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Wednesday 24th February 2010

Schools' Fairtrade Committee celebrates milstone

Stoke-on-Trent's Lord Mayor, Cllr Jean Bowers, cut the ribbon to open the new Fairtrade shop at Haywood High School & Engineering College. The shop is one more milestone achieved by the students' Fairtrade Committee assisted by mentor Fred McCarthy.

The 12 member student committee has developed the school's Fairtrade policy which has ben approved by the Governors, Headteacher and staff and is now part of the overall school policy. Thanks to the hard work of these young Fairtraders the school is well on the way to achieving Fairtrade school status.

The committee had selected today's special Fairtrade lunch menu and it was really encouraging to see just how supportive the catering staff are of Fairtrade. Sporting their Fairtrade t-shirts against a backdrop of Fairtrade posters and menu cards produced by the Schools Catering service their enthusiasm for Fairtrade is clear. While the Lord Mayor enjoyed her lunch with mentor Fred McCarthy and several members of the committee I sent my two committee lunch hosts, Amy Slack and Ateem Khan, to be part of their photograph.

It was during lunch with Amy and Ateem that it occured to me that it would be an good idea to present my illustrated talk on Fairtrade at the school's Human Rights Day on 24th March with two members of the committee. They will discuss the idea at their next meeting. I think the answer will be positive in which case I will visit the school a week or so before the Human Rights day, run through my proposed power point so that my two young colleagues can delete and add. It would be good to use this approach when I speak in other schools. Can't think why I haven't though of it before.

We were made really welcome by the head, Mr David Dickinson, who gave us a brief tour to indicate the major building changes due shortly under the BSF plan and explained how differently the school teaching areas would look and how different the style of learning would become. He is clearly excited about the prospect of improved facilities and particularly so since the original BSF reorganisation proposed total demolition with a totally new school on a different site.

This was the  first time I have been present when the flowers presented to the guests were Fairtrade. Top marks, congratulations and many thanks to all those who welcomed us so warmly and comprehensively paid attention to detail in their planning and delivery.

Sunday 21st February 2010

Fairtrade Fortnight

March 2004: The Lord Mayor, Cllr Clive Brian, with the Lady Mayoress, receives the City's Fairtrade Status certificate, delvered by a team of cyclists at Stoke Town Hall with Ann Worthington, secretary of the Stoke-on-Trent Fairtrade group watching in the background.

The Fairtrade range started small. Like one bar of chocolate small – MAYA GOLD plain chocolate bar by Green & Blacks (now part of Cadbury’s) was the first product to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark in 1994. Now there are over 4,500 FAIRTRADE products - a glorious array of products that embraces pineapples and footballs to duvets and rice, with the familiar chocolate, coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, orange juice, cotton garments, wine and thousands more in between!

The annual Fairtrade Fortnight runs from Monday 22^nd February until Sunday 7^th March. This year’s theme is THE BIG SWAP. It couldn’t be more simple: all you are asked to do is to swap from a non-Fairtrade product to one with the Fairtrade Mark.

Unlike abstention for Lent, you are not asked to give up anything…well only something that isn’t Fairtrade! So no deprivation, no sacrifice, no effort really is being asked of you, yet your simple decision to swap something for Fairtrade will, added to one million and one other people’s decisions, make the world of difference to tens of thousands of families in Third World countries.

Furthermore, if an organization that you belong to, whether it be a sports, club, church, mums and toddlers or whatever, hasn't yet signed up to use Fairtrade this is the perfect time to set the wheels of change in motion, Make the SWAP now!

The Lord Mayor is the civic patron of the Stoke-on-Trent Fairtrade Group and since becoming a Fairtrade City each Lord Mayor has been an active supporter, always hosting an annual Fairtrade civic reception. This year the Lord Mayor, Cllr Jean Bowers, will hold the Fairtrade Civic Reception at Stoke Town Hall on Wednesaday 3rd March from 7pm. Pupils from St Margaret Ward and Stoke Minster Primary will contribute and there will be an illustrated talk on the importance of Fairtrade to communities in India, plus several excellent short films, each only several minutes long, that brilliantly show just how important Fairtrade is for millions of people.

 

Everyone is welcome: this is your invitation to join the Civic celebration of the City’s contribution to Fairtrade. Just telephone the Lord Mayor’s secretary on 232625 and give your name and number of guests you will bring to the event. This has become an annual happy celebratory evening! Best not to miss it! If your'e busy, swap it!

 

 

Friday 5th February 2010

Pedestal Power or what's the point in wrestling with Reginald Mitchell and Robbie Williams?

A City Council press release today declares: "Stoke-on-Trent will this year name its Citizen of the Century as part of its federation centenary celebrations. A shortlist of ten nominations has been decided on by a panel of judges, to commemorate the best Stoke-on-Trent has had to offer over the last 100 years. The announcement will be made at a special Federation Dinner to be held on 31 March at the Kings Hall. The nominees are:

• Jack Ashley
• Arnold Bennett
• Doug Brown
• Clarice Cliff
• Sir Oliver Lodge
• Sir Stanley Matthews
• Reginald Mitchell
• Millicent Duchess of Sutherland
• Phil Taylor
• Robbie Williams

Whoever came up with this crazy obsession with the top City-related celebrity? What's the point: to reinforce at any opportunity the social hierarchy of wealth and power? Putting a select few on pedestals is little short of aping monarchs on thrones. It is medieval and totally irrlevant for a mature, modern societry.

Each of the 10 nominated people have contributed significantly to society in diverse ways. Apart from the Duchess, the contributions went way beyond the boundaries of the federated City of Stoke-on-Trent. Tens of thousands of people, millions indeed, contribute significantly to society in diverse ways. 

But by what criteria are their contributions assessed comparatively? What's the point in wrestling with, for example, the contribution of Reginald Mitchell and Robbie Williams?     

"The city will also be inviting people to nominate their own “Citizen of the Century” via their website at www.stoke.gov.uk later this month. That person should have lived, worked or been educated in Stoke-on-Trent between the years 1910 and 2010 and made a significant and recognisable contribution in their chosen field.

"The panel of judges is made up of City Council Leader Ross Irving, Managing Editor of BBC Radio Stoke Sue Owen, Assistant Editor of The Sentinel Martin Tideswell, local historian Fred Hughes and Vice Chancellor of Staff University Christine King.

Councillor Irving said: “We feel that the shortlist accurately reflects the best of Stoke-on-Trent, both past and present. The Citizen of the Century Award is obviously a huge accolade, so we had to think long and hard about prospective candidates.

If the shortlist is accurate, then why the need for more to be nominated by "people"? Probably a doubt crept in about not having thought long enough and hard enough!

“We also want to hear about unsung heroes, the people who have made differences to people’s everyday lives and have given so much to their communities and the city as a whole.

“The award will be a lasting legacy to whoever is chosen, and will be remembered as one of the most important figures in the entire history of Stoke-on-Trent.”

I doubt that very much. Who ever remembers the best of any list from any era? Come to think of it, what is the point of commemorations?