We've Done It!!!

On June 4th at 2pm, Witney will be declared the 1000th International Fairtrade Town. On the same day, several towns and cities will declare sequentially across time zones to celebrate 1000 Fairtrade Towns worldwide.

Witney will be joining Madrid in Spain, Kumamato in Japan and New Koforidua in Ghana and others yet to be named.

Barbara Crowther (Director of Communications and Policy) will join the Witney declaration on June 4th as the speaker from the Fairtrade Foundation. Also David Cameron has sent a message to be read out on the day.

The celebration in Witney will be held at the Corn Exchange and is being organised by Witney Area Fair Trade Action Group who have been working tirelessly over nearly 4 years to gain all the necessary support to get the accreditation. The final piece of the puzzle was to gain the support of the Town Council, which was achieved in March.

The event is by invitation only and over 200 invitations have been sent out to friends, councillors, local businesses and community groups who have supported WAFTAG over the years.

Voice Box choir will be singing, speeches made and video messages relayed from producer groups.

In the UK, Fairtrade sales in 2010 reached an estimated £1.17 billion, one third of global sales.

There are 515 Fairtrade Towns in the UK.