Fairtrade Foundation launches new Schools DVD
A new schools DVD called Are you a Fairtrade School – All you need to know, will be launched during this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight 23 February – 8 March, themed Make it Happen, Choose Fairtrade.
The resource provides ideas and inspiration for students, teachers and young people in education, either interested in becoming a Fairtrade School or seeking ideas on ways to support Fairtrade. The DVD features 25 school case studies from all over the UK showing how they can incorporate Fairtrade into school life and the curriculum. Fairtrade is currently taught across a wide-range of subjects including citizenship and ‘Every Child Matters’.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander is planning on visiting a Fairtrade school in Bristol during Fairtrade Fortnight. He said: ‘I've always been struck by the enthusiasm and interest among pupils in Fairtrade and international development issues when visiting schools that are committed to selling, learning about and using Fairtrade products. The interest in education in the developing world and Fairtrade from young people in British schools gives me confidence that the future of the Fairtrade movement is in safe hands.’
The Fairtrade Schools Scheme has been running for two years and more than 2,500 schools from around the UK are currently registered on the scheme. The scheme is a national initiative by the Fairtrade Foundation to engage young people in development issues and help tackle global poverty through trade. Lynette Aitken, Fairtrade Schools Coordinator for the Fairtrade Foundation, says: ‘We’ve had a fantastic response to the initiative, and we are pleased that so many schools are registered and working towards Fairtrade status. Children have a very clear sense of justice so Fairtrade seems to resonate with them particularly strongly’.
To achieve Fairtrade status, schools must meet five criteria, including setting up a Fairtrade School Steering Group, made up of both teachers and pupils, and committing to use Fairtrade products within the school. They also have to write and adopt a school Fairtrade Policy, incorporate Fairtrade into lessons and promote Fairtrade both within the school and to their wider community. Schools have to renew their Fairtrade status regularly to prove their ongoing commitment.
Hundreds of schools will take part in activities during Fairtrade Fortnight ranging from Fairtrade assemblies, fashion shows, film screenings and Fairtrade breakfast clubs. More than 20 farmers from Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and St Lucia will tour separate areas of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and many will visit schools to talk to students about the potential of Fairtrade to make a difference to global poverty.
Cameroon cotton farmer Oumarou Gadjere from OPCC-GIE (Organisation des Producteurs du Coton Camerounais – Groupement d’Interet Economique), will go to a special Fairtrade assembly at St. Stephen’s Infant School in Canterbury, Kent during the first week of Fairtrade Fortnight. Teacher and Fairtrade Co-ordinator Soraya Khan says: ‘The children are incredibly excited about meeting a real Fairtrade farmer. They understand that Fairtrade is about fairness for farmers in developing countries and the children have many questions to ask.’
The highlight of this year’s Fortnight will be a 24-hour world record attempt for the number of people simultaneously eating a Fairtrade banana across the UK. The mass banana eating will take place between noon on Friday 6 March and noon on Saturday 7 March, with hundreds of events expected to take place around the country and many schools planning activities.
More than 1,000 pupils from Bradford Grammar School in West Yorkshire will join in the fun and eat a Fairtrade banana on 6 March. Fairtrade Co-ordinator and Languages teacher Liz Kingsley says: ‘We are taking part in the Go Bananas event because we think it’s a fun way to get across the serious message about why it’s important to buy Fairtrade and support producers in developing countries. We plan to have inflatable bananas and one of the teachers may dress up in a banana suit!’ To take part in Go Bananas log onto: www.fairtrade.org.uk/gobananas
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Notes to Editors
1. The new DVD costs £5 and is available from the end of March, from Fairtrade Schools website (www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools) . The website provides information for pupils and teachers about the initiative and provides a downloadable Action Guide to help schools work their way towards achieving Fairtrade status.
2. The Fairtrade Schools campaign was launched in response to demands from a number of schools across the UK and is funded by the Department for International Development, DFID. Working with local campaign organisations including People & Planet, SCIAF, CAFOD and Development Education Centres, and using the Foundation’s established model of Fairtrade Towns, the unified scheme for all UK primary and secondary schools was created.
3. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 70% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 59 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
4. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs & spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionery, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys & cotton wool.
5. Seven in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, including an extra 2.3 million more households in the last year alone, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated half a billion pounds (approx £493m) in 2007. By the end of 2007 there were over 430 producer organisations selling to the UK and 632 certified producer groups globally, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.