November 28, 2018 | Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg School Division’s (WSD) Tec Voc High School today celebrated its official designation as a Fair Trade School. The designation recognizes the school’s commitment to purchases and actions supporting workers and producers in the Global South.
“We’re very proud of this recognition and encourage all schools to join us in becoming Fair Trade designated,” says Sarah Dela Cruz, student member of the Tec Voc Fair Trade Committee. In honour of the recognition, Tec Voc served up samples of local Fair Trade food and drinks for invited guests and the school cafeteria put on a Farm and Fair Trade lunch special.
“Tec-Voc High School will continue to commit to its Fair Trade initiative each year through the formation of a Fair Trade Committee which consists of administration, staff and students,” says Kathleen Mira, Business Education Teacher at Tec Voc High School. “The committee ensures that Fair Trade products are offered in our school, both at the school store and the school cafeteria.” Mira says the committee is also raising awareness through events and teaching about Fair Trade in the classroom.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome the 1300 students and staff of Tec Voc High School in Winnipeg to the family of schools that has been Fair Trade designated. As the 22nd school to be designated, and with a committed steering committee and in-class learning on fair trade issues, Tec Voc shows great dedication to the producers in the Global South who benefit from the movement. This means they can improve their farming practices, their working conditions and their communities. Go Hornets!” – Julie Francoeur – Executive Director, Fairtrade Canada
Fair trade is an initiative that promotes livable wages, decent working conditions and fair prices for farmers and workers in various industries around the world. From cocoa and coffee, to sugar and cotton, many of the farmers of these products are marginalized from these multi-billion dollar industries. The concept of fair trade is to support these small-scale farmers in developing countries; they can form cooperatives and vastly improve their working conditions and quality of life for their families.
“We are very excited to welcome Tec Voc into the Fair Trade Schools community. Thanks to the hard work of students, teachers and staff at Tec Voc, more farmers and producers will now benefit from a fair price for their products. Congratulations to all of you!” Sean McHugh, Executive Director of the Canadian Fair Trade Network.
Tec Voc’s school motto is “Think Green! Act Gold! Be a Hornet!”. This motto emphasizes the importance of environmental considerations and of being a good and supportive global citizen. In keeping with this mantra, Tec Voc recognizes that supporting Fair Trade brings us together as a global community. Even with small everyday purchases, as a collective, we can be a catalyst for change.