Fairtrade Fortnight Awards Winners 2009 announced
Burgess Hill Fairtrade was today named overall winner of this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight Awards, in recognition of their local campaigning activity.
The awards celebrate the achievements of Fairtrade campaigners and supporters during the annual Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, this year held 22 February – 7 March 2009. And this year, for the first time ever, international development charity Shared Interest Foundation will award cash prizes to category winners to re-invest in their campaigns.
Fairtrade Fortnight is promoted by networks around the country including businesses, charities, trade unions, student groups, churches and other faith-based organisations. Thousands of people organized events all over the country, from Fairtrade wine tastings to Fairtrade cotton fashion shows and much and an estimated 470,000 people took part in Go Bananas, the finale of Fortnight.
The winners will be presented with prizes at the national Fairtrade Supporter Conference at Kings College London on Saturday 10 October, when Fairtrade campaigners from around the UK will meet to share the latest Fairtrade news, and pick up new skills to help promote Fairtrade in their local communities. For full details of the conference visit
www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns Veronica Pasteur, competition judge and Head of Campaigns at the Fairtrade Foundation said: ‘It was really difficult to choose the winners of the Fairtrade Fortnight Awards – as ever we were blown away by the incredibly high standard of events and activities that volunteers all over the country organized during the Fortnight.
‘I would like to congratulate all the winning groups on their achievements and congratulations to everyone involved in organizing events in their local communities. These activities help more and more people understand the impact of Fairtrade and encourage them to buy more Fairtrade products, ultimately benefit more farmers and workers in developing countries.’
The full list of the winners is as follows:
• Outstanding Achievement Award: Burgess Hill Fairtrade (Highly commended: Thanet Fairtrade Initiative)
• Most Imaginative Campaign: Scarborough Fairtrade Action Group (Runner-Up: Stockton Fairtrade Borough Partnership with Hartlepool Fairtrade Town Steering Group and Middlesborough Fairtrade Steering Group)
• Best Media Campaign: Ammanford Fairtrade Group (Runner Up: Cherry Burton Fairtrade Group)
• Best Outreach and Networking: Fairtrade Beeston (Joint runners-up Sharpe Memorial Church of the Nazarene and Basildon District Fairtrade Steering Group)
• Best Fairtrade Banana Activity: Fairtrade in Bolton and Bolton Wanderers Football Club (Runner Up: Fairtrade Lingfield & Dormansland)
• Best Fairtrade Fortnight Image: Simon Kimber (Runner-Up St Cyres School)
Best overall winner Burgess Hill Fairtrade created a 14 day calendar for local schools which highlighted events and actions for pupils to take. Their Fortnight programme included the unveiling and display of a 50 square foot mural on the theme of Fairtrade created by pupils from six schools in the town; a screening of Black Gold; a Fairtrade Fair with stalls and entertainment; and a series of musical events which incorporated Fairtrade talks and displays. There was a ceilidh, a Faith, Fairtrade and Freedom evening with singers and as a finale to the Fortnight a folk concert featuring Show of Hands. In addition the group worked with one of the local high schools to get them involved in the Go Bananas for Fairtrade world record, with over 400 students taking part.
The group which has been awarded a prize of £600, is already planning next year’s Fairtrade and Freedom Festival, hoping to make it bigger and better than 2009.
Shared Interest Foundation Manager Andrea Wilkinson said: ‘We took enormous pleasure in supporting the Fairtrade Fortnight Awards. Due to the scope and tremendous efforts of the applicants, we took great pains in the judging process and were delighted to provide the prizes for all well-deserved winners.
‘Fairtrade Fortnight is a key time for supporters to raise awareness and the awards offer an opportunity to recognise their efforts as well as encouraging more people to get involved in the Fairtrade movement as a whole.’
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For more information, images or interviews, contact the Fairtrade Foundation press office:
Notes 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 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 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. 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, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys, cotton wool and olive oil.
3. 7 in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, including an extra 1.3 million more households in 2008, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated £700m in 2008, a 43% increase on the previous year. There are over 460 producer organisations selling to the UK and by the end of October 2008 872 certified producer groups were in the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.
4. Established in 1990, Shared Interest lends over £30 million from UK investors each year to businesses in developing countries, helping them sell their local produce and handcrafted goods in the fair trade market. Meanwhile, charitable arm Shared Interest Foundation delivers vital training to sustain their growth and survival in an increasingly commercial world.
5. There are now more than 440 Fairtrade Towns and Cities across the UK, as well as 100 Fairtrade Universities, 3,000 schools, more than 5,500 Fairtrade Churches, and 39 Fairtrade Synagogues.