Edinburgh hosts 18th Fair Trade Towns Conference - Foysol Choudhury
Edinburgh recently welcomed delegates from across the globe for the 18th International Fair Trade Towns Conference, a three-day event dedicated to strengthening the international movement for fair and sustainable trade.
The event opened with a reception at the City Chambers, chaired by Rachel Farey of the Edinburgh City Fair Trade Group.
It gathered over 250 delegates from around the world to discuss and advance the fair and sustainable trade movement. The conference featured panels and Q&As, with participants from countries like South Korea, Nepal, and South Africa.
The event aimed to strengthen global solidarity, promote community-led action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and foster new connections within the Fair Trade movement.
Among the speakers were me as Labour’s spokesperson for Culture, Europe and International Development; Depute Lord Provost Lezley Marion Cameron; Thembisile Mnisi from Drakenstein Municipality in South Africa; and Louise Davies from the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.
Delegates also visited the Scottish Parliament, where they joined a Q&A session with me and my colleague Sarah Boyack MSP and took a boat cruise on the Firth of Forth.
The visit set the tone for the week, opening the programme by reflecting on Scotland’s achievements.
In 2023, Scotland marked ten years as a Fair Trade Nation, a milestone reflecting the dedication of communities, campaigners and businesses working to make trade fair, just and sustainable.
Today, we continue to champion Fair Trade with pride and I am delighted that Edinburgh is at the heart of that journey.
This year’s conference theme, “Your Town, Our World: Fair Trade Communities & Local Action to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, framed discussions on how local initiatives can contribute to global system change.
Delegates took part in interactive workshops on climate action, wellbeing economies, youth engagement, digitalisation and the power of storytelling in driving social change.
Fair Trade has always shown us that local action can drive global change and the stories we are hearing here in Edinburgh prove just that.
I am proud that Scotland hosted this conversation, and I look forward to seeing the collaborations and commitments that emerge from the weekend.
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