Last year the Fair Trade Federation’s (FTF) annual conference was merged for the first time with the Fair Trade Futures conference. 2011 now sees the yearly FTF meeting back in traditional garb. Months before discussion of budgets, unions, or protests surfaced to cause overheated controversy on the nightly news, the FTF conference committee settled on Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year’s conference theme is Building UP Fair Trade and is scheduled for May 6-8th!

It’s been a month since the Futures Conference. So I wanted to take time to reflect on how the conference may have impacted the movement. Besides connecting us to each other and bringing to light issues many were unaware of, something else happened during those 3 days to transform our global community. I’m theorizing we experienced a Fair Trade Harmonic Convergence.

Philomena Mashaka talks about fair trade

Are we competing against each other to capture a share of the market or are we working together to economically empower marginalized workers worldwide?

Sitting in the cavernous ballrooms number 4 & 5 with 761 others during the welcoming dinner at the Fair Trade Futures Conference, I was completely overwhelmed!  Never had I shared space with so many fair trade folks.  I felt lost in a sea of people, a nameless, faceless being.  After taking several deep breaths, I said to myself, enjoy being lost for a moment.

Interview with Jackie DeCarlo of CRS on goals, hopes and purpose of conference.

The first day of seminars proved full of energy and excitement from fair traders. The morning opened with an inspirational speech from Dr. Kevin Danaher regarding the questions “What is Fair Trade for?” and “How will it achieve it’s goals?”

Join the largest collection of Fair Trade business’s , activists and supporters in US History. This year in Boston September 10th 2010.