< Older

7th of March, 2026

Minutes 2 March 2026

Present  PR, AC, MP, AM, MR, Amy Manvell

Apologies PM

Financial statement.  Balance £1,464.35

20th anniversary celebration review

·       Final cost: slightly less than £600

·       Post-publicity: Willie Rennie posted information;  Amy did a blog post for staff and students and will check that it went into the staff newsletter; we were invited to submit a piece with photos to the Fairtrade Foundation and Scottish Fair Trade – difficulty over permissions at the time but an article and photo have recently been posted in the Foundation’s newsletter; MR’s press release to local press seems not to have been used;  MP to put Willie Rennie’s photos on the website.                                                                           ACTION Amy/MP

·       Bruce Ryan has offered to help us with tech issues.

Noticeboard

·       It’s currently difficult to open/close.  PR to ask the Men’s Shed to adjust or replace the lock.

·       Content:  we agreed two rounds.  Firstly the article and photo from the Fairtrade Foundation, MR’s press release and Willie Rennie’s group photo.  Later the ten principles of fair trade.

Community Council invitation to speak about road signs

·       We don’t have the resources to pay for signs and it may now not be legal to put up new signs. We feel that it’s an issue to be dealt with between Fife Council, who supplied the original signs, and the Community Council, who took them down and disposed of them in 2018. MP and PR agreed to attend the CC.  AC to respond to CC.                             ACTION AC

·       We discussed alternative ways and places to publicise the Fairtrade Community:  pursuing criteria for Fairtrade sporting events with the Fairtrade Foundation; the I (heart) St Andrews app;  New Picture House; bus station, St Andrews Facebook page. 

University update, with thanks to Amy for supplying this information for the minutes.

  • Week of Sustainability (Monday 16 – Sunday 22 March):
    • See the attached flyer for event highlights on each day. 
    • The Events calendar will give more details for each event, target audience, and ticket availability (if applicable). Some events are still being uploaded to this calendar.
    • Thursday 19 March: full day of talks, stalls, and workshops in Upper College Hall. Amy will be there all day, and the talk from Andy Ashcroft/Koolskools about their ethical and sustainable supply chain is at 3pm, with the website workshop at 3:45pm.
  • Planning to host a Fairtrade bubble tea stall with students at the Skate, scoot and bike festival on Saturday 14 March in Spider Park.
  • Fairtrade Survey received almost 230 responses from University staff and students. Amy will be analysing the results and will share any interesting findings with the group.
  • Fairtrade University evidence submission deadline is 10 April, student audit (which we will be recruiting students for) is 30 April, and we will receive our accreditation and final report on 1 June.
  • Looking to host an undergraduate summer intern focussing on Fairtrade at the university but awaiting to hear if funding approved.

AOB 

·       MP reported on True Origin and Specs for Malawi.  True Origin has new suppliers and is developing a number of projects in Kenya, Malawi etc.  The arrival of the spectacles continues to be life-changing for those who receive them.

Date and venue of next meeting

·       8th (or 15th) June at 18 Irvine Crescent.