moving ahead
Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust has come to the end of another administrative year which has been particularly important. Thanks to your constant support Koperattiva has managed to run and expand its operations and start to influence, slowly but surely, local perceptions of trade and consumption patterns.
The Committee of Koperattiva would like to invite you to a Special Meeting to be held on Monday, 22 March at 6.30pm, at Dar Manwel Magri (of the Jesuit Fathers) at Tal-Qroqq, to proceed to the Second Phase of the Membership Scheme that was successfully launched in 2002.
In order to consolidate our present work and reach realistic projections over 2004 – 2005, Koperattiva is asking you to help
Þ by increasing your present share by Lm 5 or more and/or
Þ by identifying and enrolling two new members
See you on Monday and thank you in advance for your support,
Nathalie Grima
President KKĠ
KKĠ - Constant Education and Managing Change
KKĠ runs its educational process in a flexible and easily-adaptable way that meets the needs of particular communities within society, and different niches within the market (the latter group is further addressed through transparent and socially-oriented means of marketing). The Maltese population is small and technological changes have a rapid and wide-spread effect. KKĠ is very conscious of this and plans ahead in order to convey the message creatively and in a relevant way.
The Educational Process
KKĠ is interested in running programs that will allow it to develop its present skills and improve the educational structure and tools it uses. In brief, KKĠ runs its constant learning structure and addresses the educational needs it faces in the following ways:
ü Encourages the empowerment of its members
ü Promotes collaboration on projects inside the Cooperative
ü Promotes understanding and collaboration with other voluntary and socially-committed organisations
ü Also runs formal education programs
The Process in Practice
KKĠ achieves the above because it:
ü Transmits skills (both within and outside the cooperative) related to communication, presentation, education, management, accountancy, promotion, organisation and capacity-building through the setting up of seminars, meetings and the dissemination of printed material
ü Actively assists its members in attending seminars and meetings (of a similar nature to the ones described above) and organised by other local or foreign bodies such as CTM-Altromercato, the Italian fair trade consortium and NEWS, the international network of World Shops
ü Is actively involved in the Maltese Social Economy. KKĠ pioneered research in identifying and empowering a number of local NGOs that contribute to making the economy more sensitive to the social dimension. KKĠ originated and helped found together with four other foundations/cooperatives that work in the fields of disability, organic farming and social inclusiveness. The Social Economy forged stronger links between its representatives and created a ripple-effect that is currently leading to further collaboration
ü Is actively involved in the Malta Forum for Social Justice and Development, and the NGDO Platform (Malta)
ü Regularly sets up events that generate interest on a national level and are attended by members of the civil society, political representatives, religious representatives, the media and the general public. Chiefly, these are ‘Worldfest’, the celebration of World Fair Trade Day in May, and ‘Taste the World’, an open festival which takes place in November and achieves a healthy balance between non formal education and entertainment
ü Runs formal education programs regarding fair trade and sustainable development in primary and secondary schools and higher education institutes
ü Combines formal with non formal learning by collaborating with a local cooperative (Outlook Coop) in getting students involved in fair trade education and marketing both within the school structure and outside (thanks to extracurricular sessions and hands-on projects)
ü Uses its website (http://www.geocities.com/kkgmalta/) regularly and extensively in encouraging informal learning
ü Disseminates a quarterly newsletter to all its members (via email and post)
ü Regularly publishes articles about fair trade, fighting poverty and ethical consumerism in the Business Supplement of Malta’s leading daily, The Times (www.timesofmalta.com)
During 2003 – 2004 KKĠ has also:
ü been one of the 29 applicants selected from 97 all over Europe to participate in the DEPART project. The DEPART project is intended to strengthen partnerships with other European Non-Profit Organisations with a view of eventually submitting projects together for funding
ü published a short article on Fair Trade for the TRIALOG Newsletter - an annual newsletter intended to inform European NGOs on what is happening in EU acceding countries in Development Cooperation
ü been represented by James Farrugia in the NEWS conference in France - a conference bringing together all European World Shops
ü recently submitted a number of projects for funding in order to be able to continue promoting fair trade through increasing awareness and involving new people in supporting fair trade. We are currently awaiting the results
ü is currently promoting a Fair Breakfast scheme in a number of schools. This will coincide with World Fair Trade 2004
ü secured funding for a member to participate in a training course in Fair Trade to be held in Milano in April 2004
Vince Caruana, Karsten Xuereb
