On 5 and 19 February, the Walloon Fair Trade Awards were awarded to two schools, Actions Intégrées de Développement Hainaut-Centre and Collège Saint-Stanislas in Mons.
The competition rewards organisations (public services, companies, schools, non-profit organisations, etc.) in the Walloon Region for their awareness of Fair Trade and their purchases of Fair Trade and sustainable products.
The training centre Actions Intégrées de Développement Hainaut-Centre won the Best Sustainable Actor award for its partnerships and synergies with initiatives promoting the consumption of fair trade, sustainable and local products. The jury praised ‘the strong partnerships and numerous initiatives, particularly with farms, to promote local fair trade and sustainable consumption’.
A special mention was awarded to the school Collège Saint-Stanislas in Mons for its 20-year commitment to fair trade, spearheaded by a group of teachers and pupils. Previously, the cities of Profondeville and Tournai had already received a prize as part of the second edition of the competition.
Enabel’s Trade for Development Centre offered the two winning schools a performance of the show “Le commerce équitable, c’est quoi cette arnaque?” by the Alvéole theater company.
This funny, theatrical conference-debate features Mathias Grandjean, professor of economics at the University of Montaigne-Lille, and Louisa de Beaufort, in charge of civic education at the NGO Impulsions Bruxelles. In between them is Mireille Bosendorf, a farmer from Bossogne who would like to be anywhere but between these two!
Who benefits from Fair Trade? What is the environmental impact of Fair trade products? Why are they more expensive? Should we boycott multinationals? Isn’t buying local the solution?
The three characters tackle these questions and many others in a straightforward way, to get everyone thinking.
The award of a Walloon Fair Trade award at the Collège Saint-Stanislas in Mons ©Caroline Laroye
Walloon Fair Trade Award given to Actions Intégrées de Développement Hainaut-Centre ©Caroline Laroye