fair trade: a global passion and an economic priority
WorldFest
Detailed
Programme - Petition
about Trade 
Picnics
and festivities in Bangladeshi villages, football matches in Japan, choirs
singing across the Netherlands: on five different continents on May 4th,
the producers and people involved in Fair Trade will celebrate the first
ever World Fair Trade Day.
Med2000 Local Action Group (Third World Group) and Koperattiva Kummerċ
Ġust in collaboration with St. Michael Foundation, Inizjamed
and Ritmi (Third World Group), is taking part in the first ever World Fair
Trade Day, 2002 being held on 4th May.
WORLDFEST
is being held to celebrate Fair Trade and tell the world about it, to
honour the achievements of grassroots farmers and craftspeople who create
quality products for the market, to tell consumers how their spending
power can make a difference and to tell other companies how they can make
a contribution to sustainable development through Fair Trade.
On Saturday, 4 May, you and your families are invited to visit the grounds
at the St Michael Foundation for Education, Pembroke, to enjoy a day out
in a cleaner, greener environment which will be full of various activities
marking WorldFest: World Fair Trade Day 2002. Sports activities in aid of
Fair Trade products, a Car Wash organised by the St Michael Foundation
Scouts, live ethnic music, face painting and a Re-Use Centre where
unwanted gifts and books and other articles can have their life extended
are a few of the events taking place.
However, there will also be public talks on Global Citizenship Education
and Fair Trade for Primary and Secondary School Teachers and a Public
Seminar by Clementina Carbone, Head Teacher of the Vincenzo de' Paoli
school in Reggio Calabria. This school has decided to stop selling
foodstuffs by multinational companies in their canteen. Instead it has
formed an innovative cooperative, Nosotros, managed by the students
themselves and selling only fair trade foodstuffs.
Another
public speaker will be Stefano Magnoni (in picture, right), who is a
founding member and general coordinator of Chico Mendes - the largest
Italian Fair Trade shop. He has participated in a number of fair trade
projects in the southern hemisphere and also has extensive experience in
leading courses on fair trade. Stefano Magnoni has written a number of
articles on fair trade that have appeared in important publications.
Finally
Anna Bucca, President of ARCI Catania, who is in Malta together with
Otello Urso to advise Inizjamed on their EU-funded project (Youth
Programme) "Re-Creation", will be speaking about youth
initiatives in favour of sustainable ways of living, including the 
role
of Fair Trade in a globalized economy. The one-week visit by Anna Bucca
and Otello Urso is being supported by the Bay Street complex in Paceville.
Both
Stefano Magnoni and Anna Bucca attended the first World Social Forum held
in Porto Alegre, Brazil, earlier this year, as part of their commitment to
creating a better and fairer global community.
Throughout the day L-ARKA (in picture), Malta's only fair trade shop which
is a non-profit initiative which is located at 306, St. Paul's Street,
Valleta will be moving out of Valletta and setting anchor at the various
Fair Trade stalls that will be set up at 
the
St Michael's grounds. These stalls will be full of foodstuffs, handicrafts
from various countries in Africa, Asia and Latin and Central America and
clothes, among others, produced under international Fair Trade
criteria.
The
day will be brought to an end by a live perfomance by the Drum Circle
workshop. After the recent successful RITMI live concert, which featured
Moussé Ndiaye and Renzo Spiteri, the latter will be leading the advanced
students of his Drum Circle in a musical celebration of this year's World
Fair Trade Day.
According to Carol Wills, Executive Director of IFAT (International
Federation for Alternative Trade) says, "The levels of poverty in the
world today are unacceptable to the Fair Trade movement. We believe it is
possible to change the world. By buying Fair Trade products consumers can
demonstrate their commitment to that change, and improve the livelihoods
of producers who have been left on the margins by globalisation. World
Fair Trade Day on 4 May is a wonderful opportunity for people everywhere
to speak out for a fairer world."
Vince
Caruana, of the Third World Group, and General Coordinator of WorldFest,
has this to say "World trade rules are loaded against poor
people and the environment. World Fair Trade Day is a clear proof that
there exists another path that benefits poor people and the planet. WorldFest
is an excellent opportunity for Maltese consumers to bring about justice
while having fun and to return home with a unique handicraft or tasteful
jar of coffee".
(In
picture, above, members of the WorldFest organizing team, from left:
Karsten Xuereb, Inizjamed; Nathalie Grima, KKG; Marie Therese Galea, KKG;
Lana Turner, KKG; Roderick Agius, TWG)
For further information send an email to med2000@maltaforum.org
or l-arka@maltaforum.org or
phone L-Arka on 2124 4865.
Karsten Xuereb
April, 2002
Inizjamed
