Carleton Primary School receive their Fairtrade in Yorkshire School Award from the Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Julie Gunnell.

Carleton Primary School, near Skipton in Craven District, has just put in its application to become a Fairtrade School.  This marks the culmination of several years work and all pupils and staff have their fingers firmly crossed that they will be successful.

The school is no stranger to awards, having won a Fairtrade in Yorkshire School Award 2014, and two of their teachers have been presented with Global Teacher Awards, accredited by Liverpool Hope University.

Brompton Hall pupils and teachers at York St. John University, where the award ceremony was held.

Brompton Hall School in Brompton, near Scarborough, were awarded with a Fairtrade in Yorkshire School Award 2014, in recognition of all the work the school has done to raise awareness of Fairtrade.

The school has its own Fairtrade group, which coordinates a wide range of activities and Fairtrade is raised in cookery classes, where many fairly produced ingredients are used.

Ken Wyatt of Fairtrade Rotherham

For Fairtrade Fortnight 2014, primary school pupils in Rotherham Metropolitan Borough are being invited to design a poster which reflects the principals of the Fairtrade movement. Ken Wyatt, of Fairtrade Rotherham, points out that there are plenty of ideas for the pupils to focus on for the subject of their poster: there are well over 200 Fairtrade products available in the UK ranging from beverages, dry foodstuffs including yummy chocolate , sports goods, clothing, wines, fresh fruits and flowers….the list goes on. There is an emphasis on the relationships between producers and consumers; sustainable farming; decent working conditions for people with no exploitation of child labour and supporting communities to maintain their own well being.

Posters need to be returned to Ken Wyatt c/o Rotherham Town Hall before Easter for judging.  1^st 2^nd & 3^rd prizes will be awarded along with certificates for those whose posters are highly commended.  A presentation evening will be held for the winners, parents & staff  in May 2014.  The Mayor of Rotherham will award the prizes.

Leeds Lord Mayor Tom Murray and school children from Ireland Wood Primary school launched a very special Birthday card competition today. February 2014 marks 10 years of Leeds’ status as a Fairtrade City and all Leeds school children are invited to design a Birthday card to celebrate this great achievement.

“In 2004 Leeds worked very hard to involve the Council, Businesses, Faith Groups and Schools to attain Fairtrade City Status” said Fairtrade Leeds Chair Hannah Langdana “This is a great opportunity to celebrate everyone’s hard work and remember how we are making a real difference to millions of people in the developing world who are getting a fair deal for their hard work.”

Birthday party celebrations planned include a ‘Fairtrade Bake off’ for interested adults and cafes, a T shirt design competition for youth groups and of course a Birthday Party, with a  Fairtrade banana farmer, at the Civic Hall on March 7^th.

“The Council is very committed to Fairtrade and we look forward to seeing all the Birthday card entries and tasting all that Fairtrade cake” said the Lord Mayor.

Schools in the Leeds City Council area that would like to enter the competition should click here for more details.

Mark Dawson, a PhD student at the University of Leeds, is set to undertake an important study of Fair trade activism by churches.

Mark is part of the subject area of Theology and Religious Studies which has a long standing focus on understanding the role of religion in  local communities.

The study will focus on two Yorkshire communities and will look at how the churches in those areas connect with the wider public through their action in support of Fair Trade.

Mark Dawson (right) with the Archbishop of York

Mark will interview churchgoers and listen to their opinions on how churches relate to their local communities in their work on Fair Trade, including their relationship to: the Fairtrade Towns movement, local businesses, politicians, community groups, other faith groups and the general public.

The churchgoers will also be asked about how their work on Fair Trade relates to their own  faith.

The study will take three years to complete and will make a significant contribution to the body of research on Fair Trade activism.

The University of Leeds is a Fairtrade University and the flagship employer for the Yorkshire Fairtrade Region.

The Fairtrade Yorkshire Steering group committee congratulated award winners, Amarjit and Jas’ ,at their meeting at the University of Leeds on Saturday 9th November.

Amarjit and Jas’ worship at the Sikh temple Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha Leeds.  The temple was presented with the ‘Best Outreach and Networking award’ by Fairtrade Foundation CEO, Michael Gidney, at the national Fairtrade Supporter Conference in London on 5th October.

The award recognises the achievements and creativity of Fairtrade campaigners and supporters during the first half of 2013, including during the Fairtrade Fortnight campaign.

As well as organising events for Fairtrade Fortnight,  Fairtrade supporters at the temple also translated Fairtrade literature into Punjabi and wrote a document which links support of Fairtrade with insights from the Sikh faith.

Well Done to St. Mary’s Menston for their efforts in working towards Fairtrade School status.

Benedict, Isobel, Marienne and Jack Tunnecliffe: taking Fairtrade forward at St. Mary’s

The students have set up a campaign to make Fairtrade products more accessible locally and have worked with Leeds Development Education Centre to learn more about fair trade issues within school.  “The challenge is to continue this work by educating our families, our neighbours and the wider community about this essential work” says teacher Jack Tunnecliffe.

Beeston Gurdwara

The Sikh temple Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha Leeds was presented with the ‘Best Outreach and Networking award’ by Fairtrade Foundation CEO, Michael Gidney, at the national Fairtrade Supporter Conference in London on 5th October.

The award recognises the achievements and creativity of Fairtrade campaigners and supporters during the first half of 2013, including the Fairtrade Fortnight campaign.

In Leeds, during Fairtrade Fortnight, members of GNNSJ-Leeds organised a number of events in which they showcased Fairtrade products and talked to the local community about Fairtrade.  They created their own material to highlight the links between the Fairtrade ethos and the Sikh faith and were involved in events such as: a national football tournament, a local lifestyle event and a wide range of activities at the Gurdwara.

Adam Gardner, competition judge and Communities Campaigns Manager at the Fairtrade Foundation said:

‘It’s a tough task picking winners from the vast amount of inspiring community action for Fairtrade across the UK. Each entry demonstrated the creativity, hard work and vision that epitomises the Fairtrade movement, and continues to bring about a better deal for more farmers and workers through selling their products as Fairtrade. 

The winners demonstrated these qualities in abundance, and we are looking forward already to see how they and other groups continue to build the movement for fairer trade in their communities in the coming year and beyond.’

On the 5th of October, four students from Notre Dame Sixth Form College’s Fairtrade committee; Aneka, Rowanne, Katy and Hannah; travelled down to London to attend this year’s Fairtrade Supporters Conference.
This is an annual event which allows the students to join fellow Fairtrade campaigners and share ideas. There are also opportunities to hear from inspiring global speakers, meet like-minded people from around the UK, explore ideas for their campaign and find out what we will be campaigning for in 2014.

The day included introduction talks from the Heads of the Fairtrade Foundation, Kevin McCullough and Jonathan Smith, as well as contributions from Michael Gidney, the Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, James Mwai, Acting Executive director of Fairtrade Africa and Renwick Rose representing the Windward Islands Farmers Association.

In the afternoon there were a series of breakout sessions where students attended events focussing on the important issues for Fairtrade campaigns like how to use social media effectively and the importance of engaging local businesses.
Students also had the opportunity during the day to attend a creative workshop and to sample a range of Fairtrade products and network with suppliers.

The students all enjoyed the day and said that they had learned a lot about Fairtrade, in particular how it improves the lives of others and how to develop their own campaign within Notre Dame 6th Form College.
All four students have returned keen to share their experiences with other members of the Fairtrade group and to ensure that they have the best campaign strategy possible.

Helen Robinson of Fair and Funky (a Fair Trade not for profit business based in Holmfirth) visited the national Fairtrade conference, all the way down in London.

Pictured here are Karen Palframan of Fairtrade Bradford, Mike Gidney (CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation) and Sophie and Helen of Fair and Funky.

Read Helen’s fantastic blog about the event below:

http://www.fairandfunky.com/fairtrade-supporters-conference-2013/