19 February 2010

Celebrate fairtrade fortnight with a cup of tea and a dance

A day of dance will be held in Dundee next weekend as part of a series of events to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight.

The ‘Strictly Fairtrade Tea Dance’ takes place at the Bonar Hall between 10am and 3pm on Saturday, February 27th. The event is organised by Fairtrade.org in conjunction with the University of Dundee in recognition of the institution’s efforts to promote Fairtrade products.

Participants will be able to enjoy salsa, modern dance, country and contemporary dance demos and sessions as well as Fairtrade tea and snacks. Other Fairtrade products will be available to buy on the day, and all are welcome.

'We’re always keen to support Fairtrade activities and have been promoting the products quite extensively over the past few years,' explained Trudy Cunningham, Environment & Sustainability Officer at the University.

'This year’s theme for FairTrade fortnight is ‘The Big Swap’. For two whole weeks we'll be asking the nation to join us in swapping your usual stuff for Fairtrade alternatives. Your usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, your usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, and your usual cuppa for a Fairtrade cuppa. This means that every time you go shopping, you can use your wallet to make a stand.

'We’re the only venue in Scotland to be holding one of these events, and Fairtrade.org asked us to be the hosts due to all the positive work we do. A number of other events will be announced on our website soon.'

The other locations hosting Strictly Fairtrade Tea Dances are Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Fairtrade Fortnight takes place from February 22nd until March 7th, with many events to raise awareness of Fairtrade principles and products taking place across the UK, including in Dundee.

More information is available by visiting www.dundee.ac.uk/estates/energy&environment/ or www.fairtrade.org.uk/.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277