HomeBackground
History of Fairtrade Belfast
March 2009
Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 takes place from 25 February to 9 March 2009.March 2006
Belfast is awarded its second Fairtrade City status from Fairtrade Mark Ireland.June 2005
Belfast is awarded its first Fairtrade City status from the UK Fairtrade Foundation.December 2004 to May 2005
Fairtrade Belfast committee has to meet the criteria required by the UK Fairtrade Foundation. These are:- making a range of Fairtrade products readily available in shops and cafés and other venues used by the wider community, for example, churches, workplaces and schools
- active campaigning, including planning events, attracting media coverage and gaining support for the campaign.
November 2004
Nominations for the steering committee are put forward.October 2004
The campaign to make Belfast a Fairtrade city is started by staff from Oxfam and Co-op Northern Ireland.Fairtrade Belfast staff
Chairman - Dr Christopher Stange
Dr Stange has a keen interest in issues related to developing countries, particularly the Caribbean Windward Islands.
His appointments include director of Family Spinology, Honorary Consul of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in Northern Ireland and project consultant of Afro-Community Support Organisation Northern Ireland (ACSONI), a registered charity.
Before taking on the role of chairman, Dr Stange served as secretary to the group for two years.
"Fairtrade is vital to the economies of Caribbean and African countries by helping them access markets, not only to alleviate poverty but to give people of these regions control over their own futures," he says.
"We often take the luxuries we all enjoy for granted, failing to reflect the small changes we can all make in society that can positively assist others less fortunate to improve their quality of life."
Treasurer - Victoria Simms
Victoria is studying for a PhD in Psychology at Queen's University, Belfast. "After my gap year in South Africa, I returned to Northern Ireland inspired to do something about the poverty that I had seen," she explains.
"Through my voluntary work with Tearfund, I realised that one simple way to positively affect people's lives in the developing world was to buy and promote the sale of Fairtrade products.
"Campaigning for trade justice alongside this has also really been important to me. I have really enjoyed my time so far with Fairtrade Belfast and I hope to do more great work to encourage the people of Belfast to make positive choices in their buying and have fun along the way."
Our other previous staff included:
| Post | 2004/2005 | 2005/2006 | 2006/2007 | 2007/2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | Tony Weekes | Kirsten Kearney | Chris Flack | Rachel Surgeoner |
| Secretary | Suzie Hamilton | Chris Flack | Colin Caughey | Dr Christopher Stange |
| Treasurer | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Victoria Simms |
