Press Release 2nd February 2011

Monday Night was Quiz Night, and more

Keswick and District Fair Trade Campaign were the last of the four local organisations to give an update on their work at Keswick Fair World Alliance January Open Meetings. To provide a rather different way of updating Jo Human compiled a Fairtrade quiz and Jo Alberti led a Trade Justice unscripted drama on the World Trade Organisation.

‘With so much awareness of Fairtrade in Keswick, I thought it would be a good idea to test people’s knowledge and understanding of just how Fairtrade works, at the same time as giving more information, but to do it with fun,’ said Joe Human.

To raise people’s understanding of the difficulties which poorer countries have in negotiating with the rich and powerful at the World Trade Organisation, Jo Alberti designed a challenging approach.

‘Trade Justice is complicated and it is hard to engage people in its workings: a drama in which people were imagining being an ambassador to the World Trade Organisation was a risky approach but it certainly involved us all,’ reflected Jo.

On Friday, 11th February at 7.30 p.m. at the Quaker Meeting House, there will be the chance to hear more about these challenges, when Aurelie Walker, Trade Policy Adviser at the Fairtrade Foundation, will speak about the essential unfairness of the international cotton market, caused by massive subsidies paid to cotton farmers in the USA and EU which undercut extremely poor West African cotton farmers. Her talk is entitled The Great Cotton Stitch-Up. Everyone who is interested is welcome to come to hear Aurelie speak.

For more information on this press release, contact Joe Human, 017687 80047.