| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 1st, 2016 | CONTACT: Monika Firl , 514-562-6162 Email: [email protected] Dana Geffner, 503-803-1432 Email: [email protected] |
Fair Trade Village and Workshops at World Social Forum will Address Trade Policy, Economic Justice, Climate Change and Small-Scale Farmers
Coalition of Fair Trade Advocates to Facilitate Open Discussions, Educational Opportunities and Exhibitions at International Meeting of Civil Society Groups
MONTREAL, CAN – Leading Fair Trade advocacy organizations from around the world are working together to highlight myriad issues related to trade policy and economic justice at the 2016 World Social Forum (WSF), to be held in Montreal, Canada, August 9-14. Represented through a public exhibition called The Fair Trade Village, and numerous workshops as part of the forums broader programing, issues facing the Fair Trade movement, small-scale producers, trade policy and the global economy in general will be a big focus of discussion at this year’s largest gathering of civil society organizations. Debate and controversy around trade policy, the impact and legacy of NAFTA and other historic trade deals as well as the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), currently a major topic in the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaigns, provide a backdrop to many of the pressing issues effecting the global Fair Trade movement.
The Fair Trade Village, located in the heart of Jarry Park, will showcase Fair Trade companies and organizations that are committed to building an economic model that prioritizes people and the planet before profit. Together, both the Fair Trade Village and the many Fair Trade movement-led workshops at the World Social Forum itself will demonstrate the power of small-scale farmers and producers to create true systems of economic change. Fair trade brands and small-scale producer organizations that produce Fair Trade coffee, tea, honey, and spices, as well as non-profit organizations from Canada and the U.S. will be represented, with the shared mission of raising awareness about the need to support Fair Trade , and how doing so benefits farmers, producers, consumers and the environment.
For background on the history and context of Fair Trade, watch The Fair Trade Story: www.FairWorldProject.org/campaigns/keeping-fair-trade-real/
Both open to the public, the Fair Trade focused workshops (included in WSF registration) and the Fair Trade Village (free of charge) will offer educational opportunities, Fair Trade product samples, and information about the successes and ongoing market challenges to Fair Trade. The various workshops focused on Fair Trade at the World Social Forum will take place August 10th through 12th, a sampling of this schedule, follows:
August 10, 13h00 – 15h30 Fair Trade Hot Topics
August 12, 9h00 – 11h30 How Small-Scale Farmers can Cool the Planet by Partnering with Fair Brands
August 12, 13h00 – 15h30 Beyond Certification—Examples of Fair Trade of and for the People
For the complete schedule of fair trade workshops and panel discussions taking place, please visit https://fsm2016.org/en/activites_liste
The Fair Trade Village will take place all day on August 13th and 14th near the ECOSPHERE in Jarry Park, where the World Social Forum continues for these two days, and will include Fair Trade crafts for sale, product samples, and information from leading non-governmental organizations.
This manifestation is being facilitated by the first coalition of its kind focusing on Fair Trade to attend the World Social Forum, and is composed of World Fair Trade Organization (wfto.com), Fair World Project (fairworldproject.org), Fair Trade Federation (fairtradefederation.org), Canadian Fair Trade Network (cftn.ca), Association Quebecoise du Commerce Equitable (assoquebecequitable.org), Coop Coffee (http://coopcoffees.coop/), and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (fairtrade-advocacy.org).
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, who gather to engage in democratic debate and solution-oriented discussion about the world’s most pressing social issues. For more information about the World Social Forum, visit https://fsm2016.org/en/.
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