Gosport Fairtrade Action, (GFA) are currently working towards obtaining Fairtrade Town Status for Gosport. But they were so impressed with the help they have received from Officers and Members of Gosport Borough Council during Fairtrade Fortnight - they nominated the authority for an award.
Although Gosport had to compete against many larger authorities, they were delighted to learn that they had received the Runner-up award in the Best Contribution by a Local Council Award, for their work in supporting Gosport Fairtrade Action.
The award was presented to Councillor Mrs June Cully by Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Association and Dyborn Chibonga of the National Smallholders Association of Malawi, at a campaign day held in London on Saturday 28 September.
It was during her role as Mayor last year that Cllr Mrs Cully worked closely with GFA, organising Coffee Mornings and attending events in support of the group, and so it was felt appropriate that she should be the one to accept the award on behalf of the Council. Cllr Mrs Cully took the opportunity to thank everyone involved at the Council for their support and also to Sarah Hirom, Secretary of GFA, who had nominated the Council for the award and for all her hard work in organising and driving forward the Gosport Campaign.
Although Gosport Fairtrade Action has only been in existence for little over a year, a great deal of progress has been made towards achieving the goals required to enable Gosport to become a Fairtrade Town. If you would like more information about the Fairtrade initiative or how you can help guarantee a better deal for third world producers, check out the growing range of Fairtrade products listed at
www.fairtrade.org.uk.
