Take part in Fairtrade Fortnight

The Trust for Sustainable Living invites citizens to attend Fairtrade’s Choose The World You Want online festival to spotlight why farmers overseas need cash to fight the ever-increasing threat of climate crisis
Fairtrade Fortnight: 21st February – 6th March 2022
Visit the Choose the World You Want Festival: https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/choose-the-world-you-want-festival/

Fairtrade’s Choose the World You Want Festival will return for a second year for Fairtrade Fortnight 2022. It features a series of virtual events designed to engage, inform and educate people around the urgent message of Fairtrade and climate change, the future of our food and those who produce it. The online initiative will bring the Fairtrade movement together and feature panel discussions, performances, workshops and collaborations between the Fairtrade Foundation and retailers, chefs and high-profile names in the world of food and sustainability.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2022 will this year be a show of solidarity with communities overseas on
the frontline of the climate crisis. November’s COP26 summit didn’t deliver the change
needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, nor did it secure finance to directly support
farmers and workers on the frontline, but the Fairtrade Foundation believes there is hope if
we all act together. Fairtrade Fortnight is an opportunity for individuals, communities, and businesses around country to stand with farmers in low-income countries such as Honduras and Uganda who
are affected daily by climate change. Together, by keeping the pressure on government and
businesses, we can all play a role in ensuring farmers can benefit from fairer prices, fairer
trading practices and the resources needed for tackling the climate emergency, says the
Fairtrade Foundation.

The climate crisis is the biggest threat to the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers
and agricultural workers in low-income countries worldwide. Without a fairer income, they
are unable to invest in the types of mitigation and adaptation techniques needed to protect
the environment, and their businesses. This represents a vicious cycle of poverty in which
steps towards environmental protection and decarbonisation are likely to be beyond reach
for those who aren’t even able to earn a living income because the price they receive for
their produce is far too low. COP26 fell short of what farmers and workers need but together
we can still make a difference, participants at Fairtrade Fortnight events nationwide will hear.

What is Fairtrade Fortnight?

For two weeks each year, at the end of February and start of March, thousands of schools, colleges and universities come together to learn from the people who grow our food and drinks, mine our gold and who grow the cotton in our clothes – people who are often exploited and underpaid.

Through learning about how we are all connected through the things we eat, drink and wear, young people are equipped with the knowledge and skills to shape a more compassionate and sustainable world.

What will be the learning focus of Fairtrade Fortnight 2022? 

So, this Fairtrade Fortnight, we invite your school to stand with farmers and workers seeking climate justice. We have created new films, lesson plans and activities that will help you to explore the inequalities at the heart of the climate crisis, and learn how governments, businesses, schools and individuals can take collective action for a fairer future. The Fairtrade Foundation have an excellent selection of Free teaching resources, lesson and assembly plans | Fairtrade Schools to help schools learn more.

How can I get involved?

1. Teach about Fairtrade and the climate crisis

If you’re new to the topic of Fairtrade and the climate, check out the ‘Climate, Fairtrade and You‘ topic packs. They are full of assemblies, lesson plans and activities to help your students learn about climate change and its impacts on farmers around the world.

If you want to take your learning a step further, check out the new film and lesson series ‘A Fair Future’. Through this series, your students will learn why trade justice is necessary for climate justice, and how we can all take action for a fairer future.

It’s never too early to start learning about Fairtrade! Little ones can join in the fun with Fairtrade Foundations new Comic and Activity Pack, co-produced with EarthCubs. Join Gigi the Giraffe in Kenya to find out where coffee comes from!

2. Join the Choose The World You Want Festival 2022

From online panels to chocolate tastings and teacher training sessions, the Choose The World You Want Festival 2022 will take place online from 21 February to 6 March. Top education picks are Education for Climate Justice and The Big Fairtrade CPD!

3. Get involved in the 2022 Fairtrade Youth Exhibition 

Young people up to the age of 25 are invited to send a message to the individuals, businesses, MPs and wider community visiting the 2022 Fairtrade Youth Exhibition: a message to inspire climate action and remind exhibition visitors that we must listen to the farmers most effected by climate change. Last year, the 2021 Fairtrade Youth Exhibition saw 13,000 visitors. This year, that number is set to grow. Click here to get involved.

Learn more about the Fairtrade Foundation and their global initiatives https://www.fairtrade.org.