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Questions
of fair and ethical trade touch upon core issues of sustainable development and
its three pillars of social equity, economic development, and environmental
protection, and the fundamental questions of global equity and human rights.
We
are exploring if the Implementation Conference process can offer a space for
organisations working in the area of fair & ethical trade, to:
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promote
their goals & activities; |
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broaden
the scope of what they are doing; |
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initiate
exchange, common learning, identifying partners; |
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bring
the concepts to new sectors. |
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Such
activities could be subject of the preparatory process and agreed joint work
programmes as possible outcomes. |
Process
so far:
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Researched
and contacted organisations working on fair / ethical trade in different sectors
(eg coffee, cocoa, palm oil, flowers) but also ones in non-agricultural sectors
such as tourism; |
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Generated
interest in the Johannesburg Summit process and the Implementation Conference |
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Started
to produce a background paper - see the Introduction here |
Next
steps:
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Conference
Call on 20 May (participants / agenda), with a number of organisations, to explore the ideas,
clarify possible engagement, identify additional relevant organisations; |
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Possibly
facilitate a sub-group of organisations working on fair / ethical trade and
develop partnership initiatives |
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For
example: develop common learning and exchange, eg between coffee and other,
less well advanced sectors; explore
how experiences could be translated into other sectors; |
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Invite
representatives of other sectors to discuss fair trade opportunities; |
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Develop
a 1-2 year work programme of learning, promotion, and spread of fair trade
in commodities, where organisations from the different sectors come together |
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Identify
a facilitating organisation; seek funding for the initiative |
If
you are interested in this process, please contact:
Michael
Burke, Fair Trade Coordinator, mburke@earthsummit2002.org
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