Fairtrade
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is proud to announce that we became a Fairtrade University on 6 October 2010. Our application to achieve Fairtrade University status was approved at the first attempt by the Fairtrade Foundation who offered "congratulations to each of you for your hard and inspiring work this year and keep up the great work!"
School students and staff have been promoting Fairtrade over the past year in order to raise awareness of Fairtrade issues. Events have been organised by the Students Representative Council with oversight by the School's Sustainability Group. A complementary student group, the Students Sustainability Group has been active in publicising and organising events.
The Fairtrade movement began with the aim of supporting marginalised producers of goods and raw materials in developing countries. It provides them an opportunity to trade equitably and equally. The movement is supported and promoted by many organisations around the world. Apart from promoting fair and open international trade of produce such as bananas, coffee, cocoa, sugar and handicrafts, these organisations work towards active participation of the stakeholders in widening the reach and impact of the practice.
Fairtrade allows wider reach for those who need it the most the marginalised producers. Producers are trained to conduct trade with fewer middlemen, at competitive prices that allow communities to trade sustainably. The ultimate goal of the movement is to improve trade in the grassroots to a practice that builds self-sufficiency and up-liftment of communities. Produce from organisations practicing Fairtrade policies that include environmental, labour and developmental considerations are given the coveted Blue and Green Fairtrade symbol that we see in Fairtrade juice bottles, coffee, tea and in stickers on fruit.
The Fairtrade Foundation in the UK certifies colleges and universities Fairtrade Friendly upon satisfying certain criteria. Efforts to raise awareness within the School began with a series of events during the nationwide Fairtrade Fortnight which ran from 22 February 2010 to 5 March 2010. The School's students organised free food tasting sessions and distributed a range of promotional material. Raffles were held for Fairtrade toiletries. The School Film Club showed Black Gold, a documentary about the coffee trade and gave away Fairtrade beer and wine to the audience.
The School is committed to hosting events to promote the campaign and is now working with the other colleges in the Bloomsbury area to ensure that this is communicated within the Bloomsbury Community. This includes supporting the annual Fairtrade Fortnight. Information on this shared campaign and recent events can be found on the Greenthing website: http://www.bloomsbury.ac.uk/greenthing/Fairtrade
If you would like further information or wish to participate, please contact Paul Shanley at paul.shanley@lshtm.ac.uk, or Stephanie Chesters at Greenthing@bloomsbury.ac.uk
