LJMU goes bananas to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight in Liverpool
21 February 2014: Liverpool John Moores University will be launching a ‘Free Banana Campaign’ across its campuses to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight from 24th February to 8th March. The University, which has been part of the UK’s Fairtrade Foundation since 2006, will also be welcoming Ghanaian Producer and Fairtrade Officer, Juliet Arku-Mensah to the City and promoting ethical careers. The event is supported by The Co-operative.
Yvonne Turnbull, Head of Student Advice and Wellbeing said:
“LJMU and LiverpoolSU are proud to be part of the UK’s Fairtrade Foundation and to host events like this to make our staff and students aware that Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. We are committed to supporting, promoting and using Fairtrade goods.”
Project Officer, Katy Wareing explains what will take place:
“There will be an ongoing free banana campaign, a free Fairtrade pancake event on 4th March, a banana bake-off competition where winners will submit their entries to the city-wide event, a chance to pledge to the Fairtrade cause, and an opportunity to find out more about Fairtrade Careers. There will also be a banana installation in the Student Advice and Wellbeing Centre (Aquinas Building) where students can share their views of what Fairtrade means to them.”
Dr Sara Parker, LJMU Sociology and one of the co-founders of the Liverpool City Fairtrade Steering Group added:
“It's great to see so many activities taking place in LJMU to help celebrate Liverpool's ten year anniversary of Fairtrade. Hopefully staff and students will be able to join us on 8th March at The Town Hall to mark the occasion with Fairtrade producer Juliet Arku-Mensah, from Ghana. As Occupational Health & Safety Officer, Juliet oversees the implementation of relevant workplace legislation, such as providing training and protective equipment and organising health screenings to test workers for diabetes, hepatitis, breast cancer, typhoid, HIV and other conditions.”
Clare Doran, Press and Publications Officer, Liverpool John Moores University, T: 0151 231 3004 c.n.doran@ljmu.ac.uk
Founded in 1825, LJMU is a modern civic university delivering impactful research and scholarship that form the foundation for its interaction with industry, business and the community. Ranked in the top 100 new universities in the world, the University has around 24,000 students, recruited from over 100 countries, who are enrolled on a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research degrees as well as continuing professional development programmes. LJMU is one of the UK’s leading research active contemporary universities, with world-leading and internationally recognised research taking place across the institution. It also continues to be one of the UK’s leading higher education institutions for its interaction with business and the community. This interaction informs both teaching and research at the University and impacts positively on graduate employability, with 92% of graduates being in work or further study within six months of leaving the University.