Fair Procurement conference looks into situation of New Member States

The FAIR PROCURA 2010, final conference of the Public Affairs project, was held in Dortmund, Germany, on 24th September 2010. It created an opportunity to present the key outputs of the Public Affairs project’s researches and initiatives, as well as to share experience with all stakeholders involved in Fair Trade, social and sustainable procurement fields. More than one hundred participants, public authorities, NGOs, Fair Trade producers, Fair Trade retailers and supplying companies participated in the discussions on various topics such as food and textile sectors, as well as legal aspects of Fair Trade Public Procurement (FTPP). The participants could benefit from the experience of high level speakers: Members of the European Parliament, legal experts and most advanced contracting authorities at EU level.

The conference permitted to get an overview of Fair Trade Public Procurement in Europe, and explained the use of FTPP as a tool to support sustainable development and, in particular, marginalised producers in developing countries.

A session dedicated to FTPP issues in countries where Fair Trade awareness is still low was especially relevant for the TRIALOG project, working mostly with actors from New Member States potentially interested in the topic. Interesting discussions were raised, however there was little space provided for knowledge and experience exchange for “newcomers” in the field. This initiative could feed to further development of similar knowledge transfer oriented events.

To learn more about the project’s key outputs visit the website of the Conference of the European Fair Trade Association or contact fair-procura@eftafairtrade.org .

Information provided by Monika Matus, TRIALOG