We're very excited this Fairtrade Fortnight. Each year we work hard to promote Fairtrade products, especially so during these two weeks, and\u00a0we have some very special guests arriving on campus to talk to us about Fairtrade during the campaign.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday 9 March at 1.30pm we'll be hosting an afternoon of special events in The Edge.<\/p>\n
We'll hear talks from Michael Gidney, the chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation, and Ana Maria, a Nicaraguan Fairtrade producer. There will also be short films, presentations and a panel discussion.<\/p>\n
Michael Gidney<\/a> became Fairtrade Foundation<\/a> CEO in December 2012, having previously been deputy executive director from 2009. He\u00a0sat\u00a0on the Fairtrade board between\u00a02002 and 2008. Before working with the Fairtrade Foundation he was a teacher in Kenya.<\/p>\n He said,\u00a0\u201cFairtrade can provide farmers and workers with the skills and confidence to secure significant benefits for their communities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have made fantastic progress over the last few years in taking the idea of Fairtrade to the mainstream, but there is much more still to do. Too many producers are still too vulnerable to the volatility of globalised trade.<\/p>\n \"We need to reach more farmers and workers in developing countries, with tools that are relevant to them today, and to do that we must find new ways of engaging more UK companies.\u201d<\/p>\n One of those farmers in developing countries is Ana Maria Gonzalez Narvaez, a 56-year-old Nicaraguan\u00a0Fairtrade coffee and cocoa farmer.<\/p>\n Ana Maria is in Bristol for two weeks, invited by the Bristol Link With Nicaragua<\/a> and Bristol Fairtrade<\/a>. She'll be\u00a0visiting\u00a0schools in the city, and\u00a0on Wednesday 9 March she'll be here at the University of Bath, talking to us in The Edge about her experiences and how Fairtrade has helped her.<\/p>\n