As Fairtrade Fortnight begins, the Scottish Government reinforced its commitment to supporting the drive to make Scotland one of the world's first Fair Trade Nations.

Fairtrade Fortnight is aimed at raising awareness of ways to encourage fair working conditions and fair prices for goods produced in developing countries..

The Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture Linda Fabiani will attend a number of events during the fortnight.

Ms Fabiani said:

"The Fair Trade movement has already made a huge and positive difference to the lives of many thousands of producers in developing countries.

"Fairtrade Fortnight presents an ideal opportunity to raise public awareness about the benefits of Fair Trade and I'm delighted to be part of that.

"By encouraging consumers to buy more Fairtrade products, we will be helping producers in developing countries to receive a fair price for their products and improve their working conditions.

"The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the drive to make Scotland one of the world's first Fair Trade Nations. Progress is being made and earlier this month the Scottish Fair Trade Forum held its first business meeting to discuss the Forum's strategy and to elect an interim Board which will meet for the first time next week.

"We are also actively promoting Fair Trade within the Scottish Government. During the fortnight we will host a Fair Trade coffee break for staff and have a Fairtrade Fortnight stand where people can get more information about the benefits of Fair Trade."

The Minister will attend the following events during Fairtrade Fortnight:

• Visits to several primary schools over Fairtrade Fortnight to meet with children and discuss Scottish Government policy in relation to Fair Trade and to hear what the children are doing to promote Fair Trade in their schools
• Meeting with the Scottish Fair Trade Forum and Julius Ethang'atha, a Kenyan Fairtrade Tea producer who is touring Scotland during Fairtrade Fortnight to discuss his experiences of Fair Trade from the perspective of a producer
• On Saturday, March 1st, the Minister will be giving an address at the Fair Trade Experience at Glasgow Concert Hall. This event is one of the largest Fair Trade events in the UK and will include Fair Trade stalls, live music, and opportunities to meet fair trade producers and ethical businesses

Fair Trade Fortnight runs from February 25th - March 9th, 2008.

A set of measurable criteria was agreed in conjunction with the Welsh Assembly in 2006 to work towards making Scotland a Fairtrade nation, these criteria included:

• 100 per cent of local authorities to have active Fair Trade groups working towards Fair Trade status
• 55 per cent of local authority areas to have Fair Trade status, with 10 per cent annual increase in following years
• All of Scotland's cities to have Fair Trade status
• Minimum of 55 per cent of Scottish towns to have active Fair Trade groups working towards Fair Trade status
• 60 per cent of Higher Education institutions to have active Fair Trade groups working towards Fair Trade status
• Increase by five per cent each year the proportion of the population who know about Fair Trade (currently 45 per cent)
• 75 per cent of people to buy a Fair Trade product every year
• 40 per cent of people who regularly buy Fair Trade products

The Scottish Fair Trade Forum held its first business meeting on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at the City Chambers in Glasgow. An interim Board was elected and will meet for the first time on Thursday, February 28th, 2008.

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