9th International Fair Trade Towns Conference - Bristol, UK 2015
2015-07-04 2015-07-05
Fair Trade Towns International Conference Bristol, UK 2015
240 delegates from 20 countries across the world gathered in Bristol on the 4th and 5th of July for the 9thInternational Fair Trade Towns Conference to explore ‘Fair Trade for Sustainability’ as part of the city’s European Green Capital major events programme.
If you were there then relive the moments, if not then watch and listen to the talks including the launch of the Bristol Resolution from the 2015 International Fair Trade Towns Conference at: http://www.easymediacreation.com/iftc-2015.php
This wide range of delegates came from across Europe, the Lebanon, Ghana, USA, Colombia and Japan. They heard from Fatima Ismael, environmental expert from Fairtrade Co-operative Soppexcca in Nicaragua, how climate change is reducing coffee yields and threatening the livelihoods of millions of farmers in developing countries. Harriet Lamb, CEO at Fairtrade International, explained how Fairtrade is working with farmers to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as employing increasingly sustainable farming methods as part of the Fairtrade standards, to ensure resilience and sustainability in a changing climate.
The Conference concluded with the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, and two mayors from Fairtrade towns in Lebanon, who had attended the Conference, signing The Bristol Resolution, committing to take one step for Fair Trade that will contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These are due to be released in September and focus on both people and planet, just as Fairtrade does.
The number of Fair Trade Towns worldwide has now passed 1,700! Another exciting announcement at the Conference came from CLAC and WFTO Latin America, the Fair Trade Producer Networks in the Caribbean and Latin America, who are launching a Fairtrade Towns and Villages campaign in Producer countries, representing an exciting development for the international FTTs movement.
As the movement grows, a ’stakeholder proposal’ was developed to stimulate debate amongst stakeholder organisations and activists over the future direction and role of international coordination of Fair Trade Towns. You can see the proposal here.
A new film was produced for the Conference, ‘How Green is Fairtrade?’, and its premiere marked the start of the weekend. It encapsulates all the issues raised at the event and can be viewed here :https://vimeo.com/123425704
Across the city, the public connected with the Conference through Fairtrade activities in the Bristol 2015 Lab on Harbourside, and a Fair Trade themed ‘Make Sunday Special’ afternoon street festival on Sunday.
You can find pictures from the weekend here.
The location for the 10th international Fair Trade Towns conference in 2016 is currently being determined, and will be announced by the early autumn of 2015, and thank you to everyone who made the 2015 Bristol conference such a fantastic success!
