Brussels Briefing event: Fair Trade as a tool for responsible and sustainable sourcing

On 22 June 2016 the Technical Centre for Agriculture (CTA) organized, with the help of the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO), its 44th Brussels Briefings titled ‘Promoting responsible and sustainable sourcing through Fair Trade’. This type of event is organized twice a month by CTA, the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) from the European Commission, the ACP Secretariat, and Concord. The aim is to improve information sharing and networking. Main targets are policy-makers.

Following key speakers were present at the event:

• Adrian de Groot Ruiz (Executive Director, True Price)
• Marike De Peña (Chair of Fairtrade International and CLAC)
• Lily Deforce (Director, Fairtrade Belgium)
• Rosita Zilli (Deputy Secretary General, Eurocoop)
• Abel Fernández (Commercial Manager, CONACADO, Dominican Republic)
• Solomon Boateng (Certification risk manager, Kuapa Kokoo, Ghana)
• Charlotte Borger (Director of communications, Divine Chocolate, UK)
• Fredrick Masinde (Business Development Manager, Ungudu Fair Trade, member of WFTO, Kenya).

The event was the occasion to give visibility to Fair Trade and to outline main challenges to policy makers, such as to African ambassadors present in Brussels or the European Commission. It was stressed that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an asset to use for development, that it is essential to measure the impact of social and environmental costs, and also that Fair Trade provides a relationship of trust between contractors.

You can find on the page of the Brussels Briefing 44 the video recording, the reader, the presentations of speakers, and the photos.