UK's First Private University

My first question to my dear readers is that do you know which is the first private university in the United Kingdom? I am quite sure that very few people have this knowledge.

I would like to share with all of you what I have learned on this topic. UK's first private university is the BPP University College. It is the first in the last 30 years in the UK. The London based BPP got the prestigious status on 26 July 2010 (http://www.thelawyer.com/bpp-becomes-uks-first-private-university-college-in-three-decades/1005152.article).

Universities Minister David Willetts said, "It is healthy to have a vibrant private sector working alongside our more traditional universities." (Young Lawyer, 'BPP is first private uni' (2010) 9 SOLICITORS JOURNAL 7)

This new institution offers law degree which I guess most of us know. This is a good news for prospective law students in the future. But I personally feel that Northumbria University is the best place to study law and in fact any subjects due to its modern campus, its surroundings and the beautiful Newcastle city. Anyways the decision will vary from person to person.

The BBP has got 14 regional branches.

Peter Crisp, the chief executive of BPP's £10, 000 per year law school said, "I see no tension between the desire to change people's lives and making a profit."

Also please note that the BPP will not receive any money from the higher education funding councils (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10756830).


Source:
Young Lawyer, 'BPP is first private uni' (2010) 9 SOLICITORS JOURNAL 7
BBC <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10756830>
The Lawyer <http://www.thelawyer.com/bpp-becomes-uks-first-private-university-college-in-three-decades/1005152.article>

Kings College Law Student Murder His Father!

Isn't it shocking to hear such a news? I was also shocked after learning about this.

Unfortunately this is the harsh truth. Mark Alexander, 22, killed his own 70 year old father Samuel only to escape his "controlling influence"! He then buried his father's body in the backyard. 

Alexander was a law student at the Kings College. He was a former student of Rugby School in Drayton Parslow, Buckinghamshire.

The reading Crown Court heard the case on 10th September 2010 and sentenced him at least 16 years of imprisonment.


Source:
Young Lawyer, 'Law student gets life for 'pushy parent' murder'' (2010) 9 SOLICITORS JOURNAL 7

A Law Student Crowned Miss England!

People who thinks that law students are always into studies and are not social are actually wrong.

I don't know how many of you know Jessica Lineley. Well, she is our Miss England! Congratulations to Jessica. This blonde has scooped the £25, 000 prize money at the Miss England final this summer.

This 21 year old beauty is a law student. Are you surprised? I guess you should be. Yes she has been able to spare her time in modelling and finally winning a beauty pageant.

Jessica is law student at the Nottingham University School of Law. She is originally from Norwich.

She admits that she will not have any time for anymore modelling when she qualifies as a solicitor. And so she now wants to enjoy every minute of this year of her life and be the best representative of England.

Jessica even took a year off at the university and participated in the 60th Miss World battle held in Sanya.

My best wishes were and will be there with her. I believe lawyers need be social and this is one of the best way to be social.


Source:
Young Lawyer, 'Legally blonde: YL crowned Miss England' (2010) 9 SOLICITORS JOURNAL 6

UK Lecturers Congratulate Students For The Wednesday's Violent Demonstration!

The United Kingdom's ruling Conservative Party's London Headquarter was stormed! Students and lecturers from across the England, Wales and Scotland travelled all the way to Whitehall, London. They were all involved in criminal damages and aggravated trespass. About 2,000 split from the main march to gather outside 30 Millbank, the Conservative headquarters in Westminster, where windows were smashed, fires lit and missiles thrown at police.

The police arrested about 50 protesters for the above offences, but was released on police bail till February 2011.

Although the protest was supposed to be a peacefulone, but it was overshadowed by violence on 10th November 2010 against the plan to lift the cap on university tuition fees to £9,000 for the home students.

Meanwhile, the police has began an inquiry behind the handling of this demonstration alongside the Scotland Yard. The police are examining the CCTV footages of the incident.

The Policing minister Nick Herbert said police had "struck the wrong balance" when preparing for the protests.

225 officers were originally deployd to police the march, although a further 225 were called in as the situation developed. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said, that the police should have been better prepared to tackle the demonstration, and termed the event "an embarrasment". 

The lecturers who were also involved in the march wrote: "We the undersigned wish to congratulate staff and students on the magnificent anti-cuts demonstration this afternoon." 

Lecturers at Goldsmiths College said: "The real violence in this situation relates not to a smashed window but to the destructive impact of the cuts."

But the Downing Street  said: "Praising violence over peaceful protest is frankly irresponsible."

On the other hand, Mr Cameron, the UK prime Minister has said he would not abandon his plan to reform tuition fees to allow some institutions to charge up to £9,000 a year.

National Union for Students president Aaron Porter said he believed members had "lost a lot of public sympathy" because of what happened.


Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11740282  

Late Yasser Arafat: A Warrior Or A Terrorist?

Have you ever heard of Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al- Qudwa al- Husseini? I don't think you have probably heard of this name! Anyways but I guess you have definitely heard of Yasser Arafat. Yes I am talking about Yasser Arafat. The long name in the first line is his full name although he is popularly known as Yasser Arafat.

Yasser Arafat was born on 24 August 1929 in Cairo to Palestinian parents. I would not go into his childhood history because I have something got to discuss. Yasser Arafat died on 11 November 2004.

In his lifetime he was quite popular not only nationally but internationally too. He was the Chairman of the Palestine Liberal Organization, President of the Palestinian National Authority, and leader of the Fatah political party which he founded in 1959. More interestingly, apart from being the Palestinian leader, Arafat was also a Laureate of the Nobel Prize.

Today he is no more with us in this beautiful world. But still he remains a controversial Middle Eastern political leader in the history.

Even today after his death he is considered by a section of the people as a 'legend' whereas there is another section of people who considers him as a 'terrorist'.

People who supported him saw him as a 'warrior', statesman, and peacemaker who was table the Palestinian issue in the world agenda and transform the Palestinian struggle into a legitimate fight for independence (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html).

According to Kofi Annan, Former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Arafat was a man who "expressed and symbolised in his person the national aspirations of the Palestinian people" (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html). Former French President, Jacques Chirac said Arafat was "a man of courage and conviction who for 40 years incarnated the Palestinians' fight for recognition of their national rights" (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html). Even, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described late Arafat as "a great political leader of international significance." (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html)

However, there is another group of people who have already labelled him a a 'terrorist'. His opponents view him as a manipulative terrorist and authoritarian leader (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html). James Phillips, a Research Fellow in Middle Eastern affairs at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think tank, wrote in a 2004 commentary titled "Yasser Arafat's Disastrous Legacy," that "under Arafat's leadership the Palestinian Authority became corrupt, unaccountable, and dedicated to protecting Arafat's interests, rather than those of the Palestinian people." (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html).

But despite all the supports for and criticisms against Arafat, it is agreed by everyone that his ultimate impact on the Palestinian struggle is significant. The present Palestinian Hamas government although hailed the late President as an icon of unity and struggle (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html), but are yet locked in a political stalemate with the Fatah, the political party founded by Yasser Arafat.

People believes that all this wouldn't have happened if Arafat was alive today. During Arafat's lifetime he was able to stop the emergence of any alternative Palestinian leadership.

Even according to Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, "Arafat's death meant losing a symbolic leader committed to the Palestinian cause whether we agreed with him or not.”

Arafat was the leader of the longest- running revolutionary movement. Although his opponents believe the world is better without him, but despite internationally he being a stateless person, he was considered all over the world as a head of state, a great political leader of international significance and the charismatic founder of Palestinian nationalism.

And lastly, I would remind you that today is late Yasser Arafat's 6th death anniversary. The world did react to his death in Paris in 2004 with tears and gunshots; praise and condemnation.

Source:
Al Jazeera English <http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111254835474671.html>

Mobile Courts To Stop Eve Teasing In Bangladesh!

For the first time ever the social crime has been brought under the jurisdiction of the mobile courts in Bangladesh. This is quite surprising. Until now, the mobile courts used to deal with traffic violations and hoardings.

The increasing incidents of sexual harassment and stalking of women in Bangladesh has forced the government to empower the mobile courts to prosecute people accused of sexually harassing women or 'eve teasing'. The sanction will be a year in jail or a fine of US $70 or both.

The idea behind this is the speedy trial in cases of sexual harassment and stalking. The stalkings have resulted in some young women committing suicide. The High Court of Bangladesh even asked the government last week to take measures to stop sexual harassment and stalking of women. This is becoming a big problem in Bangladesh.

Even people who spoke out against sexual harassment have also been murdered! An example is,

a 50-year-old woman died after a motorcycle was driven over her when she protested against the bullying of her daughter last week (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11728027).

Now the Bangladesh government hopes that the punishment that the mobile courts will hand out will act as a deterrent to others.

Source:
BBC News <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11728027>

A Three Year Old Boy Races Camels!!!

Are you shocked and surprised after reading the above title? If you are than it is completely normal because being a human being you should be surprised and shocked after reading such a title.

I don't know how many of you have heard of 'child camel jockeys'. If you haven't heard of it than don't worry; I will give you an overview of this, although in brief, before I go on to discuss on my topic matter which is focused on the title of this post.

'Child camel jockeys' are children, as young as three, who are used in the popular sport of camel racing in the Persian Gulf States' camel racing industry, a centuries- old desert tradition and tourist attraction in the Gulf. This traditional Bedouin sports pastime has now turned into a a multi- million dollar activity. Are you surprised? Don't be because it is just the beginning! This facts of this material of mine is going to scare you!

Shameem Miah, a three year old boy from Bangladesh, was made to race camels in the Gulf State of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)(http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009521102618418322.html)! Many young children like Shameem are mostly trafficked from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sudan, despite it being illegal to use jockeys younger than 15 or weighing less than 45 kilos (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4236123.stm). There used to be some 40, 000 children working in this industry across the Gulf (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4236123.stm).

Shameem's father Abul Kashem Miah paid the traffickers in Bangladesh US $4500 (by selling all their land and belongings, even went into debt) to get to Dubai after being being lured by promise of a better life. On arrival in Dubai, Shameem and his two brothers were separated by the traffickers themselves to take part in camel races.  

The terrified screams of the children drives the camels faster, which satisfies the camel owners!

Many children like Shameem were deliberately kept without foods for many days so that they remain below 20 kilos, as the children are prized for their light weights! They used to be just fed biscuits and water, and slept directly on the sand. Even the children were given electric shocks whenever they were found to be overweight!

  

The camel owners used to even beat him when he used to lose a camel race, said Shameem Miah (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009521102618418322.html). Shameem, a toddler was first sat upon a camel's back when he just learned to walk. Shameem's other two brothers were also forced into slavery to serve as camel jockeys. According to one of his brother, Munna, Shameem was so small that he used to be strapped on to the camel (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009521102618418322.html).

However, now Shameem Miah along with some 878 Bangladeshi children has been returned to their family in Bangladesh, as they were deemed to be too old and heavy, and also as the use of child camel jockey has been banned in 2005 in the UAE. And to an unprecedented move they have even been compensated by the UAE for years of suffering as child camel jockeys, after following pressure from the human rights groups. This pressure have eventually led the UAE to ban the use of child jockeys in 2005, and this has been replaced by 'robots' now. Now it seems that the technology has met the tradition. So now we can hope that the use of child camel jockey would be completely eliminated.

Till to this date, Shameem Miah still bears the scars of 5 years of abuse by his employer and countless falls from the back of the charging camels. Many other child jockeys have even suffered life long injuries from even being trampled under the charging camels. Unfortunately some even died too!

Children like Shameem used to live in a barbed wire encircled camp near the desert race track. Shameem used to be only paid US $4 a month for working 18 hours a day! However, he was lucky enough to at least get this amount of wage because there are a lot of other children like Shameem who were not even paid a single penny after being sold into slavery.

"There was a child in the camp... because he wanted to leave the camp... one of the racetrack owners ran over [him] in a truck and killed him", quoted from Akbar, a eight years old boy who almost all his life lived and worked as a camel jockey at a race track in Abu Dhabi(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4236123.stm).

Shameem even said that he rarely wore any helmets, and even burned his feet on the hot desert as he was not given a shoe (http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009521102618418322.html).

Although Shameem is no longer in the camel racing sport and also has been compensated, but this experience is going to remain with him forever.

Still now many children like Shameem are awaiting compensation, and even many are still missing. Although there is a ban on child camel jockeys, but according to the UK- based human rights group, Anti- Slavery International, some 2000 unaccounted for child camel jockeys have not yet returned to their families from the Gulf States. As many children were even killed, so there is even no record of that too.

Source

Al Jazeera <http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05/2009521102618418322.html>

BBC <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4236123.stm>

Bring A Smile On Their Face :)

What does it take to bring a smile in someones face? Answer to this question will vary from person to person, and will depend on their needs and demands too. For some people a meal for a day might be more than anything to make the happy, whereas some people might not even care about such treat!

Having completed a workshop on 'Fairtrade' after an extensive research on the topic, I have learned a lot  about fairtrade. I am sure all my fellow Masters level classmates have also gained an extensive knowledge on the topic in question. I guess we all know that the justifications behind the arguments for and against fairtrade are equally strong. There has also been a detailed discussion on this in my assignment. Today I will not be going into that debate. I want to simply share a feeling that I have had in my mind since I finished my research on fairtrade. 

As like everyone, I also know very well that the criticisms against fairtrade are very strong and justified, but yet I strongly believe that we being the economically solvent citizens of this world owe a duty towards our society's neglected class of people, although not legally but at least on the grounds of humanity. This is something that we should never forget. A pound or two might not make a big difference in our life, but it definitely does make a very big difference in the livelihood of the poor people. 

The extremely lower class people who survives on harvesting agricultural products needs to be paid a decent amount of wage or price for their products and labour on at least moral grounds. Due to the unfair practises in the global trade the poor producers from the third world countries are even deprived of the basic essentials needed to survive. In this increasingly economically expensive world it is getting difficult for the marginalised producers to survive if the global trade continues to takes place in an unfair manner.

These producers from the third world countries have a very low standard of living, and survive hand to mouth only. A small initiative of ours can make a big difference in their life, and bring a smile on their face.

So I urge everyone to please take a step forward to bring a change in the present global trade. Please let us all get together with a changed attitude to make our world a happier place to live in, without poverty.

International Regulations Governing Prohibition Of Child Labour: Successful or Unsuccessful?

Child labour - these two words with which I believe everyone is quite familiar. Child labour generally means any people under 18 years of age who are employed.

However, child labour has been defined by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) as "work that exceeds a minimum number of hours, depending on the age of a child and on the type of work. Such work is considered harmful to the child and should therefore be eliminated." (http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html)

There are at present mainly three international regulations governing the prohibition of child labour worldwide -

• United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), Articles 32 and 33
• International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999), and
• International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 138 on Minimum Age for Workers (1973)

These above Conventions were adopted with an undoubtedly honest goal to eliminate child labour worldwide. These conventions requires the Member States to implement the enforcement of the Convention, and as well as shows ways to prevent child labour along with many other provisions which are the best tools to get rid off child labour.

But despite such measures being taken it has been admitted by the ILO Director General Juan Somavia that child labour still remains a problem on a massive scale (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1970563.stm).

Unfortunately the grim reality of today's child labour is that one in every six children worldwide is involved in child labour (http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_childlabour.html). According to the estimate of the ILO 13.6% child labour exist worldwide (Asia and the Pacific - 13.3%, the Latin America and the Caribbean - 10%, the Sub- Saharan Africa - 25.3%, and other regions 6.7%) (http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.doproductId=13313).

The child labour is common in mostly the developing countries, but surprisingly and unfortunately nowadays children are now being even exploited and used as labour in the developed countries too, such as the United Kingdom! As an example, I will cite a report published by BBC News in their headlines on 25 October 2010 titled "Child Onion Pickers Highlight Exploitation Problem" - girls and boys from Romania were found working in extremely low temperatures Worcestershire's fields (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11617664).

Even companies like Apple from the developed nations also admitted to using child labour at factories that manufactured their products (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7330986/Appleadmits-using-child-labour.html).

After looking at this figures and datas , do you think the international regulations governing the prohibition of child labour are successful? At least in my opinion I don't think that this international laws are successful, although the reason for this might be the widespread corruption and lack of democracy in the developing countries. But whatever the reason may be, but it is definitely the truth that children are now treated as items to be bought or sold and not as human beings, which is very unfortunate.

 

Source:
UNICEF <http://www.unicef.org/>
ILO <http://www.ilo.org/>
BBC <http://www.bbc.co.uk/>
Telegraph <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/>

Present Child Labour Scenario: 2008 Statistical Data

According to recent estimates of International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Childrens' Fund (UNICEF), there are 215 million and 158 million child labours around the world respectively!

 

UNICEF's 2008 Facts and Figures of child labour worldwide

Asia (excluding China) - 12%

Africa (excluding Nigeria) - 29%

West and central Africa (excluding Nigeria) - 35%

Eastern and South Africa - 34 %

South Asia - 13%

Latin America and Caribbean - 10%

East Asia and Pacific (excluding China) - 10%

Middle East and North Africa - 10%

 

ILO's 2008 Facts and Figures of child labour worldwide

Asia and the Pacific - 13.3%

Latin America and the Caribbean - 10%

Sub- Saharan Africa - 25.3%

Other regions - 6.7%

 

Looking at the above figures, do you suppose that the present key international instruments adopted for eliminating child labour has been successful? To be honest, I would firmly say "NO"! Though it's very harsh  but unfortunately it is the bitter truth.

 

I feel it is shameful for us that we have failed to eliminate child labour and are making the children work for us.

Source:

UNICEF <http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_bigpicture.html>

ILO <http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/lang--en/index.htm>

History of Fairtrade

People who are familiar with the word 'Fairtrade' understands the impact it has on the neglected poor producers. Well I would like to explain what is Fairtrade for those people who are not yet aware of it.

Although all my fellow classmates and I have done a workshop on 'Fairtrade', but I believe due to a word limit of 1000 words none of us were able to put into the assignment everything we knew on the topic. I would therefore like to share few information on fairtrade dating back to its inception. As far as I know no one was able discuss in details on the history of fairtrade.

Fairtrade is a monetary relationship between the producers, sellers and consumers based on standard of fairness, but this is strictly confined to the exchange of goods only. Although there is no universal definition of fairtrade, but 'FINE' defined it as, "Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seek greater equity in international trade." FINE is an informal organization of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, World Fair Trade Organizations, Network of European Worldshops and European Fair Trade Association. At present, these four organizations are the main and the largest fairtrade organizations in the world. However there is also another definition of fairtrade provided by the Fairtrade Foundation which is as follows: "A Fairtrade Town is a town, city, village, county, zone, island or borough that has made a commitment to supporting Fairtrade and using products with the FAIRTRADE Mark" (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_towns/about_fairtrade_towns.aspx).

It all started in the 1940s and 1950s when some religious groups and non- governmental organizations(NGOs) first attempted to commercialize the fair trade goods in the Northern markets. But it was not until 1946 and 1949 when two NGOs named 'Ten Thousand Villages' and 'SERRV International', respectively, first developed the Fairtrade supply chain in the developing countries. However during that time the fairtrade campaign was not so huge and commercialized as it is now. Products used to be sold in the church and fairs indicating that a donation had been made.

So during that time it was a mere help for the fairtrade goods producers. They were not entitled to a fair wage or price for their products.

The current fairtrade movement was shaped in the Europe in the 1960s. Although during that time the fairtrade was seen as a political gesture against non- imperialism, but the slogan at that time, "Trade not Aid", gained international recognition in 1968 when it was adopted by the 'United Nations Conference on Trade and Development' (UNCTAD) to put the importance on the establishment of fairtrade relations with the developing world.

Nevertheless, the first fairtrade products sale took off with the arrival of the first fairtrade certification initiatives.

And today Fairtrade campaign is present in a lot of developed countries, and even in the universities and colleges! Small towns are are also trying their level best to support Fairtrade. This shows that how conscious we the people are. Lets all work towards achieving Fairtrade worldwide so that we can also provide an opportunity to the extremely neglected poor class people to survive in this increasingly expensive world.

Source:

Fairtrade Foundation <http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/>

Internet

Fairtrade Towns!

I am sure that almost everyone is quite familiar with the word 'Fairtrade'. And specially my fellow classmates, studying LLM International Commercial Law at the Northumbria University, who did a workshop on 'Fairtrade'. But I am not quite sure that whether anyone is aware of 'Fairtrade Towns' or not.

If not, than I hope you all might be interested in knowing about the Fairtrade Towns. According to the Fairtrade Foundation, "A Fairtrade Town is a town, city, village, county, zone, island or borough that has made a commitment to supporting Fairtrade and using products with the FAIRTRADE Mark" (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_towns/about_fairtrade_towns.aspx). In the Fairtrade Towns everyone tries their level best to do whatever they can to support fairtrade and promote the FAIRTRADE Mark. I think this is only possible with the contribution of each and every individuals in the community.

Anyways, you would be surprised to know about the first Fairtrade Town in the world! It was in April 2000 when Garstang in Lancashire declared itself the first Fairtrade Town in the world! Not only this achievement of theirs caught the imagination of the local people and the interest of the politicians, but most importantly it inspired the other towns and boroughs across the UK to be committed to Fairtrade and work hard for getting the status of Fairtrade Town. You should also know that London is the Fairtrade Capital of UK.

At present, according to the Fairtrade Foundation, there are 400 Fairtrade Towns in the UK and some 200 are campaigning towards this glorious status! More interestingly this campaign is no longer confined within the UK border; at present, there are Fairtrade campaigns in 17 countries in the world, although with different names of initiative.

And the most important thing is that our Newcastle is also a Fairtrade Town!! Isn't that great? I guess, we the residents of Newcastle are definitely proud of this status. Don't really know about others, but at least I am proud of this. It does make us stand out of the crowd in this era of globalisation.

Anyways, before discussing on an international context I should let you know that not all the countries have a Fairtrade Capital like the UK has. Take for example Australia- it doesn't have a Fairtrade Capital  but it does have Fairtrade Towns, like Melbourne, whereas France has got a Fairtrade Capital, i.e., Paris, but there are no other Fairtrade Towns in France other than Paris. In the same way there are many more countries around the world with Fairtrade Capitals and Towns/ Cities.

Source:

Fairtrade Foundation

<http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_towns/about_fairtrade_towns.aspx>

Intrenational Fairtrade Town

<http://www.fairtradetowns.org/>

<http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tpVc-rN3plsE_QoaOUpqRjw&single=true&gid=0&output=html>

UK's first 'Fairtrade' university!

Hey everyone you would be surprised to know that there are even 'Fairtrade Universities and Colleges'! Well as we have done an assignment on 'Fairtrade', so I thought we all would be interested to know which is the first Fairtrade university in the United Kingdom (UK)!

It is the 'Oxford Brookes University', which in 2003 became the first Fairtrade university in the UK after the 'Fairtrade Universities and Colleges' scheme was started by the Fairtarde Foundation! In the second place is the 'University of Birmingham'.

Now there are over 120 'Fairtrade Universities and Colleges' in the UK.

Well for people who actually don't know what is a 'Fairtarde University and College', I think it is the time for you to know it. A 'Fairtrade University or College' is one that has made a commitment to support and use Fairtrade products, and ensure that Fairtrade products are available in as many places as possible and raise awareness of Fairtrade (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_universities/about_fairtrade_universities.aspx).

I hope, all of you have found it interesting and spared some valuable time of yours to read it.

Source:

Fairtrade Foundation <http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/campaigns/fairtrade_universities/about_fairtrade_universities.aspx>