Little Voices v Big Heads: Fair Trade and COP26

Glasgow Fair Trade Co-op is a small voluntary group that started life in 2006 and it is structured as a cooperative to reflect the way that most fair trade growers and producers organise.

From the outset in 2006 GFTC has attempted to show the link between fair trade principles, practices and environmental sustainability.

This is underscored by the use of the fair trade premium, where growers and producers collectively use their premium to invest in the health and well-being of their communities.

The main event

We have invited our eight fair trade twin towns to join us for an afternoon where we can share and learn. We will be joined virtually by several of our twin town/cities including Bethlehem, Marseilles and Milan and we hope the five other twins will also join us. The event is attracting interest from fair trade growers, producers and support groups as far afield as Ecuador, Finland and Lebanon.

Scotland’s umbrella group, the Scottish Fair Trade Forum in conjunction with the Fair Trade Foundation (UK) will be hosting fair trade farmers and producers, some of whom are formally accredited by the COP26 organisers. We hope that, schedules permitting, they will join us too for the event.

The event will take place on Wednesday 10 November, starting at 16.00 (UK time) and finishing at around 17.30.

Those of us here in Glasgow will attend physically at Websters Theatre, with our guests and invitees joining via Zoom.

As well as hosting the event The Glasgow Fair Trade Co-Operative will give a short overview of the history of fair trade in the city as well as a brief eye witness account of life here during COP26.

The event will then be open to each of our twin city/town groups to tell us about their campaigning, its relationship to environmental sustainability and how we further engage our fellow citizens. We are suggesting that contributions from each group take no more than ten minutes and we can use the remaining time to summarise how we best continue to promote our work in the spirit of international co-operation.

We hope to have the technical facilities to broadcast pre-recorded material, if that’s useful as part of the “show and tell”. Once we have the confirmed attendance of our twins and other participants, we will circulate a more detailed timetable and joining details.

We look forward to meeting you all.