英语课程计划-World Fair Trade Day（在线收听）

World Fair Trade Day is celebrated every year on the second Saturday in May. It is organized by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), which operates in 80 countries around the globe. The WFTO boasts a membership of 350 different fair trade organizations and represents 110 million people. WFTO members are called FT100 because of their 100 per cent commitment to fair trade. The majority of WFTO members are from developing economies and poorer countries. The organization's mission is to promote a global trading system "based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity." The first World Fair Trade Day was in 2002. It had its roots in the European World Shops Day that started in 1996.

Many events take place around the world on World Fair Trade Day. These include fair trade breakfasts, lectures, concerts, fashion shows, carnivals and street protests. There are also many markets that showcase and sell fair trade products. Fair trade campaigners call for justice in trade and ask countries to promote sustainable environmental policies. The WFTO has called on countries to bring about free trade quickly. It said: “It’s taken 60 years to get to World Fair Trade Day 2009. It’s vital that it doesn’t take another 60 years to correct the imbalance in trade that leaves millions of people living in poverty with the threat of climate change and a financial crisis hanging over us all.”