Summer School Fairtrade-style at Fairtrade Schools Conferences 2008
Pupils and teachers from schools across the UK will share ideas with Ghanaian school children at a series of Fairtrade Schools conferences this summer.
Three conferences will be held in Glasgow (12th June), Birmingham (16th June) and London (18th June), as an opportunity for schools to share ideas and experiences of achieving and working towards Fairtrade status. More than 360 people including teachers and pupils across a range of ages are expected to attend the conferences in total, which will include workshops and activities aimed at helping schools understand how to achieve Fairtrade school status and developing the Fairtrade Schools scheme.
The highlight of the conferences will be a workshop run by two children from the Kuapa Kokoo cocoa cooperative in Ghana. Kuapa Kokoo is a Fairtrade co-operative of cocoa farmers that co-owns the UK chocolate company, Divine Chocolate. The children, Stephen Amankwah and Joycelyn Sedbedzi, both 14 years old, attend a school in Ghana that was set up using Fairtrade premiums. Their workshop will introduce attendees to cocoa pods and the way that cocoa is grown and harvested and explain how the Fairtrade system works for cocoa farmers in Ghana. Their visit is being arranged by educational charity Trading Visions.
Jocelyn said: “I’m looking forwards to coming to the UK. I think the schools will be very different. We don’t have a playground, or many books and materials. Fairtrade is a good thing for cocoa farmers. When you sell the cocoa you get a bonus, and Fairtrade helps with materials and other things like sending your children to school.”
Other workshops will provide the chance for schools to share tips on the best ways to set up a steering group, run a Fairtrade event, source Fairtrade products and incorporate Fairtrade into different subject areas on the curriculum.
The Fairtrade Schools scheme is a national initiative established by the Fairtrade Foundation to engage young people in development issues and help tackle global poverty through trade. Set up in 2007, the 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. Using the Fairtrade Foundation’s established model of Fairtrade Towns and working with local campaign organisations including People & Planet, SCIAF, CAFOD and Development Education Centres, the unified scheme for UK primary and secondary schools was created.
To achieve status, schools have to 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.
Lynette Aiken, Fairtrade Schools Coordinator for The Fairtrade Foundation said: “We’ve had a fantastic response to the Fairtrade Schools initiative in the first year of the scheme, with more than 6 Fairtrade primary and secondary schools already established across the UK and 1,600 more schools registered as working towards Fairtrade status.
“These conferences will provide the opportunity for schools who have already achieved status to share their learning, and be inspired by the reality of Fairtrade in Ghana.”
A Fairtrade Schools website (www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools) provides information for pupils and teachers about the initiative. The site provides a downloadable Action Guide to help schools work their way towards achieving Fairtrade status and gives contact information for local organisations and dedicated regional advisors who can support the application process. It also offers a range of practical ideas and resources to help incorporate Fairtrade into lessons and school life, as well as promote it to the wider local community.
The FAIRTRADE Mark is the only independent consumer label that ensures farmers in developing countries receive an agreed and stable price for the crops they grow, as well as a Fairtrade premium which can be invested in building their businesses and their communities. UK Fairtrade sales topped £493m in 2007 and currently give seven million people – farmers, workers and their families - a chance to build a better future and to compete in the global market place.
For full details on the Fairtrade Schools Conference and to register to attend, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk/schools
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For more information, interviews or photographs please contact Martine Julseth 020 7440 7695 martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk
Note to Editors
1. 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 appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7 million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 59 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. The full range of more than 3,000 Fairtrade certified products now includes 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, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homewear, cloth toys & cotton wool.