Spring 2005
Cambridge World
Development Movement (CWDM) has had a hectic three months with action and events highlighting Fairtrade,
trade justice and the new WDM Water Campaign.
Anglia TV and Q103 Radio covered the
CWDM Fairtrade exhibition in Cambridge Central Library to mark Fairtrade
Fortnight 1 – 13 March which displayed a proof copy of our new Fairtrade
Guide to Cambridge.
On 17 April 2005 WDM Launched our Fairtrade Guide
to Cambridge
- ‘Our biggest hit of the year’.
We have been promoting the ideas of
fair trade for many years and were delighted to have the support of Cambridge
City Council via a grant from their Sustainable City environmental initiative
to produce the official Fairtrade Guide to Cambridge.
The Mayor, Cllr Rob Dryden, (right
above) helped us launch the Guide in the Market Square on 17 April with extra
help from young Daniel Taylor and his mother Cllr Amanda Taylor (left above),
who helped make Cambridge a Fairtrade City a year ago, with Fabiola Blum of
CWDM (centre above).
Free Fairtrade bananas, fruit juice,
chocolate and biscuits were given away at the launch to show what good quality
they are. Buying Fairtrade helps
farmers in poor countries who find it hard to access our markets because they
get better prices and terms of trade this way.
The Fairtrade Guide lists all 65
outlets where fair-trade goods can be bought in the city and includes a map
highlighting these outlets so you can find them easily. Copies are available
free around the city in shops, venues, council offices and libraries. It can
also be seen on our website www.cambridgewdm.org.uk
Rudolph Amenga-Etego talks about water
privatisation at CWDM meeting
WATER Campaign
WDM is campaigning to stop the government misusing
Aid money to help companies privatise water in poor countries that do not want
to have their water privatised.
We held a stunt in the Market Square on 19 April which involved members dressed as poor farmers begging for water from
Fat Cats unlikely to give it to them as they could not afford the water prices.
CWDM members distributed leaflets
telling people how their taxes are being used to help multinational companies
persuade people to have their water privatised. Many were shocked to hear about it. They were urged to write to their MPs
asking for this practice to stop.
This was followed by a public
meeting on 21 March in Emmanuel UR Church on Trumpington Street with speakers
Peter Hardcastle from WDM HQ and Rudolph
Amenga-Etego from the National Coalition against Privatisation in Ghana.
Rudolph was able to demostrate from his own experience how strongly people in
Gahana feel about this malpractice and urged us to write to politicians and get
it to stop.
‘Make
Trade Fair’ conference
CWDM was
present at the Ridley Hall conference held in Cambridge 8 – 10 March with
leaflets & information.
Westminster
Trade Justice Vigil
CWDM members
joined with thousands of like-minded people from a range of organisations for a
night long vigil at Westminster, drawing attention of politicians and the media
to the injustice of trade rules which keep people in poor countries trapped in
poverty. This got national coverage, appearing on TV and radio news and in most
newspapers.
Make
Poverty History Festival
CWDM
contributed a stall to the festival on Parkers Piece on 7 May when local
churches and NGOs celebrated the broad coalition that is fighting to Make
Poverty History. Sports and entertainments were on offer as well as
refreshments and stalls with games, information and exhibitions.
We
offered our new Fairtrade Guide to Cambridge and free fairtrade chocolate and
biscuits. These demonstrate how good Fairtrade products are and how buying them
helps farmers in poorer countries by giving them a guaranteed fair price
constant over three years.
Cambridge WDM Meetings
If you’d like to campaign for justice for the world’s poor, why not join
us at our meetings? New members are welcome – at 7.45pm on the third
Wednesday of each month.
Meetings coming up -
15 June at Aidan &
Clare’s
20 July at Beth’s
21 Sept at Frank’s
Sue Woodsford, Hon Sec 14 Chesterton Hall Crescent Cambridge CB4 1AP
Tel No 01223 – 562983 or see website