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Sixth form and college students from across London get creative and speak out for Fairtrade
Students showing off their Fairtrade tee shirt slogans
Fairtrade Fortnight may be over but sixth formers certainly haven’t lost their passion to campaign. While the leaders of the world’s twenty richest nations geared up for the London summit addressing the financial crisis, sixth form and college students, some coming from as far as Leeds and Peterborough, descended on London to learn why trade justice is essential to any new global deal and send their own messages to the G20.
The event was a unique collaboration between the Fairtrade Foundation and People & Planet to spread awareness about unfair trade, one of the root causes of global poverty.
The day
The day opened with a speech from Harriet Lamb the Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation who explained that the existence of the Fairtrade movement was down to campaigners.
Mary Lou Malig from Focus on the global South
After a delicious Fairtrade lunch the students heard from Filipino trade justice campaigner Mary Lou Malig who also addressed Saturday’s Put People First rally. She spoke about the way the currently trade system benefits rich and powerful nations keeping the most vulnerable in poverty and emphasised that now was a time for change through grassroots activism.
Students creating tee shirt slogans for Fairtrade
The afternoon was a chance to get stuck into action. Students designed and sprayed their own Fairtrade slogans on Fairtrade t-shirts. This was followed by a competition for the best design. The lucky winners got lots of Fairtrade chocolate and signed copies of Harriet Lambs book, Fighting the Banana Wars.
Somehow in this packed day students managed to create their own video for the G20 which will be hitting the web soon. Students also had a go at laser tagging some Fairtrade campaign messages.
A laser tag created by students on the day
The day ended with a rousing speech from People & Planet’s trade justice campaigner Jim Cranshaw who explained the role of student activism in making a fairer world and slideshow of pictures taken during the day. We hope you had as much fun participating as the People & Planet team had putting it on.
What next?
The message that came out loud and clear from the day was that the fate of the world should not be decided by a bunch of men in suits, students want a say. If you want to be part of this find out more about People & Planet’s Fairtrade campaign.
