April 20, 2004
Dear Friends,
In follow up to the successful Fair Trade
activities in Cancun, as you know we have
been working hard to get Fair Trade on the
agenda at the UNCTAD XI meeting in Sao Paulo.
UNCTAD, the UN Conference for Trade and
Development, will meet June 13-18, 2004,
in São Paulo, Brazil to set the organization's
priorities for the next four years and create
a forum for debate among government representatives,
international agencies and civil society
organizations on trade and development issues.
See www.unctad.org
for more information.
The UNCTAD meeting, which will be organized
around the main theme: Enhancing the coherence
between national development strategies
and global economic processes, presents
a key opportunity to promote national and
international policies and programs which
improve the terms of trade for small producers
and which contribute to expanding the Fair
Trade system overall. It is also an excellent
opportunity to create stronger alliances
among ourselves and with civil society organizations
throughout the region.
Recently, we received the very good news
that Fair Trade has been accepted as a theme
for an all day conference inside the UNCTAD
meeting on June 16th! We will also be organizing
an all day Fair Trade Forum the day before
(June 15th) and a Fair Trade strategy meeting
(June 17th) as part of the parallel civil
society conference. A draft agenda for the
Fair Trade events and more information on
the parallel civil society activities will
be sent out next week.
In summary, the Fair Trade activities planned
for UNCTAD XI include:
1) one day Fair Trade symposium inside
the UNCTAD Conference-June 16th (only for
accredited organizations)
2) one day civil society Forum on Fair Trade
(as part of week long civil society Forum)-June
15
3) Fair Trade strategy meeting-June 17th
4) booth display of Fair Trade products
from Latin America, especially Brazil
5) media outreach and promotion
We would like to invite you to participate
in these activities. For more information
on registration and logistics, please contact
Rebecca Newman at vmb_fairtrade@wvi.org.
We are still looking resources to be able
to help cover the cost of airfare, though
would encourage you to find resources on
your own.
An international program committee has
been established to define the political
strategy, objectives and content of these
activities. It is currently comprised of
World Vision Brazil/Brazilian Forum for
Articulation of Ethical and Social Trade,
International Fair Trade Association (IFAT),
Peruvian Network of Social Economy Groups
(GRESP),
Global Alliance for Coffee and Commodities
(GLACC), Coordinacion Sud, Artisans of the
World, Fair Trade Resources Network, FLO
Latin American Coordination (invited), Oxfam
International and the Institute for
Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).
In Sao Paulo, we would like to present a
letter to government leaders and other international
agencies outlining the main political demands
of the Fair Trade movement. In Cancun similar
letter was developed and signed by
more than 70 Fair Trade organizations. We
would like to revise this letter based on
additional input and gain more signatures
from across the globe.
We need your help! We invite you to please
review the letter and share with your colleagues
and cooperative members. Please send your
comments to Kari Hamerschlag at kariham@earthlink.net
no later than May 10th. Based on input,
a new letter will be drafted and circulated
widely for signatures.
Thank you very much and please don't hesitate
to contact us for more information.
Warm Regards,
Kari Hamerschlag, Institute for Agriculture
and Trade Policy,
kariham@earthlink.net
Glayson Santos, World Vision Brazil/Brazilian
Forum on Articulation of Ethical and Social
Trade (FACES do Brasil),
glayson_santos@wvi.org
