Fair trade

Specialist shop for fair trade

The One World Network Thuringia (EWNT) has been acting as the umbrella organisation of a state network for development policy since 2005. It represents over 40 associations, institutions and individuals throughout Thuringia. In addition to our primary networking work, we are also involved in projects. The focal points of our project work are educational work for the topics of global learning and sustainability as well as the operation and expansion of the largest scientific and educational specialist library in central Germany for development policy and global learning.

The Bavarian One World Network was founded in 1999 and is the Bavarian network of World Shops, local OneWorld networks and of groups related to development policy. On a national level, the Eine Welt Netzwerk Bayern is a member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Eine Welt Landesnetzwerke e. V. (the association of regional OneWorld networks in Germany; AGL), which is based in Hannover.

The members of the Eine Welt Netzwerk Bayern want to encourage people to think and act responsibly towards our One World. They provide information on the reasons for and background behind global problems. They also organize educational events and initiate campaigns and lobbying activities in order to draw people's attention to the question of whether our way of life is a sustainable one.

All Weltladen shops in Germany are members of the Weltladen parent organization which has its headquarters in Mainz. It coordinates joint efforts as well as publicity campaigns and provides continuing education for employees and current information on Weltladen shops. The Weltladen parent organization sees itself as an organisation dedicated to serve its members.

Its most important goals are:

• to promote the idea of fair trade and to bring the Weltladen shops to the attention of the public and policy-makers.
• to give the public a clear and coherent idea of Weltladen shops and their philosophy.
• to establish Weltladen shops as specialized shops of fair trade and to systematically improve and support their work.
• to further develop the work of the Weltladen shops under today´s changing conditions.

Accordingly, one main focus lies in the organisation of political activities, like our "Weltladen Days", which traditionally take place in May. The Weltladen parent organization promotes fair play in world trade through activities that attract public attention. Another principal concern of its work is to become known to a broader public. Currently the Weltladen parent organization is cooperating closely with youths on the subject of global learning. The Weltladen parent organization is a member of the Forum for Fair Trade, a union of the most important players in fair trade in Germany.