Latest update: There are 1,143 Fair Trade Towns  in 23 countries

In this Newsletter:
1. Register now for the 6th International Fair Trade Towns conference
2. European Court confirms possibility to demand Fair Trade criteria in public procurement
3. Fair Trade Schools in the Czech Republic
4. 100% Fair Trade Universities in Australia and New Zealand by 2015?
5. Fair Trade Towns in South Korea.

1. Register now for the 6th International Fair Trade Towns conference

You can now register here for the 6th International Fair Trade Towns conference to be held in Poznan, Poland on 10th – 11th November. With its experience of hosting Euro 2012 Poznan offers a great variety of hotels and places to stay. See recommended places close to the old town and within walking distance of the conference venue at the beautiful Town Hall.

The conference will provide an opportunity to meet people involved in Fair Trade Town campaigns from around the world, share ideas and experiences, and debate on the future of the international movement. As Fair Trade Towns develop in Asia and the South this conference will explore how we can maximize the potential of Fair Trade Towns to promote fair trade and trade justice internationally.

This year’s conference is of special importance for a young Fair Trade movement in Poland. Poznan and Gdansk are the only Polish towns currently working towards Fair Trade Town status and it is hoped and expected that conference delegates visiting Poznan will support and inspire the people of Poland in their fair trade promotional efforts. To help achieve this delegates attending the conference are invited to bring along their own postcard representing their Fair Trade Town with a coat of arms/emblem or simply a local scene. All the postcards will be put on display throughout the duration of the two day conference. If you are unable to attend the conference your town can still be proudly represented by sending your postcard to: Fair Trade Shop, Ul. Poznanska 25, 60-850 Poznan, Poland.

2. European Court confirms possibility to demand Fair Trade criteria in public procurement

Two days before World Fair Trade Day, the Court of Justice of the European Union provided much-needed legal clarification by confirming that Fair Trade criteria can be included in public procurement. This decision puts an end to a dispute between the Dutch Government and the European Commission. In 2008 the Province of North Holland, published a tendering procedure for a public contract for the supply and management of automatic coffee machines, which referred to products bearing the EKO and Max Havelaar labels. The European Commission referred the Netherlands to the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2010 for non-compliance with the EU public procurement rules.

In this landmark ruling the Court clearly states that contracting authorities can choose award criteria based on considerations of an environmental or social nature. The Court also explicitly states it is possible to refer in award criteria “to the fact that a product is of fair trade origin”. Consequently, public authorities can give preference to a bidder who includes Fair Trade criteria.

Concerning the reference to labels however, the Court considers that, by referring to a label without listing the underlying criteria of this label, the North-Holland Province did not comply with the provisions of the Directive . The Court is of the view that it is necessary to  specify the underlying criteria of labels, such as Fair Trade labels. Labels are nevertheless considered by the Court as a valid means of proof of compliance with such criteria, provided that other means of proof are allowed.

Overall, the ruling is good news for European Fair Trade Towns as it clarifies the inclusion of Fair Trade considerations all along the tendering process, under the current EU Public Procurement Directive.

For further information read the Fair Trade Advocacy Office newsletter here.

3. Fair Trade Schools in the Czech Republic

The Fair Trade Schools campaign was launched in the Czech Republic in November 2011 as a part of the Fair Trade Towns movement, with Fairtrade Czech Republic as the national overseeing organization and two other NGOs – On Earth and Ecumenical Academy Prague coordinating the campaigns regionally.

As for towns, there are five goals that a school/university must meet: create a steering group, demonstrate official support for fair trade, integrate global and development issues in teaching, use fair trade products for their own consumption and promote fair trade to the public.

Masaryk Primary School in Litoměřice and the Secondary School in Volyně declared in February this year to become the first two Fair Trade Schools in the Czech Republic. Rokytnice Primary School in Vsetín became the third school to meet the criteria in May. Since then the campaign has been met with great interest and there are many other schools and universities now working towards Fair Trade status.

4. 100% Fair Trade Universities in Australia and New Zealand by 2015?

A new campaign to make every University in Australia and New Zealand a Fair Trade University by the end of 2015 will be launched on the last day of the 2012 Fairly Educated Conference in Melbourne on 29 July. Throughout July, August and September Fairly Educated members and supporters will collect as many signatures as possible from university students, staff, alumni and supporters of fair trade in the wider community on a Change.org petition. The petition is aimed at two of the most influential organisations in the Australasian tertiary sector; the Tertiary Access group (TAG) and Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS). Both organisations will be asked to pass resolutions at their annual conference in September to encourage and assist their members to become Fair Trade Universities.

TAG is the largest organisation that coordinates bulk procurement in the Australian tertiary education sector; representing 63 campus organisations servicing nearly 200 campuses nationally giving them a market of more than a million Australian tertiary students. TAG already insists on environmental standards for the products they procure but now need to make fair trade a priority for TAG members.

ACTS is the primary forum for sustainability in the Australian and New Zealand tertiary education sector with almost every university in both countries being a member. ACTS plays a pivotal role pioneering university sustainability and we wish to see Fair Trade University accreditation be made a higher priority for ACTS members. The campaign is primarily aimed at university members of TAG and ACTS but hopefully any resolution passed will also help facilitate fair trade accreditation for other tertiary education institutions.

Fairly Educated believe that every university in Australia and New Zealand can become a Fair Trade University by the end of 2015 because:
• Around two thirds of these universities already have a Fair Trade movement.
• In the last twelve months alone the number of Fair Trade Universities in Australia has doubled.

Click here to learn more about the growth of Fair Trade University movements in Australia and New Zealand.

5. Fair Trade Towns in South Korea

The fair trade movement may have started relatively late in Korea, but it is now growing very fast with the KFTO (Korea council of Fair Trade Organizations), the network of leading Fair Trade organizations in Korea, being established this year and now taking progressive steps to promote fair trade in Korea.

On World Fair Trade Day (12th of May 2012) KFTO and the Seoul metropolitan government announced that Seoul will now be working to achieve Fair Trade City status. As the capital of Korea and home to 10 million citizens Seoul’s step will be a significant milestone for the Fair Trade movement in Korea.

The process of making Seoul a Fair Trade city will stimulate the awareness of its citizens and civil society generally on the issues of poverty and unfair trading practices. It will also help towards making Seoul a truly cosmopolitan city that cares about its neighbours around the world. With the participation of communities from various backgrounds, Seoul will play its role to promote the values of fairness, consideration, and sustainability in the international community making it worthy of becoming a Fair Trade City

In making this ambitious declaration Mr. WonSoon Park, Mayor of Seoul said: “It could be a risk to announce that Seoul is working towards Fair Trade City status because the Fair Trade movement has not yet built a stable foundation in Korea. But I’ve always believed that it is worth taking a risk if it is the right thing to do and will make the world a better place to live in. I’ve personally visited Garstang, England, the first Fair Trade Town in the world to discover what lies behind a successful Fair Trade Town. We will do our best and we will try to encourage more people to be involved in the Fair Trade movement here in Korea.”