University and how to take the campaign forward. Happily, the Forum (with around 30 students in attendance) ended with a symbolic vote on going forward with Fairtrade status, which everyone was in agreement with.

On the same day, the Fairtrade Global Banner arrived in Aberystwyth, the latest leg of its Global Journey tour through Wales after passing through some fifty-odd countries since leaving Mumbai, India in 2004. The Cambrian News reported on the joint activities throughout the county for the day, the highlight of the banner's visit being a parade along the prom with samba band in tow, ending in the Aber castle grounds on a glorious day where the Fairtrade declaration was read out.

The Global Banner is the one on the right, representing the logo of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), the international body coordinating national fair trade organizations around the world.