Fair Trade: the first ever Brussels Be Fair Awards

The Brussels Be Fair Awards, which were launched in October 2021 in the context of Fair Trade Week, are part of the Brussels-Capital Region’s (BCR) overall commitment to “turn Brussels-Capital into a fair trade region”. The winners will be announced on 12 May 2022 during an award ceremony.

 

“Turn Brussels-Capital into a fair trade region”

The “Turn Brussels-Capital into a fair trade region” campaign was launched on 12 May 2021 by the members of the Fair Trade Platform in the Brussels-Capital Region as part of its ambition to obtain the “Fair trade region” label for the region.

The Fair Trade Platform of the Brussels-Capital Region groups the Communes du commerce équitable/FairTradeGemeenten, the Trade for Development Centre, the Belgian Fair Trade Federation (BFTF), Brussels International, hub.brussels, as well as several municipal administrations and associations. It wants the Region to be at the forefront of sustainable development, solidarity and fair trade, and has the support of Rudi Vervoort, the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region; Pascal Smet, the State Secretary for International Relations and Foreign Trade; and Meryame Kitir, the federal Minister for Development Cooperation.

 

Promoting the public entities that support fair and sustainable trade

The Brussels Be Fair Awards are organised as part of the campaign to “Turn Brussels-Capital into a fair trade region”. They reward public entities that are based in the Brussels-Capital Region and work to promote sustainable and fair trade products as well as raise awareness about them in the Region.

Efforts include the stimulation of the demand for fair trade products among the population of Brussels, offering fair trade products to employees, raising awareness of fair trade among employees and citizens, or even setting up partnerships with organisations that promote sustainable and fair trade.

For this first iteration, the Brussels Be Fair Awards will acknowledge the work of public entities whose registered office is in the Brussels-Capital Region. Other organisations, such as schools or the hospitality industry, will be put in the spotlight in the years to come.

 

Three separate awards

Three awards will be presented at the end of the competition.

The ”Fair buyer” award will be presented to the public entity that proposed the largest variety and/or number of fair trade products to its employees and/or users in 2021.

The “Fair speaker“ award will be presented to a public entity for its actions and impact in terms of raising awareness of and promoting fair trade to its employees, users and other stakeholders.

Finally, the “Sustainable actor” award will be presented to the public entity that set up and/or joined partnerships and synergies, working with initiatives and other parties that promote and raise awareness of local, sustainable and fair trade consumption.

The competition rules of the Brussels Be Fair Awards and the registration form can be downloaded from the Enabel website. Participants must submit their application before 28 February 2022 by e-mail to tdc@enabel.be.