Fair Trade International Symposium 2026

The Fair Trade International Symposium Steering Group is delighted to announce that the Global South Studies Center (GSSC) will host the next Fair Trade International Symposium (FTIS) from 23 to 25 September 2026 Cologne, Germany, a proud Fair Trade Town.

The Fair Trade International Symposium (FTIS) is the leading global gathering for scholars, practitioners and policymakers working on Fair Trade, established in 2002 with its first meeting in Montreal, Canada, with subsequent events in France, the UK, Italy and the United Kingdom.

The Global South Studies Center (GSSC) coordinates global, interdisciplinary research at the University of Cologne, Germany, focusing on themes related to sustainability, inequality, and infrastructures. Building on GSSC members’ expertise in areas like fair trade and supply chains, the Competence Centre Fair Trade (CCFT) was established in 2020 in cooperation with Fairtrade Germany.

How to get involved

• Join the LinkedIn community: The FTIS community has an official LinkedIn group designed to foster engagement and encourage participation in FTIS events. It's a space for academics and practitioners who are passionate about Fair Trade to connect, share and collaborate.
• You can also follow the FTIS on X (formerly Twitter).
• Read the Journal of Fair Trade, a biannual, single-blind, peer-reviewed title published by Pluto Journals, an interdisciplinary social science journal bringing together academics and practitioner voices. The Journal of Fair Trade is a Diamond Open Access publication available on Science Open and JSTOR Platforms. The Journal of Fair Trade regularly publishes the work of FTIS-associated academics and provides the FTIS with coordination and publication of an FTIS Special Edition featuring work presented at FTIS events and the biennial symposium. Guidelines for Contributors are available on the JoFT website.  In 2024, The Journal of Fair Trade published Volume 5, featuring the work of FTIS and Symposium participants under the theme of Fair Trade Connections (See Volume 5, Issue 1 and Issue 2).
  The Journal of Fair Trade - FTIS partnership helps amplify the voices of academics and practitioners in the Fair Trade movement, fostering deeper dialogue and wider dissemination of ideas.