Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 Awards
Yet again, we were overwhelmed by fabulous entries for the Fairtrade Fortnight Awards and it has been a hard decision by the judging panel…which is why it has taken them so long. The winners have all been informed and the Awards will be presented at the Fairtrade Foundation Campaign Days this autumn. Outstanding Achievement Award
Winner: Bolton The judges thought that Fairtrade in Bolton excelled in every area of their campaign during Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 – imagination, outreach and media & communications. They got local celebrity Dave Spikey to promote their campaign both in press articles and on billboard posters across the city which featured the campaign message ‘Change Today Choose Fairtrade’ and images reflecting the Fairtrade Foundation materials. 10,000 copies of the 4th edition of the ‘Bolton Fairtrade Guide’ also featuring Dave Spikey were distributed.
Events included a play linking Fairtrade with the slave trade – ‘One For Me’ by the Fairgame Theatre Company which was performed for schools and for the general public in two performances. Members of the group also ran assemblies and teaching sessions in 7 schools in the city which resulted in art work and written material which was displayed in the Bolton Art Gallery & Museum.
The group’s coordinator was interviewed on BBC Radio Manchester and the group also secured regular news reports every day of the Fortnight on their local radio station. They got a wide range of press coverage too and a full page in the Bolton Wanderers programme, distributed to 18,000 match-goers.
Runner-Up: Dundee Dundee Fairtrade Forum’s Fortnight campaign was full of fun and energy. They put on a wide range of events during Fairtrade Fortnight to appeal to everyone in their community, including university students at both universities in the city, youth groups, local businesses, churches and the council. They ran a banner competition, showed a film with speakers, gave out awards to businesses serving Fairtrade products and did plenty of sampling. They also created some of the most imaginative posters we have seen so far – in 3-D with actual Fairtrade samples.
Media
Winner: Exeter (Town/city) Yet again, Exeter has shown fantastic ingenuity at getting press coverage in the local paper, getting formal backing from the local Express and Echo which printed an article on Fairtrade every single day during Fortnight. On the first day of Fortnight the newspaper used the headline ‘Shoppers urged to back Fairtrade’ on their bollboards across the city.
Winner: Chichester (Small town/village)
Fairtrade Chichester put on two weeks of film and debate on the theme of Fairtrade and global injustice at their local independent cinema. As well as having a full run down of the programme in the Chichester Cinema guide – with endorsement by local resident Anita Roddick, the group secured several newspaper and magazine articles and designed their own flyers and posters. They also gained coverage on their local radio station and BBC South Coast Radio.
Runner-Up: Guernsey (Town/city)
Special Commendation: ChesterImagination
Winner: Worthing Worthing engaged with local businesses as well as the general public during Fairtrade Fortnight, by organising a trail, whereby participants collected clues from up to 57 local businesses and organisations in order to enter a prize draw with fabulous prizes donated by the organisations involved. They partnered with the Environment Agency on the project and a dedicated team managed the complex organisation of the activity.
Runner-Up:BirminghamOutreach and networking
Winner: Newport Newport Fairtrade Steering Group was only established in May 2006, and considering this was their first Fairtrade Fortnight, they have done incredible things to engage with a wide variety of communities across the city. They held an art competition for Newport’s 70 schools, a fashion show for almost 200 people, an afternoon tea for the older residents of the city with the Mayor and Mayoress, university tasting stands to reach the student audience and sales in local churches. Everyone from Welsh Assembly members, the Mayor and local councillors to school children, teachers, students and members of the general public was engaged by their range of events.
Runner-Up: ENVART
Runner-Up: Derby
Special Commendation: Derby University
Special Commendation: St Christopher’s Church, Coventry
Best contribution by a local council
Winner: Thanet District Council (Town/city) Thanet District Council was nominated for this award by the Tammy Stewart-Jones – Chair of the Thanet Thanet Fairtrade Initiative. The Council has been incredibly supportive of the Thanet campaign since the Leader of the Council first met with Tammy in 2005 and the resolution in support of Fairtrade was subsequently passed in July 2006. The Council has provided great resource to local campaigners through the use of their Communications Team, who have drawn up a marketing plan for the group. They have also allowed the group to do their printing and mailing from the council offices and provided them with financial contributions towards their local Campaign Guide and other Fairtrade Fortnight materials. During Fortnight Thanet District Council agreed to a Fairtrade column in every edition of Thanet Matters – the council’s quarterly magazine, which goes to Thanet. An inspiration to Councils across the UK!
Winner: Kirkby Lonsdale (Small town/village) Kirkby Lonsdale Town Council has been a huge support to the Town Campaign since they passed a resolution in April 2006. The Town Council Chairman and Vice Chairman both sit on the steering group and advise on publicity and press releases for the campaign as well as inputting into event planning and other activities. The Council has also sponsored the publication of a Fairtrade recipe leaflet and is supporting the publication of a Fairtrade Directory for the town to be published this summer.
Runner-Up :Gosport
Schools
St Mary’s High School in Leeds received a special commendation for their really imaginative assembly which reached the whole school, juxtaposing a recipe for making a Fairtrade cake with a recipe for making the world a fairer place.