Our annual Primary School’s Fairtrade Conference returned as a live event last month. Once again, we were kindly given permission to use the Tynwald debating chamber and government meeting rooms for a full day of activities, workshops and presentations.
Our guest speaker was Louise Whitelegg who spoke about her own experience of Fairtrade cooperatives in Burundi. In Tynwald the resolution was “All bananas should be fairtrade” and the students gave their formal statements before debating this issue in the actual seats where government decisions are made.
Other workshops included a chocolate tasting session, ‘Around The World’ (looking at the huge range of Fairtrade products that exist and where they come from) and a P4C (philosophy for children) activity about fairness and empathy. A Fairtrade lunch and snacks kept their energy levels up and the children ended the day with lots of ideas on how they are going to help their school move forwards to the next level of their Fairtrade school status.
Well done to all the participants and thank you to the teachers and helpers who accompanied them – and to the Manx Co-op for the generous supply of Fairtrade bananas!
