The XI European World Shops Conference will be held in March 2004 in Lille, France. It will be hosted by Magasins du Monde. Malta will be represented by James Farrugia of Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust.

The aim of the European World Shops Conference is to improve the existing network of World Shops, providing to volunteers and paid staff a framework of co-operation, training, exchange, and mutual learning. The conference is an inspiring opportunity for an exchange of experience between Fair Trade in Europe.

For the past 35 years, World Shops (often known as fair trade shops) have been demonstrating that one of the principal driving forces behind Fair Trade is local involvement. Local involvement in the North which has its pair in local involvement in the South. The results are rewarding: today five million people are benefiting from Fair Trade. Nevertheless our full potential is by far not tapped yet. The potential to reach even more producers and consumers, the potential to really influence international trade rules. The conference will offer space to brainstorm, dream, plan, develop ideas and activities of where we see the European World Shops in a few years.

How can we grow stronger and more influential as a European movement, as one European voice? How can we use our immense capacities as a local movement to change the global level? Around three pillars the conference will build the bridge from the local to the international level:

Professionalisation. More and more people are conscious about the flaws in our current trading system and are willing to shop responsible. This interest corresponds to the need of producers to find better markets. To respond to the growing interest and reach out to more people shops have to adapt their look and product choice to new target groups. The professionalisation process in Europe is in full swing. Some countries have finalised their concepts and are very successful transforming their shops (Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark), other countries are following suit. During the conference you will have the possibility to find out more about what’s going on in other countries, learn about the difficult and good sides of the shop transformation (shop design, product choice, product presentation etc.) and you will have the possibility to visit our exposition with shop pictures from different countries.

Awareness raising. On the one side, the professionalisation process will allow us to explain Fair Trade to new customers who are not yet familiar with the ideas and the concept. On the other side, if we want to change the international trading system, awareness raising activities are essential to reach out even further, to build up a critical consumer voice. Workshops organised under this point will offer the possibility to find out more about successful campaigning, to exchange experience with other countries and build up alliances. We will discuss how to become more visible to the big public, what our point of view is towards a common mark and how we can make ourselves heard during international trade

negotiations.

Advocacy. The third priority of the conference will offer workshops on political lobbying and advocacy. Changing consumption patterns in the North is important but without political will to transform the current unjust trade system Fair Trade will always be an alternative but not the rule. Politicians are under huge pressure from transnational corporations which dictate the trade negotiations agenda. We will explore ways to influence politicians and corporations, explain Fair Trade advocacy in a European context and inform about advocacy activities during WTO negotiations in Cancun and during the European and Global Social Forum.

March 2004