Fairtrade-Towns fördern gezielt den fairen Handel auf kommunaler Ebene und sind das Ergebnis einer erfolgreichen Vernetzung von Personen aus Zivilgesellschaft, Politik und Wirtschaft, die sich für den fairen Handel in ihrer Heimat stark machen.
Um den Titel „Fairtrade-Town“ zu erhalten, müssen bestimmte Kriterien erfüllt werden: Eine Steuerungsgruppe koordiniert die Aktivitäten und betreibt Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Stadtrat und Verwaltung nutzen Fairtrade-Produkte, Einzelhandelsgeschäften sowie Cafés oder Restaurants bieten faire Waren an. Öffentliche Einrichtungen setzen Informations- und Bildungsaktivitäten zum fairen Handel um und bieten Produkte aus fairem Handel an.
„Wir möchten als Stadt mit gutem Beispiel voran gehen und ein konkretes Zeichen für eine gerechtere Welt setzen. Durch die Verwendung und Platzierung von fair gehandelten Produkten in Gastronomie, Einzelhandel, Kirche, Bildungseinrichtungen und Gesellschaft trägt Ebermannstadt dazu bei, dass benachteiligten Produzenten in südlichen Ländern zu verbesserten Arbeits- und Lebensverhältnissen verholfen wird.“ (1. Bürgermeisterin Christiane Meyer).
Bereits 30 Jahre zuvor haben sich in Ebermannstadt verschiedene Gruppierungen mit den ungerechten Strukturen des Welthandels beschäftigt und überlegt wie gemeinsam ein Beitrag zu Veränderungen geleistete werden kann. „Arbeitskreis Entwicklungshilfe“ – so nannten sich Anfang der 80er Jahre eine Gruppe von Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen in Ebermannstadt, die ihre Wurzeln v.a. in der katholischen und evangelischen Jugendarbeit hatte und deren Mitglieder zum Teil bis heute in der Steuerungsgruppe für Fairtrade in Ebermannstadt aktiv sind.
„Fairer Handel soll das Elend, wie Kinderarbeit und Hungerlöhne verhindern, bevor es entsteht“, mahnte der Botschafter von FAIRTRADE Deutschland bei der Überreichung des Siegels an die Stadt. Der Faire Handel zielt darauf ab, menschenwürdige Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen weltweit zu schaffen bzw. diese zu verbessern, damit Menschen in ihrer Heimat ein Auskommen haben, das es ihnen ermöglicht, ein selbstbestimmtes Leben zu führen
Ebermannstadt ist die 131. Stadt der heute 815 Städte in Deutschland, die diesen Titel erhalten hat. Alle zwei Jahre werden die Kriterien zum Titelerhalt geprüft und der Titel verlängert.
Der „Faire Handel“ bereichert das gesellschaftliche Leben in Ebermannstadt auf vielfältige Weise:
Ebermannstadt
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