During the Covid pandemic we are not organising or participating in live physical events, or holding physical Steering Group meetings but virtual ones instead.
Fairtrade Fortnight 2021 22 February – 7 March 2021 For two weeks each year at the end of February and start of March, thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK and here, locally in Gosport, come together to share the stories of the people who grow our food and drinks and who grow the cotton in our clothes, people who are often exploited and underpaid. In 2021, Fairtrade Fortnight will feel very different. 2020 was a hard year and we know that physically campaigning and meeting people will continue to be challenging as we head into 2021.
We hope to be able to organise physical local events later in 2021, but it will depend upon Covid-19 guidelines.
Virtual events – We shall link up with the virtual online festival which the Fairtrade Foundation is organising on our PORTAL page. It will bring together schools, universities, businesses, supporters, campaigners and farmers from across the world to choose the world they want. We shall put you in touch with links to those and local events. Fairtrade virtual Festival – Choose the World you want Join the free virtual festival to hear why winning a fairer deal for farmers and workers is critical in tackling the climate crisis. Throughout Fairtrade Fortnight (22 February to 7 March), the festival will feature: Farmers and workers from around the world explaining why they need to earn more to survive a climate crisis that is already hurting their communities Discussions between farmers, other experts and famous faces about what we need to do to choose a better futureMusic, art and entertainment, from all corner of our passionate and talented global Fairtrade community Fun interactive workshops on sustainable living here in the UK Hope to see you at the festival! Go to the Fairtrade Foundation Website and add your details here and they’ll send everything you need to join each event. “Fairtrade Connections” Yorkshire Fairtrade is also organising an on-line festival. More here about their Festival, ‘Fairtrade Connections’ and events we can join via Eventbrite. CHOOSE THE WORLD YOU WANT The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us more than ever how interconnected we are globally. This interconnection is at the very heart of the Fairtrade message and is where our role begins. We are part of the Fairtrade movement and we have the power to drive long term change not only with our shopping choices but with our support in spreading the message. We just have to do this a little differently in 2021! The focus will be on climate change and how Fairtrade producers with a living wage are able to adapt to climate change and care for their environment better with Fairtrade prices and the Fairtrade Premium. (see the Environment page on this website get more information about Fairtrade and the Environment from the Fairtrade Foundation website)HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED? Join the online festivals with your friends and family. More details here about how to sign up for different online events by our friends in the global Fairtrade movement and the amazing grassroots network. Use social media resources to spread the word online and add more voices to the fight. More online Fortnight resources soon in the Fairtrade Foundation revamped Resources Library. Go to Resources Library Are you a young person between the ages of 5-25? Get involved in the ‘Choose the World You Want’ youth exhibition in Fairtrade Fortnight 2021. Details coming soon. Read stories of farmers affected by climate change. We will be sharing these stories in the new year. You can also host your own online meeting or event: Schools In 2021, we’ll be encouraging and helping schools to teach and learn about the climate crisis and how it affects farmers in different parts of the world. During Fairtrade Fortnight, young people will be able to explore how better incomes can help farmers to cope with these challenges. Farmers in the global south have contributed the least to the climate crisis but are already feeling the impacts the hardest. ‘Climate, Fairtrade and You’ Education Packs have been produced for teachers and educators to discuss how the climate crisis affects farmers and workers overseas. Through assemblies (designed with social distancing in mind!), lesson plans and activities, young people will have the opportunity to discover how their choices can impact people around the world, but also the planet that we live on. Visit the Fairtrade Schools site to download your Education Pack for Early Years, Primary schools or Secondary schools. Share your vision of the world you want – An activity for young people ages 5-25 Young people between the ages of 5 and 25 are invited to share their vision of the world they want for farmers and workers worldwide, and the planet we share. Create your vision for the world you want, for the planet and everything on it, to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight 2021 – Share your artwork, poem, prose or film for a chance for your work to be exhibited in the online Youth Exhibition at the Choose the world you want festival between 22 February and 7 March 2021. More information about how you can take part – hereschools.fairtrade.org.uk/teaching-resources/choose-the-world-you-want-an-activity-for-young-people-ages-5-25/ Resources for you We invite Schools, Churches and Community Groups to organise Fairtrade events for which we can provide presentations on-line – and, in normal times, with live speakers, videos, displays and more. See the range of resources on our RESOURCES Page here Requests welcome any time Do you have an event coming up in Gosport where you’d like a stall or display or a presentation about Fairtrade? If so pleasecontact us in good time and we’ll do our best to help. If you would like a speaker to give a talk about Fairtrade, or would like to talk to us about arranging an event, contact us to arrange a date.This is not good news, so we'll get straight to it. Nestlé have told us that from October they will stop using Fairtrade cocoa and sugar for KitKat bars. For those cocoa and sugar farmers, the timing is terrible. With the global health and economic crisis threatening their future, co-operatives representing 27,000 farmers now face losing almost £2m of Fairtrade Premium each year, along with the security and power Fairtrade has offered over the past ten years.. The affected farmers we've spoken to have told us they want to remain Fairtrade. And the Ivorian Fair Trade Network has today released a powerful letter, which we've shared on our website, explaining why this is such a damaging decision.
The Ivorian Fair Trade Network chose to speak out because Fairtrade offers these farmers a secure, fairer income and the power to decide how to spend that income. We're deeply disappointed Nestlé have failed to promise farmers that this income and their decision-making powers will be protected in future. Just last year, we saw a 23 per cent increase in Fairtrade cocoa sold in the UK, including new commitments from Lidl and Waitrose and Partners, and over 50,000 of you told our government all cocoa farmers deserve a Living Income. And 10 years of Fairtrade KitKat has made a big difference on the ground too. For example, Ivorian cocoa farmers have used their KitKat Fairtrade Premiums to build more classrooms and dispensaries, as well as investing in support for women to grow their businesses. We need to make sure that the voices of farmers losing these benefits are heard loud and clear. That's why we're sharing the Ivorian Fair Trade Network's letter today, and why we've been listening to farmers who'll be affected by this decision to understand how we can offer our support. We’ve spoken to farmers as a priority so we can represent their concerns, butwe also want to hear from you. How do you feel about this decision? And what do you think needs to happen now? Tell us by filling in this quick form. And watch this space for more ways to support the affected farmers very soon. TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Make no mistake, if Nestlé don't reverse this decision farmers will lose out. So now more than ever, we need each and every one of you to keep choosing Fairtrade and speaking up for farmers. Thanks for your support - we'll be back in touch soon. Stefan Fairtrade Foundation, Supporters' Team
