London Fairtrade Capital: The world's largest Fairtrade city.

A visit by a Fairtrade Producer at Charlton House, a group of Post-16 College students at a Sainsbury’s Superstore trying to get shoppers to ‘Go Fairtrade’, and elderly dance enthusiasts strutting their stuff at the Woolwich Town Hall were just three of the events that took place in Greenwich to help mark Fairtrade Fortnight!

The fortnight got underway with a launch event at Charlton House that included a presentation and talk from Vinay Devaiah, Manager of Thiashola Tea Estate in India, to a group of Greenwich schoolchildren as well as a range of information stalls from the likes of the Ubuntu Fairtrade Cola group, who produced the first cola in the UK to receive the Fairtrade mark, and the Makara Apparel group, which is supported by Greenwich Council, and designs Fairtrade uniforms for school and colleges.

A great time was had by all with everyone going away knowing just a little more about the Fairtrade movement.

As this year’s Fairtrade theme was ‘The Big Swap’, students from a Post-16 G-plus college in the borough paid a visit to a Sainsbury’s Superstore to talk to shoppers about Fairtrade Fortnight and encourage them to swap at least one of their regular items for a Fairtrade alternative.

 The students wore special ‘Big Swap’ t-shirts provided by Greenwich Council and were able to convince a number of people to buy at least one Fairtrade item.

A special Fairtrade Tea Dance, with music from the hugely popular Hugh Ockendon Band, also took place at the Woolwich Town Hall giving dancers an opportunity to strut their stuff on the dance floor while tucking in to some tea and cake.

The local press were also on hand to capture all the fun and merriment of the occasion.

In addition to those events, a Greenwich Council staff event to raise awareness of Fairtrade amongst staff also took place while schools in the borough played their part in supporting the fortnight with events ranging from a Kit-Kat chocolate-eating contest to Fairtrade themed assemblies.

It was a wonderful fortnight in Greenwich overall and we look forward to continuing in the same vein over the rest of the year and beyond.

For more information on Fairtrade in Greenwich, visit www.greenwich.gov.uk/fairtrade

 As part of Fairtrade Fortnight 2010, a nation-wide effort to promote fair trade that took place in February-March, young people from the City’s youth groups performed during the “Do something different” weekend at the Barbican Centre. The concert was the result of a series of workshops, led by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, during which young people, aged 10 to 19, composed music and lyrics about fair trade – both related to the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark, and about fair and ethical trade in a more general sense.

Juliet Colyer from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama rehearses with the younger youth group (10-13)

The actual performance was introduced by Ghanaian cocoa farmers Comfort Kumeah and Kojo Aduhene-Tano invited by Divine Chocolate. Amazed by the young people’ engagement, they explained why and how fair trade does make a difference in their everyday life, fostering social economic development at their community level. Divine Chocolate also collaborated with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in providing information on Fairtrade and handing out Divine Chocolates during the workshops and the concert.

Reverend George Bush, Chair of the City Fairtrade Steering Group and Comfort Kumeah and Kojo Aduhene-Tano, cocoa farmers from Ghana.

Young people from the City’s youth groups said they really enjoyed the experience, not only because of the opportunity to express their musical and creative talents but above all for what they learned about fair trade and how purchasing products bearing the FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees a fairer deal to small producers in developing countries.

Michael Goodey from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama leads the younger youth group (10-13) singing “Shelter from Rain”.

As Robert Wells from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama reports, “through this pilot project, an exciting collaboration has started between the Guildhall School and the City of London Youth Service. The young people involved in the project enjoyed themselves and were very much engaged musically and in writing words to the theme of fair trade. The final performance at the Barbican Centre was a great way for participants to showcase their creative work in an inspiring environment.”

This innovative project is the first of its kind to combine the expertise of the Guildhall School and the City’s youth services’ involvement to raise awareness about fair trade and could well lead to future collaborations.

Fairtrade Fortnight is now down to its last few days, and thus it’s a good time to celebrate the milestones so far, as well as thinking of what still remains to be done during the Big Swap this year.

One big thing is to register your swaps, and encourage others to do so as well! The Foundation still needs over 300,000 more swaps before Sunday to meet the goal of one million and one swaps. So please make sure to take part and spread the word to help reach the target.

There have been some great events so far, including tasting stalls, Mad Hatter tea parties, and the Strictly Fairtrade Tea Dance. Please check out some of the photos and videos from the tea dance, which was a big success. Thanks to everyone who came and helped or danced!

Also there are still a number of great events coming up for the rest of Fortnight. One particularly special item will be the Treat Me Fair concert at the Barbican on 7th March. With the support of Divine Chocolate, young people from City of London have collaborated with Guildhall Connect professional workshop leaders to compose and perform a concert inspired by the themes of Fairtrade. This performance will explore the fusion of African drumming, Mc-ing and Song writing and will be introduced by Cocoa Farmers from Ghana.

Find out more here, including how to book your tickets – free but must be booked in advance!

For a list of other great events taking place for the rest of fortnight, see our Events listings.